tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post7448077421465786024..comments2024-02-23T04:39:49.329-05:00Comments on Conversations in Klal: On FriendingProfKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17954446826821665314noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-91579548782465549212010-12-24T15:37:48.622-05:002010-12-24T15:37:48.622-05:00Reminds me of a cute Connie Willis story about &qu...Reminds me of a cute Connie Willis story about "generating language." I think the rule cited was that nouns become verbs. So that is normal progression of language.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-85264776226507529422010-12-22T08:12:55.472-05:002010-12-22T08:12:55.472-05:00You might want to see Dry Bones take on "bein...You might want to see Dry Bones take on "being facebooked."<br />http://drybonesblog.blogspot.com/ProfKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17954446826821665314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-37356350565285496622010-12-21T15:28:40.336-05:002010-12-21T15:28:40.336-05:00Al,
If complaining about the use of "friend&...Al, <br />If complaining about the use of "friend" as a verb is silly, all I can say is I'm in good company in doing this complaining. The use of friend as a verb made every language complaint list published in 2010. These lists are compiled by a number of universities and general sites, such as the grammar site at about.com.<br /><br />The problem is that Facebook users are taking that "friending" away from its specific use on the site and attempting to apply it as a verb in regular speech.<br /><br />And by the way, yes I can befriend my aunt--that we are related does not necessarily mean that we hold each other in affection. If that aunt is also my friend then I like her in addition to being related to her.<br /><br />Re "Do you dispute that when you are on a computer, you click a link?"--why would I dispute it? "To click" in the sense that it is used in your example entered the English mainstream quite a while ago. One of the specific meanings of the verb "to click" (which has been around for centuries) has to do with computers. Not the same thing as the "to friend" argument at all.ProfKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17954446826821665314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-85277617329143509992010-12-21T14:12:35.750-05:002010-12-21T14:12:35.750-05:00You bring up the issue of "genericide" -...You bring up the issue of "genericide" - when a trademark becomes generic, or no longer indicative of the source of a product, but of the genus of products. So, Escalator no longer refers to a particular conveyance made by the Escalator company, but to all automatic staircases. By statute, a trademark that becomes (or is) generic, is not protected.<br /><br />Companies try to combat this, by using advertising and other public awareness campaigns. For example, for a while xerox ran advertisements saying something like "You cannot 'xerox' a document, but you can copy it on your xerox brand copy machine."<br /><br />Interestingly, you see nouns become generic more often than verbs since in using the verb you're necessarily referring to the source of the product. For example, people may say "google it" when referring to using a search engine, but you'd never "google" on Yahoo or Bing. Similarly, you can't "facebook" someone on MySpace.JSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-3381063424616663682010-12-21T14:09:35.546-05:002010-12-21T14:09:35.546-05:00To Friend - verb
The status of making someone a c...To Friend - verb<br /><br />The status of making someone a connection on a social network.<br /><br />It is NOT a synonym for befriend, the act of becoming friends with someone.<br /><br />You befriend your college roommate.<br /><br />On Facebook.com, you friend old friends from high school and college. On LinkedIn, you friend people that you have done business with.<br /><br />Do you dispute that when you are on a computer, you click a link? No, use the mouse to click on a hyperlink?<br /><br />Friending as a verb may or may not lazily replace befriend as a verb (I'm guessing that it probably will, but I hope not), but as a verb, it's hear for the "foreseeable future" as long as social networks exist in their current incarnation.<br /><br />Xeroxing something was the term for photocopy for quite a few years, but I never here it now. I also rarely here people ask for Kleenex, usually it's tissue. The brand as generic is normally a short run phenomenon.<br /><br />But complaining about the to friend verb is silly, it's a specific access on a specific type of Internet application.<br /><br />So you can friend you aunt so she can see her great nephew/niece online, you can't befriend your aunt, she's family.Miami Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02977503720972852329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-13970275990851014442010-12-21T13:18:57.227-05:002010-12-21T13:18:57.227-05:00vaseline....
just another brand of petroleum jelly...vaseline....<br />just another brand of petroleum jelly.Debnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-47178273294692789922010-12-21T11:43:14.053-05:002010-12-21T11:43:14.053-05:00I agree with you. I don't use Facebook, so I d...I agree with you. I don't use Facebook, so I don't "friend" anyone. I don't "tweet" or participate in "tweetups" either. I think that the use of these terms will always be limited to the internet or telephone.<br /><br />Another brand-name verb is "to google" -- concise shorthand for "to search by means of a search engine." There are probably lots of other such terms in tech and internet parlance.<br /><br />As an editor (and old fogey), it took me a long time to accept "to access" as a verb (i.e., "to gain access"), but eventually I felt that I was being too stuffy, so I allowed it. "To access" seems appropriate in the context of clicking on a link to a web site; you don't "access" a person who answers your knock on the door. Similarly, I was taught that "to impact" only had the meaning of "to pack together," but in recent years, I've gotten used to the meaning of "to have an impact on." There's an advantage to being less wordy. <br /><br />I also notice the word "fun" used as an adjective (as in: "We had a fun day"). To me, it's teenager-speak, and I don't use it. Bah, humbug!shoshana (bershad)http://twotzaddiks.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-62994623063322647592010-12-21T08:00:04.618-05:002010-12-21T08:00:04.618-05:00Good points.
RE: an example of a verb - We used t...Good points.<br /><br />RE: an example of a verb - We used to say "to xerox" instead of "to photocopy".Mrs. S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14649082640953110457noreply@blogger.com