Tuesday, May 03, 2011

On the changing use of language

I could say that something was cooked to perfection, or that a dish was perfect in its execution; what I could not say was that a meal was cooked perfect.

Perhaps cookery shows exhibit this more, but I have noticed it in other contexts; the simple dropping of a -ly where one would normally appear. I cannot place this as a dialectual difference as I have heard it uttered from many accents. Yet there does seem to be an increase in a dropping of this suffix as well as a few others that don't form the main task of tenses in separating past, present, and future.

I am finding it irritating and must stop myself from verbally adding the -ly to so much that is being spoken. Is it just me?

2 comments:

Logan said...

I'd imagine it was an Americanism, after the fashion of "real good" and the like.

FlipC said...

Although we do have our "reet (right) good" too :-)