I spent yesterday reading various people's old blog posts.

[conuly]

Read this one, for instance.

(I mean, I did other things too, of course, but some of it was spent just as I said!)

Today, just today, do you know what conversation I just had with Evangeline?

Me: You silly goose!
Her: My name isn't called Silly Goose!

And then, not minutes later, after she asked me to get her a cup of water...

Her: Connie? What is my name called?
Me: It's Evangeline.
Her: Oh! *giggle* And what... what is Ana's name?
Me: Elephant.
Her: NO! It's ANA! SILLY GOOSE!

So that's twice in as many minutes when she's pulled out "name is called". We don't listen to Handel's Messiah much. I mean, we would if we could, I love that work, but we don't because I've long since lost my CDs of it.

On the subject of language, just a few days ago over in linguaphiles somebody asked about language change, and I piped up that one way English seems to be changing in my lifetime (and it really sounds very recent to me, I don't remember this from even a few years back, though I accept that my memory might be flawed) is the (to me) weird way a lot of people make subjunctives. Instead of saying "If I had done such-and-fuch" a lot of people now are saying "If I would have done such-and-fuch".

Yesterday I bought this book. It's a fun little series - definitely fluff, and don't worry too much about characterization because it's not very rigid. But fun! And what do you know, near the end of the book, the nerdy hot guy (as compared to the macho hot guy - you know how mysteries can be....) comes out with a sentence using "If I would have...", just like that! I do believe this is the first time I've seen that in print. I folded down the page so I can find it later and show my mom.

Comments

[dandelion.livejournal.com]

I've noticed "if I would have" on the internet and on TV, but only from Americans. Oddly, though, while I've said it's only Americans who say/write "if I would have" (and "I wish I would have") in full, a common curiosity of English people's speech is "if I'd have". I don't think I've seen it in writing, probably because people recognise it as non-standard usage when written down, and I don't know whether it's intended as a shortening of "if I had have" or "if I would have" since I've never heard the non-shortened version. I suspect if I asked someone who does it (my chemistry teacher said it often) they'd not actually know because it's more a malformed construction they use without thinking than a conscious contraction.

[ncp.livejournal.com]

At least it's not "would of", which I have seen before. *sporks*

[wodhaund.livejournal.com]

In the South it is!

[conuly]

I don't think you get to use your own spelling conventions just because you're down south. It's not like spoken language. Would of is a misspelling of would've, not a new construction.

Of course, you can totally disagree with me, that's fine.

[wodhaund.livejournal.com]

Oh no, I totally agree that it's a misspelling (and it drives me up a wall). I'm just joking around. :D

[pne.livejournal.com]

The funny thing is, according to Duden, in German you can say things such as "The title of this book is called '...'". But "My name is called '...'" still sounds wrong to me.

[dandelion.livejournal.com]

I've noticed "if I would have" on the internet and on TV, but only from Americans. Oddly, though, while I've said it's only Americans who say/write "if I would have" (and "I wish I would have") in full, a common curiosity of English people's speech is "if I'd have". I don't think I've seen it in writing, probably because people recognise it as non-standard usage when written down, and I don't know whether it's intended as a shortening of "if I had have" or "if I would have" since I've never heard the non-shortened version. I suspect if I asked someone who does it (my chemistry teacher said it often) they'd not actually know because it's more a malformed construction they use without thinking than a conscious contraction.

[(Anonymous)]

At least it's not "would of", which I have seen before. *sporks*

[wodhaund.livejournal.com]

In the South it is!

[conuly]

I don't think you get to use your own spelling conventions just because you're down south. It's not like spoken language. Would of is a misspelling of would've, not a new construction.

Of course, you can totally disagree with me, that's fine.

[wodhaund.livejournal.com]

Oh no, I totally agree that it's a misspelling (and it drives me up a wall). I'm just joking around. :D

[pne.livejournal.com]

The funny thing is, according to Duden, in German you can say things such as "The title of this book is called '...'". But "My name is called '...'" still sounds wrong to me.