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As the famous Wu-Tang Clan once said: “Words rule everything around me.” Wait, I’ve got that wrong, what was it now… Oh, right, it was “cash". How could I forget!

But the same could definitely be applied to words. They’re the best tools we have to convey complex thoughts. And with language being as important as it is, it’s no surprise that sometimes it is wildly misunderstood or intentionally misused.

When it gets so bad that it’s funny, that’s when the Reddit community /r/badlinguistics comes in to collect.

More info: Reddit

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    #2

    “Please Stop Using It”

    “Please Stop Using It”

    u/Bq22_ Report

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    Lakota Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Am I seeing things? Am I certain this person is an idiot? Am I bold enough to make such an assertation? Yes. Yes, I am.

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    #3

    Apparently, English Is The Only Language In The World That Evolves Or Uses Loan Words

    Apparently, English Is The Only Language In The World That Evolves Or Uses Loan Words

    u/ripcityb**ch Report

    Wittgenstein, an Austrian philosopher, considered by some as the greatest philosopher of the 20th century, once argued that reality is shaped by the words we use. He argued this with a simple drawing of a triangle. The triangle could be considered as a hole, a solid shape, a mountain, wedge, and so many more things.

    When we think of all these various things the triangle represents, these concepts summarized by words, it gives meaning to what we see. 

    The same rule applies to everything around us. Our Bored Panda interview guest for today, Lauren Gawne, a Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at La Trobe University, and co-host of Lingthusiasm (an engaging podcast about linguistics!), said that what excites her about linguistics most is that "it allows you to make sense of language, which is all around you.”

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    #4

    English = Bad French

    English = Bad French

    u/LimoneSorbet Report

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    SynthaCybe
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We took your countries and we took your words... like the British Mueseum, if it ain't nailed down, we takin' it! If it is nailed down, we takin' that too...

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    #5

    One Of The Stranger Covid Etymologies I've Seen (Xpost Insanepeoplefacebook)

    One Of The Stranger Covid Etymologies I've Seen (Xpost Insanepeoplefacebook)

    u/glagola Report

    #6

    Actual Page On Conservapedia

    Actual Page On Conservapedia

    u/voxophone Report

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    Shard_of_Moon_Glass
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What in the heavens? Then again, conservatives are full of shite anyways.

    Trophy Husband
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Did you hear about the one with diarrhea? He thought he was melting...

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    Nikki Sevven
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This person is an idiot. 'Democrat' is a noun. You cannot use it to describe another noun unless you add an adjectival suffix like '-ic'. OTOH, the word 'Republican' serves as both a noun and an adjective. English is hard, Rob Smith, but if you're an American and don't speak it properly, follow your own xenophobic advice and GTFO.

    Joe Bloe
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Some americans conservative live truly in an alternative universe, where even wikipedia is view as fake news...

    Jon Mock
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Conservapedia? Omfg, I'm gonna hurt myself laughing too hard. Just the thought of all the horribly misinformed rants about completely mundane things is sparking so much joy. You might as well just label the site "very wrong takes on the world from very bigoted people! Oh, and we don't have to be accurate in any way! We self edit!".

    Surenu
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    To be fair, Conservapedia is a project so deranged, sane conservatives have denounced it. For more information, rationalwiki has absolutely hilarious articles on 'em. https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Conservapedia

    Queen Mab
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How about the Fascist Republicanic Party of the US aka Repugs

    Bobby
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Republicans are now spreading the story that planned parenthood was originally designed as a program to sterilize blacks, and was headed by the Democrats. "See we aren't the racist party they are." At least that's what my crazy MAGA uncle says he learned from fox News.

    Vidas Zlioba
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Good grief. Even WIKIpedia has a decent entry about Margaret Sanger. Where do you get your news/information?

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    Jane Hower
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    FINALLY, someone else knows this -it's been driving me NUTS for years!!! HATE hearing 'the Democratic' party- if there is a 'party' any less democratic it's THEM!!!!

    cugel.
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Conservapedia has been a gold mine of insanity for decades.

    RedMarbles
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I stopped reading an article in a major magazine when I saw it referring to the Democratic Party as the "Democrat Party." Couldn't believe I was seeing it in a publication that has nothing (or so I thought) to do with right-wing politics or politics at all. And for anyone out there who has maybe only been exposed to right-wing media, understand that the Democratic Party does not call itself the "Democrat Party" and it is considered pejorative, having arisen among the right wing as a less democratic-sounding and more abrasive-sounding term that is intentionally used to diminish.

    Gambit22
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why don't we all just work together and patch the gap that politicians and the media has made?

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's just that deliberately mispronouncing someone's name is a common form of social bullying. And that's all these people got.

    P.C.
    Community Member
    1 year ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    Why are y’all blaming it on the conservatives for writing this lol. Unless the source tells you that it was someone like that, stop assuming democrats only have one enemy

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    Linguistics is the science of analyzing the meaning, discourse, and many more aspects of language, from everyday to hyperspecific.

    For example, some of the questions that linguistics may help you answer are why you talk differently (code switch) with different groups of people - your friends, your parents, your colleagues, the police, etc. 

