On Sunday 2008 December 14 05:32:16 Chris Bannister wrote:
>On Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 10:02:14AM -0600, Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. wrote:
>> http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disconnect
>>
>> I don't know how long the noun usage has been around, but I remember
>> hearing it as a child (20 years ago), so I'd say you just need to update
>> your dictionary. (1913 Websters, really?)
>
>I've never heard of "a disconnect". It is the opposite of connect.
It's definitely used around here, and by English-speakers that I work with
from Australia and Maryland.
http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1="a+disconnect"&word2="a+disconnection";
likes "a disconnection" better.
However, 3 dictionaries all (c) 2006 have a noun form.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/disconnect (references in tiny text).
>AIUI, the education system 20 years ago had some flaws which have
>shown themselves in the last few years.
I'll admit my education could have been better, but I'm not saying it was
taught to me in school, but rather, that it was common usage in my area
decades ago.
>> Also, particularly where I come from (U.S.; specifically "The South"),
>> English speakers don't follow the formal rules of grammar well. So, nouns
>> get
>
>IOW, " they make up your own rules".
Not entirely. I find a lot of it is "lazy tongue syndrome" where or phrases
acquire more, generally contextual, meaning while reducing in length to save
the speaker effort.
Also, lack of good, formal grammar education among the populace causes errors
in common speech (or media) not to have attention called to them, and
eventually become completely accepted because the don't "sound wrong" or
even "sound right".
>> verbed, and verbs get nouned,
>
> ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
> Huh?
"to noun" v. 1. To use a word as a noun rather than its standard grammatical
role. Most often applied to verbs and adjectives. When a word is used this
way, the implied meaning is "someone or something filling the role of or
having the quality of".
"to verb" v. 1. To use a word as a verb rather than its standard grammatical
role. Most ofthen applied to nouns. When a word is use this way, the impled
means is "to act or exist in a manner that evokes comparisons to".
*Very* colloquial, particularly "to noun" which I haven't seen in media,
yet. "to verb" has certainly been used on TV, and may have made it into
print media by now.
>Are the errors in the dictionary or is it that a high percentage of the
>population are misusing/abusing the {words,rules} of english?
AIUI, there is no central controlling authority that establishes the rules of
English in any geographical area, unlike French (in France) and German (in
Germany).
So, at best, English-language dictionaries and grammatical guide are
descriptive, not proscriptive, and correct usage follows common usage. As
society as large accepts misuses or abuses they become correct usage.
--
Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. ,= ,-_-. =.
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