Dr. Shades's Grammar Lesson of the Day

[Guest]

However, you did have the sense to recognize that while Nordic, the Finns are not part of Scandinavia. So while you failed on grammar, at least you will receive a grade of D on general European knowledge.

Not quite correct. Though most of Finland is not geographically part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Finns are still regarded as fellow Scandinavians by Norwegians, Swedes and Danes alike because of the longstanding cultural, ethnic and political ties between them all, despite the huge difference between the Finnish language and the other Scandinavian languages. I know this because I originally came from Norway, and spent years living in Denmark. For example: Finland was ruled by Sweden and was actually considered a province of Sweden from about the middle of the 13th century until 1809. If you ever attend a Scandinavian Cultural event or exposition, Finnish culture will often be included.

[_Dr. Shades]

I also need help with compound words, but I think it's only because my brain cells are rapidly dying off.

Which compound words, specifically? They'll probably need to be treated on a case-by-case basis, because compound words tend to become single words after they've been in common use for a few hundred years. Case in point: The word "sunshine."

One quick and easy rule is that if it's a compound adjective, then both words will need to have a hyphen between them. For example, if the lights face forward, you'd write "forward-facing lights."

[_Jersey Girl]

I also need help with compound words, but I think it's only because my brain cells are rapidly dying off.

Which compound words, specifically? They'll probably need to be treated on a case-by-case basis, because compound words tend to become single words after they've been in common use for a few hundred years. Case in point: The word "sunshine."

One quick and easy rule is that if it's a compound adjective, then both words will need to have a hyphen between them. For example, if the lights face forward, you'd write "forward-facing lights."

I wasn't kidding when I mentioned brain cells. For the past couple of years when I'm writing, I have to stare at a word and wonder if it's correct, and often need to use an online dictionary.

For example:

over kill or overkill

I just wrote that in a post this week. I'll take a quick run through my recent posts and pull out a few more words.

[_Jersey Girl]

Hard to locate the words, because I revised my sentences to accommodate my confusion.

semi colon
semi-colon
semicolon (the only reason I spelled it right was because I looked at your post)

horse crap
horse crap

stainable
stain-able

These were words in my own posts or in the posts of others. I have the same problem with commas these days. You can't fix me, Shades.

[_Gunnar]

I wasn't kidding when I mentioned brain cells. For the past couple of years when I'm writing, I have to stare at a word and wonder if it's correct, and often need to use an online dictionary.

I understand exactly what you mean. Every once in a while I start to use or write some word or name that I have been using almost all my life and am all of a sudden (but temporarily) unsure if I am spelling or using it correctly. Thank goodness for free, online dictionaries!

[_Jersey Girl]

I wasn't kidding when I mentioned brain cells. For the past couple of years when I'm writing, I have to stare at a word and wonder if it's correct, and often need to use an online dictionary.

I understand exactly what you mean. Every once in a while I start to use or write some word or name that I have been using almost all my life and am all of a sudden (but temporarily) unsure if I am spelling or using it correctly. Thank goodness for free, online dictionaries!

See, when all you guys were passing around the dictionary, no one ever passed it to me!

:-)

[_MeDotOrg]

I wasn't kidding when I mentioned brain cells. For the past couple of years when I'm writing, I have to stare at a word and wonder if it's correct, and often need to use an online dictionary.

I understand exactly what you mean. Every once in a while I start to use or write some word or name that I have been using almost all my life and am all of a sudden (but temporarily) unsure if I am spelling or using it correctly. Thank goodness for free, online dictionaries!

Me three. I experience the exact same phenomenon.

When I was growing up, I would deliberately pronounce words as they were spelled, making the three syllable Wed-nes-day out of the pronounced two-syllable Wends-day. I won spelling bees in grade school (to be clear, this was well before the incredibly competitive spelling bees of today.) But no longer. Just as I was writing this last sentence, I stumbled over the spelling of 'syllable'. The placement of double consonants in words is a repeating problem for me; I always place the double letters dyslexic-ally.

Thank goodness for spell Czech.

