When to comes to linguistics, I'm a die-hard descriptivist: a language is what it is, not what people on self-constructed pedestals say it must be. Languages change, they evolve, they don't give a fuck about the prescriptions of self-appointed grammar police. So, I generally laugh at people who say "No, this word must not be used that way! You're ruining things!"
But, I hate this. "Because" as a preposition ("I use 'because' as a preposition, because hipster.") conveys, not so much information, but attitude. It drips with self-conscious irony. When I read it, I know it's supposed to convey a smug eye-roll and faux-weary shrug. All I can see is the writer is mugging for the reader; it distracts from whatever is being said. I want this to go away.
Somehow, it's different from all the other internetisms and literary mugging that I'm perfectly comfortable with. I don't know why.
Perhaps I need a vacation?
/grumpyOldFart
On a similar note my current pet hate is people using “like” in every fucking sentence they utter. Often every third or fourth word. It drives me bat-shit and once you hear someone doing it you can’t ignore it. It’s a substitute for “ummm”.
And when I read “mind = blown” I want to break things. People tweet this all the fucking time. I don’t know why that phrase irritates me. Just don’t do it! :-P
And “allot”. I know people far more educated than me who think that’s a word. But as I also loathe grammar-Nazis I cannot bring myself to correct them. Ha!
And that inflection people use at the end of a sentence that makes it sounds like they’re asking a question? I think that habit started in Australia.
Can I join your old farts club please?
all of those are terrible.
in the US, that rising-pitch thing at the end of sentences is something that you usually hear in young women (and in the stereotypical ‘gay’ male accent). it was a key component of the Valley Girl thing, in the 80s, as was ‘like’, and neither went away. i absolutely can’t listen to it.
you can join the club, sure. dues are $1/yr.
“Because” is super-fucking obnoxious . The cutesy-poo sentence fragment, particularly on fb, is my bete noire: “When the foam from a pumpkin latte tickles your nose.”
cleek’s twee-filter. Let’s make this happen.