Re: Are spiders insects?

Matthew Huntbach <mmh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
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".

I base my remark on the history of your postings here, Matthew: not
on one silly remark but on a litany of similarly silly remarks one
after another.

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".

As is the case with BrE speakers, I am sure that there are more and
less careful users of AmE, and that there are even some people who
consciously choose to use whichever is more effective for the
speaker/writer's immediate purpose. Do BrE speakers talk of "bed
insects" or "bedbugs"? They are not large squarish-shaped beetles,
IIRC.

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).

Even kids who live in the country in here in Taiwan are inflicted
with that disease. They have no idea that beef comes from cows or
that Kentucky Fried Chicken and all its imitators in Taiwan comes
from the birds that go "Cluck-cluck-cluck, the sky is falling!" Pork
is another thing altogether, though.

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.

I do believe that accused you of bigotry against AmE. If you believe
that it's possible to hate the language without hating the people who
speak it, then you can eat your cake and have it too. If you believe,
OTOH, that your irrational prejudice against AmE necessarily entails
an irrational prejudice against American-English speakers (not all of
whom are American people), then I suppose all you can have is the
crumbs after you've consumed the cake.

--
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
Native speaker of American English; posting from Taiwan.
"Rant: a Usenet post longer than fifteen words, especially one
complaining about things I find unexceptional." Anymouse

.

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