[_Jersey Girl]

I used to win spelling bees too, Me. I'm also wondering if (I'm not making excuses, this is something I've really thought about) reading so much as I do online and the poor spelling of certain posters isn't partly responsible for the confusion. I've been reading boards like this since 1999. I really don't watch television, all I do is read online (boards, news, blogs), and books, and I wonder if it's wearing out my brain--if that makes sense? I do manage to spot misspelled words in the posts and articles of others though.

Face it people, I'm losing it.
:-(

[_ludwigm]

Hard to locate the words, because I revised my sentences to accommodate my confusion.

semi colon
semi-colon
semicolon (the only reason I spelled it right was because I looked at your post)

horse crap
horse crap

stainable
stain-able

These were words in my own posts or in the posts of others. I have the same problem with commas these days. You can't fix me, Shades.

I'll try to fix You...

FYI from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian ... _formation ...
I didn't marked italics and titles... read the link above (if any of You khm khm)

Word formation

Words can be compounds or derived. Most derivation is with suffixes, but there is a small set of derivational prefixes as well.
Compounds

Compounds have been present in the language since the Proto-Uralic era. Numerous ancient compounds transformed to base words during the centuries. Today, compounds play an important role in vocabulary.
...
Compounds are made up of two base words: the first is the prefix, the latter is the suffix. A compound can be subordinative: the prefix is in logical connection with the suffix. If the prefix is the subject of the suffix, the compound is generally classified as a subjective one. There are objective, determinative, and adjunctive compounds as well. Some examples are given below:

Subjective:

menny (heaven) + dörög (rumble) → mennydörög (thundering)
nap (Sun) + sütötte (lit by) → napsütötte (sunlit)

Objective:

fa (tree, wood) + vágó (cutter) → favágó (lumberjack, literally "woodcutter")

Determinative:

új (new) + já (modification of -vá, -vé a suffix meaning "making it to something") + építés (construction) → újjáépítés (reconstruction, literally "making something to be new by construction")

Adjunctive:

sárga (yellow) + réz (copper) → sárgaréz (brass)

According to current orthographic rules, a subordinative compound word has to be written as a single word, without spaces; however, if the length of a compound of three or more words (not counting one-syllable verbal prefixes) is seven or more syllables long (not counting case suffixes), a hyphen must be inserted at the appropriate boundary to ease the determination of word boundaries for the reader.

Other compound words are coordinatives: there is no concrete relation between the prefix and the suffix. Subcategories include word duplications (to emphasise the meaning; olykor-olykor 'really occasionally'), twin words (where a base word and a distorted form of it makes up a compound: gizgaz, where the suffix 'gaz' means 'weed' and the prefix giz is the distorted form; the compound itself means 'inconsiderable weed'), and such compounds which have meanings, but neither their prefixes, nor their suffixes make sense (for example, hercehurca 'complex, obsolete procedures').

A compound also can be made up by multiple (i.e., more than two) base words: in this case, at least one word element, or even both the prefix and the suffix is a compound. Some examples:

elme [mind; standalone base] + (gyógy [medical] + intézet [institute]) → elmegyógyintézet (asylum)
(hadi [militarian] + fogoly [prisoner]) + (munka [work] + tábor [camp]) → hadifogoly-munkatábor (work camp of prisoners of war)

It is simple, isn't it?

As You see, in languages with more opportunity, have more strict rules. (At least H. is such one.)

[_Jersey Girl]

What I used the strike through on prior. No, I used the search feature here and my confidence in my ability to employ profanity is definitely being compromised and eroded by certain posters who don't know how to spell profanity correctly.

For example, BS vs bull crap.

I know how to spell BS.
I've been spelling it for a good portion of my life.
I've been saying it for a good portion of my life.

If you search on the word "bull" and "crap" as separate words here, you can see that a number of posters don't know how to spell it correctly.

Same thing with horse crap vs horse crap.

Go ahead and use the search here on the words "horse" and "crap" as separate words and you can see a number of instances where people are spelling it incorrectly.

So, I was partially right. I bet I'm right about other words, too.

The day that a Jersey Girl begins to question her spelling of profanity is a day that should concern everyone. I need to start watching television (maybe youtube) because this board is making me stupid.