Re: Are spiders insects?

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007, cybercypher wrote:
Matthew Huntbach <mmh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote

In my English, "bug" has a much more specific meaning - a large
squarish shape beetle.

Shouldn't that phrase "squarish shape" be "squarish-shaped"? How
annoying of you to write it your way instead of my way.

Yes, that's a typo. I agree the word should be "shaped".

The AmE usage of the word to mean any small
creeping or flying creature annoys me.

Is there nothing about American English usages that doesn't annoy you,
Matthew? Who really gives a flying fart whether you are annoyed by
American English usages? You don't think your annoyance will do
anything to endear you to AmE speakers, do you? You can't be taken
seriously because of your overwhelming prejudice, nay, your linguistic
bigotry.

Who gives a flying fart about a lot of the usage issue we discuss in
this group? I'm simply noting as a fact that when I hear or read from an American "bug" used in its more general sense, I can't help
thinking "but that's not a 'bug' as I understand the term". I am
sure there are many BrE usage differences which cause a similar
minor annoyance to AmE spakers, and if they were to say so I wouldn't
throw abuse at them, accusing them of "prejudice" or "bigotry".

What do other BrE speakers think the word "bug" means?

"Bug" has too many meanings, even for BrE speakers, for your question
to make sense.

Here is what the Cambridge Advanced English Learner's Dictionary says
about "bug":

[quote]
bug (INSECT) noun [C]
a very small insect
EXAMPLE SENTENCES:
Hang on - there's a bug in your hair - let me get it out for you.

Will this spray get rid of those little black bugs that are attacking
my shrubs?

We lifted the stone to see if there were any bugs or worms underneath.

There was a bug was crawling across the carpet, and the cat ate it!

He used to collect beetles and bugs from the garden and study them
under the microscope.
[/quote]

As you can see from the last example sentence, this UK/BrE dictionary
does not believe that your English contains a broad enough
understanding of the meaning of "bug", even when restricted to the
"insect" forms of "bug".

Yes, that's why I asked the question, because I wasn't sure whether
my own understanding of what the word "bug" means is more general
across speakers of British English. It certainly seems to me that
"bug" is used in AmE in cases where BrE speakers would use "insect".
It may be that the word "bug" with its more distinctive usage in
BrE is disappearing here because children are being brought up in a more
artificial environment - so they no longer have a vocabulary which makes
fine distinctions between wildlife, and they are heavily influenced by
the language they hear on the television (which is often AmE). So
part of my annoyance at the influx of originally AmE into the language
of young British speakers is that it marks what I regard as a regrettable development in childhood (more man-made, less natural),
rather than, as you suppose, an irrational prejudice against
American people.

Matthew Huntbach

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