    Another thing is something you’ve definitely experienced firsthand - you and another person speak the exact same language, but you sound very different to each other (spoiler: it’s because you each speak in a slightly different accent).

    Linguists notice these things in their daily conversations and interactions with the world. Lauren mentions that even people who haven’t studied linguistics pick up on these interesting features of language all the time, but actually studying it gives people the framework and terminology to make sense of what these interesting features are.

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    #7

    Only Certain Pronouns Are "Backed By Science" I Guess

    Only Certain Pronouns Are "Backed By Science" I Guess

    u/nllb Report

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    A Wild Bean
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well, turns out the words 'I', 'me', 'you', 'they', 'them', 'us', and 'we' aren't real because they're not backed by science /s

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    #8

    School vs. The North East!

    School vs. The North East!

    u/Oddborg Report

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    #9

    Baby Talk Will Stunt Your Child’s Acquisition

    Baby Talk Will Stunt Your Child’s Acquisition

    u/EvacuationProcedures Report

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    Jeremy James
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes. Greetings and salutations, Baby. I find you quite adorable. Do you concur with my assessment? I assure you, it is correct.

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    But today, we aren’t speaking about the good examples, quite the opposite. One horrible notion that people still hold is that accents are bad and you know what I mean when I say this.

    “The way we speak is perfect and pure, but these other people are mangling our beautiful language.”

    Although an extreme example, this is a very real example of linguistic racism, which is based on accent, dialect, or patterns of speech.

    A person who can understand these variations of speech is a better communicator (and also a better person who doesn’t gatekeep language).

    #10

    English Hardest Language

    English Hardest Language

    u/jegforstaardetikke Report

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    Kobe (she)
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Not true of course. That entirely depends on where you are from. There was research on that. Results on most difficult languages in general : 1. Mandarin 2. Arabic 3. Telugu 4. Japanese 5. Polish 6. Turkish 7. Russian 8. Vietnamese 9. Finnish 10. Korean

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    #11

    It Is Impossible To Learn Swedish Because Of One Sound Which No Non-Native Swedish Person Can Actually Say

    It Is Impossible To Learn Swedish Because Of One Sound Which No Non-Native Swedish Person Can Actually Say

    u/Pregnantcannibal Report

    Dialing it back a little, some other examples of “bad” linguistics are misnomers - names that are used incorrectly. 

    For example, blackboards aren’t usually black anymore, they’re green, red, or even white! Chalk sticks are also likely not chalk, but gypsum, what a scam, huh?

    Also, peanuts are not really nuts, but rather legumes. Same goes for coconuts, which aren’t nuts. They’re drupes or stone fruit.

    Also, a funny bone isn’t a bone at all, it’s your ulnar nerve. It’s uncertain why it’s called that way, but it may be because of the upper arm bone, called a humerus, which is pretty close to humorous, and soon we’ve got the good ole’ funny bone.

    #13

    The “How Do We Make This Fantasy Race Sound Evil/Threatening?” Starterpack

    The “How Do We Make This Fantasy Race Sound Evil/Threatening?” Starterpack

    u/Jitse_Kuilman Report

    #14

    Ahh Yes, My Favourite Language Family, The POC Languages

    Ahh Yes, My Favourite Language Family, The POC Languages

    u/samoyedboi Report

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    Lakota Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I... don't understand how learning Hindu or Swahili would be EASIER if you already know Mandarin vs. already knowing English XD The language families for Hindu, Swahili, and Mandarin are all drastically different.

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    #15

    Today's SMBC Comic Fits Right At Home In This Subreddit!

    Today's SMBC Comic Fits Right At Home In This Subreddit!

    u/TeaWithCarina Report

    #16

    Apparently ‘My’ Can Only Literally Mean Possession

    Apparently ‘My’ Can Only Literally Mean Possession

    u/EvacuationProcedures Report

    For more than 10 years now, the bad linguistics community on Reddit has been collecting these examples, analyzing them, and calling out awful examples of bad “science” wherever they can. Make sure to visit the community for more funnies. And if you’re feeling scientific, the father of bad linguistics is waiting for you - the 4 years senior /r/linguistics Reddit community. 

    Finally, if you’re in a “I wanna roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty in this whole ‘linguistics’ thing” kind of mood, then Lauren Gawne came through for us. 

    You may find something good by looking up “lingcomm” - the goal of which is communicating linguistics to broader audiences or by watching Crash Course Linguistics, co-authored by Lauren.

    She’s also written for many YouTube channels, pop linguistics blogs and books and social media, so don’t forget to tune in to Lingthusiasm!

    #17

    Three Different Comments, From Three Different People, All Commenting On The Same TikTok

    Three Different Comments, From Three Different People, All Commenting On The Same TikTok

    u/niccdifiore Report

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    Lakota Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Someone please help, it's 4:10am and my brain is not home. Spanish from Spain and Spanish from Mexico are THE SAME LANGUAGE, right? (Other than regional differences.) It's just called español in Mexico and castellano in Spain. I'm adopted, but my family is Mexican, and I learned Spanish as a child. We've had exchange students from Spain and I was able to understand them perfectly and converse with them just fine. These three people are just idiots, right?!

