Re: precise language usage
Matthew, on host 62.30.192.1
Tuesday, January 7, 2003, at 10:33:12
Re: precise language usage posted by wintermute on Tuesday, January 7, 2003, at 05:53:58:
> > And yet... when the meaning of words or phrases switches to the point where they're simply silly to use, should we just accept that? The phrase "I could care less" to indicate that the speaker doesn't care simply doesn't make any sense. I don't care how many people use the phrase that way. If you use words to describe the opposite of what you mean, you're wrong.
> When I found out it was a common phrase (possibly only in America, though, as I've never heard it from any other nationality) it really bothered me.
I've only heard "I could care less" from Americans. Back home, I hear (and use) "I *couldn't* care less," which seems to be much more correct. The thing is, dialects often cause it to sound "I could'n' care less," which may have mutated into just "could" over time.
Matthew
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