"But...but...you HAVE to help me!"

[Broomjockey]

Riiiiiiight.

Invalid example. Implied subject and verb of "you are," phrased "you're," removed from normal construction to facilitate conveyance of sarcasm.

Alternatively, could be "Right, I disbelieve you" based on an implied question of "Don't you agree?" from the original statement.

[Gurndigarn]

Invalid example. Implied subject and verb of "you are," phrased "you're," removed from normal construction to facilitate conveyance of sarcasm.

I'm going to say it's a valid example. I know what was taught in school, and I always thought it was a cheat on the part of the linguistics people. That is, someone came up with what they considered the rules of the language. Only the rules didn't work all the time, only most of the time. So they created more rules to make the exceptions conform to the rules, which I think is sloppy scholarship: "Every sentence must have a subject and verb, so come hell or high water, every sentence will have a subject and verb, even if we have to change what was written/said to make it so!"

Meh*. That's what happens when you try to shove the rules of Latin** onto a non-Latin language.

* Which is a complete sentence.
** And the way we know the rules of Latin is by all the professors back in the days of Rome were complaining about how thier kids weren't following their this or that rule of their language, either.

[LingualMonkey]

I'm going to say it's a valid example. I know what was taught in school, and I always thought it was a cheat on the part of the linguistics people.

Sorry, no.

The people you want to raise a stink about are not linguists, but grammarians. Grammarians are concerned with people speaking and writing correctly, as in using proper English at all times. Linguists study communication itself.

In short:
Linguists are concerned with HOW people communicate.
Grammarians are concerned with HOW people SHOULD communicate.

Or to put it another way,
Linguists have no problem with that communication, as it is effective and the receiver would have no problem with understanding the utterance.
Grammarians will pull their hair out determining whether or not it contains a subject and verb.

[/linguistics M.A.]

[Broomjockey]

I'm going to say it's a valid example.

I'm not saying there are *no* valid examples. I'm saying that one was not. Meh is a valid example. The "riiiiiiiiiiiiight" was not, because it is understood that there's more to the message. That's how sarcasm works. If any time there's implied meaning, there's implied subjects and or actions. "Meh." is a complete meaning unto itself. There's nothing implied.

[Skeksin]

Grammar Nazis!!!

Where??

<hides in fear>

[JoitheArtist]

In short:
Linguists are concerned with HOW people communicate.
Grammarians are concerned with HOW people SHOULD communicate.

[/linguistics M.A.]

Linguists are fun. The ones of my acquaintance are known to sit around for hours, making very odd sounds, debating how those sounds should be categorized, and how the sound might morph in use over the years.

They're also waaaaaaay too cheery in the mornings.

[crazylegs]

Veering back (somewhat) to the original topic.

What the blazes is a GPA? (I lack the privilege of a college education)

[Broomjockey]

GPA = Grade point average. Instead of letter grades, you're given number. Most colleges 4.0 = "perfect".

[Hyndis]

Veering back (somewhat) to the original topic.

What the blazes is a GPA? (I lack the privilege of a college education)

A = 4
B = 3
C = 2
D = 1
F = 0

Add up the total number of points and then divide by the number of classes taken. A GPA of 4 is the best, a GPA of 0 means you won't get any additional numbers to add into your average.

[bunnyboy]

May I introduce you to Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series? Good reading for book-lovers of the quirky, scientific-y sort.:

Maybe...I'd have to look at it.

[JoitheArtist]

Maybe...I'd have to look at it.

It's awesome. By the third book, you have Miss Havisham leading rage counseling sessions for the cast of Wuthering Heights. Which is broken up by a violent pro-Catherine group, trying to kill Heathcliff.

Seriously, it references a TON of great literature, but in a funny and fresh way. Jasper Fforde is totally a book geek.

[Bandit]

Hell, most people know that as soon as they walk in the front door into my library living room.

I know the feeling - I'm moving now, and now realize that 5 bookcases and all the books that go with them are FARKING heavy!

B

[Hyndis]

I know the feeling - I'm moving now, and now realize that 5 bookcases and all the books that go with them are FARKING heavy!

B

I often have to take books off of my bookshelf due to the simple issue of weight. Its a sturdy wooden bookshelf, but the shelves do bend under the weight of the books and I wouldn't want the entire thing to buckle and collapse. I do long term storage of my books in simple file boxes stored on the ground and stacked. The downside is that its hard to find things, but at least it won't cause furniture to collapse.

[Belari]

When I was 14, I skipped my classes a lot. I mean, enough that I failed 3. What was I doing for those 3 hours a day when I should have been in school? I was at the public library, reading. Yeah. My parents were convinced I was off doing drugs. NOBODY believed me when I told them where I really was

[mariamousie1]

Prof. Jolliffe? Is that you?
Sorry, you just sounded familiar.