Pedants' Paradise, Spelling and Grammar Notes and Queries Options

[linda.ff]

I am fed up of people spelling out words with the letter 'haitch' ! Even a TV continuity announcer did it yesterday ! I guess they think they are scared of being accused of dropping the 'aitch'

I have a sneaky suspicion that some teachers are actually teaching them to pronounce it that way. And who knows, in another twenty years' time, it could be another of those things like eether and eye-ther which seem to be both acceptable, though some people will swear that the way they say it is correct and the other wrong (or possibly "out-of-date"

f# (and others) is "fed up of" a northern expression? I have always said "fed up with" but I heard the other quite a lot when I was living furhter north.

[Pond]

On the usefulness or not of learning grammar issue, there's an article in the Saturday Guardian - "Gove extols creativity - but he has no idea what it is", discussing Gove's view that you need to learn grammar before being allowed to do creative writing, and need to learn scales before being allowed to play music, and how counter-productive / topsy-turvy that view is.
He has head-teacher unions voting no confidence in him - but on and on he goes, and I dread to think what kind of young people will emerge after several years of Gove schooling.

[linda.ff]

On the usefulness or not of learning grammar issue, there's an article in the Saturday Guardian - "Gove extols creativity - but he has no idea what it is", discussing Gove's view that you need to learn grammar before being allowed to do creative writing, and need to learn scales before being allowed to play music, and how counter-productive / topsy-turvy that view is.
He has head-teacher unions voting no confidence in him - but on and on he goes, and I dread to think what kind of young people will emerge after several years of Gove schooling.

How do we know our schools are in need of improvement? Presumably because of the standards of schools in outher parts of the world - we just be measuring them agaist something else. Now, I know there must have been some research done on where the differences lie, but they are never spelt out to us, it seems. Why is it that Finland is reckoned to have one of the highest levels of education in Europe, maybe the world, for example, even though they don't start formal school ing until something like 8 years old, have few exams and a very light touch in teacher appraisal (in other words they trust their teachers to get on with the job)? ANd one of the highest literacy rates in the world with all those long words?

Though, having said that, I remember my 9-year-old Finnish pupil telling me that Finnish was extremely easy to read, and it is, too, what you see is what you say, not so much as a sh or a th to learn about.

And you may unfavourably compare the progress made in our schools with that in China, as I have read (progress in what? would someone like to be more specific? What is it that they're learning that we aren't?) but at what cost? In many countries in the world "high standards of education" are achieved by very mechanical means which seem to eschew imagination and creativity. If we find we're falling behind a country which produces good but very narrow results in a way in which we would not want our children taught, which factor of this equation would we be prepared to forego?

[Misterioso]

f# (and others) is "fed up of" a northern expression? I have always said "fed up with" but I heard the other quite a lot when I was living furhter north.

Yes, like you I have always used the latter, but heard a lot of the former since moving to Scotland. But OH is a Lancashire lad born and bred, and he uses the latter too.

[fsharpminor]

f# (and others) is "fed up of" a northern expression? I have always said "fed up with" but I heard the other quite a lot when I was living furhter north.

Yes, like you I have always used the latter, but heard a lot of the former since moving to Scotland. But OH is a Lancashire lad born and bred, and he uses the latter too.

I sometimes use 'of' and sometimes 'with' ! Another phrase is 'sick to the back teeth with'

What do you do to make tea (proper stuff). Do you brew it, mash it , wet it, soak it , or any other expression.
I have a small map of the distribution of these words round the country.
I also have one for different expressions of lefthandedness. I was brought up with Kack handed, one area says boll**k handed.

[Czerny]

I also have one for different expressions of lefthandedness. I was brought up with Kack handed, one area says boll**k handed.

I always thought cack-handed simply meant clumsy, but apparently it can indeed mean left-handed.

[Misterioso]

I also have one for different expressions of lefthandedness. I was brought up with Kack handed, one area says boll**k handed.

I always thought cack-handed simply meant clumsy, but apparently it can indeed mean left-handed.

That's what I thought too. So we have both learnt something today! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Baach]

I also have one for different expressions of lefthandedness. I was brought up with Kack handed, one area says boll**k handed.

I always thought cack-handed simply meant clumsy, but apparently it can indeed mean left-handed.

Corry-jookit.

[Splog]

I also have one for different expressions of lefthandedness. I was brought up with Kack handed, one area says boll**k handed.

I always thought cack-handed simply meant clumsy, but apparently it can indeed mean left-handed.

Corry-jookit.

or corry-fisted (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)