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    #18

    A Speed Of 1 Language Per Week

    A Speed Of 1 Language Per Week

    u/[deleted] Report

    #19

    Chinese Characters Are Proof That We Need Jesus

    Chinese Characters Are Proof That We Need Jesus

    u/AFlyingWhale_ Report

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    Lakota Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Bruh... from 22+ years of dating my Chinese boyfriend, I've learned a LOT about the written Chinese language. A lot of it is pictographic in origin, so yes, certain characters will "resemble" the word they represent (like the words for net, fire, farm/field, person, meat.) But this is due to literal THOUSANDS of years of language development and has zero to do with a fictional white man who wore a robe and sandals. They are correct above with the depiction for the character for "rest" in that it contains the character for "person"... but it DOES NOT have a Christian "cross" in it. Written Chinese existed long before people invented Jesus and the Christian cross.

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    #20

    Spanish Was Spoken In Portugal Until They Stole Portuguese From Brazilian Natives

    Spanish Was Spoken In Portugal Until They Stole Portuguese From Brazilian Natives

    u/megm26 Report

    #21

    Found This Gem

    Found This Gem

    u/S_Garritano Report

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    Lakota Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The 63 million people in the world who speak Italian as a first language would like a word (and some gestures) with whomever posted this.

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    #23

    Interesting Take On English Word Etymologies

    Interesting Take On English Word Etymologies

    u/telescope11 Report

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    MaximumKarmaSaint
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Those first three are the stupidest descriptions I've ever seen, and I've seen a racist description of what the word "Covid-19" means.

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    #24

    A Response To A Merriam-Webster's Twitter Thread About Words Changing Their Meaning

    A Response To A Merriam-Webster's Twitter Thread About Words Changing Their Meaning

    u/3AM_mirashhh Report

    #25

    “English Is Actually A Chinese Dialect” And Much More

    “English Is Actually A Chinese Dialect” And Much More

    u/[deleted] Report

    #27

    "Is Korean Indo-European?"

    "Is Korean Indo-European?"

    u/[deleted] Report

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    Lakota Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It MUST be true, because English has the word "park" and there's a Korean last name that's spelled "Park"!!! PROOF!!!! /s

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    #28

    English Is A Tonal Language Because It Has Intonation

    English Is A Tonal Language Because It Has Intonation

    u/averkf Report

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    Nikki Sevven
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No. A tonal language means if you get the tone wrong, you might be saying, "Your wife is a big hippo," instead of what you wanted to say, which was, "Highly enjoyable."

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    #29

    From A Video About A Monolingual Irish Speaker

    From A Video About A Monolingual Irish Speaker

    u/N52B30K Report

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    Lakota Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, you know, those Ancient Greeks that are totally immortal and still living in Italy... we had some movies about these immortals, it's a series of films called "Highlander"...

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    #30

    Someone Must Have Murdered Cases In English

    Someone Must Have Murdered Cases In English

    u/Pingijno Report

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    Liz Clarke
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That is sort of true, at least for spelling. There wasn't a single way to spell most words so it was pretty much a free for all. In the 17th and 18th centuries a few academics started writing dictionaries and decided on what should be standardized English.

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    #31

    Short But Sweet

    Short But Sweet

    u/wordsmatteror_w_e Report

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    Powerful Katrinka
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    8 million Catalans would like to have a word with you. Catalan is a distinct language that shares Proto-Romance origins with French and Spanish. It does not derive from them.

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    #33

    A Friend Sent This To Me :/

    A Friend Sent This To Me :/

    u/ggggggrv15 Report

    #34

    I Guess Germanic And Slavic Languages Don't Exist

    I Guess Germanic And Slavic Languages Don't Exist

    u/Sencha_Drinker794 Report

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    Pheebs
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    “Stole” English, like people didn’t keep moving their asses here. Just one day the native peoples of North America were like “we need a new language, just because”, and English it is. And then they just, ya know, kidnapped English speakers and forced them to teach their language. /s

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    #37

    A Poster For My School's Armenian Club Claiming That The Armenian Alphabet Is One Of The "Most Advanced In The World."

    A Poster For My School's Armenian Club Claiming That The Armenian Alphabet Is One Of The "Most Advanced In The World."

    u/NinjaTurkey_ Report

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    #38

    We've Solved It! Albanian Is The Original Language!

    We've Solved It! Albanian Is The Original Language!

    u/dario606 Report

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    Shard_of_Moon_Glass
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is no “original” language. Groups of early humans just spread and developed their own forms of writing and communication.

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    #39

    Scandinavian + French + Latin = English

    Scandinavian + French + Latin = English

    u/plumander Report

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    Natasha
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Uh not really true. It’s a germanic language but it does barrow a lot of words from a lot of other languages.

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    #40

    Basque Is A Combination Of Spanish And French

    Basque Is A Combination Of Spanish And French

    u/[deleted] Report