I’m usually pretty pedantic with language (people using “begs the question” instead of “raises the question” raises by blood pressure just a little bit) but will disagree on chai tea. Just because chai means tea in another language, doesn’t mean chai tea is redundant the same way ATM machine is.
In English, we’ve taken the generic word for tea as a loanword and use it to describe a specific type of tea. Like hound dog, or Saharah desert. It’s essentially a new word in this context so not redundant. Machine in ATM is the same word as the machine that follows, so that one is at least justifiably something to be pedantic about.
So many people have used “beg(gar) the question” when they mean to say “raise the question” that it’s now an upstream battle; just like idiots pluralizing mass nouns (e.g email).
But, where French has a body guiding its evolution, English progresses merely by what’s popular. And if you think vapid influencers on insta-tube are steering English firmly into the idiocratic ditch, you’d be half right.
Yeah, it begs my blood pressure too. I usually say masala chai to avoid redundancy and be specific to the kind of chai, but garam masala just means hot spice blend, similar to melange. Spice Melange is the name for the magic spice in Dune, but Dune is called Arrakis by the native people (which probably just means sand dune in the Freman language.)
I’m usually pretty pedantic with language (people using “begs the question” instead of “raises the question” raises by blood pressure just a little bit) but will disagree on chai tea. Just because chai means tea in another language, doesn’t mean chai tea is redundant the same way ATM machine is.
In English, we’ve taken the generic word for tea as a loanword and use it to describe a specific type of tea. Like hound dog, or Saharah desert. It’s essentially a new word in this context so not redundant. Machine in ATM is the same word as the machine that follows, so that one is at least justifiably something to be pedantic about.
Man, that really begs my balls. (It’s a regional saying)
I was actually today years old when I found out that I’ve been using ‘beg the question’ incorrectly.
So many people have used “beg(gar) the question” when they mean to say “raise the question” that it’s now an upstream battle; just like idiots pluralizing mass nouns (e.g email).
But, where French has a body guiding its evolution, English progresses merely by what’s popular. And if you think vapid influencers on insta-tube are steering English firmly into the idiocratic ditch, you’d be half right.
So it would be all right to have chai tea in the Sahara desert?
As long as you do it an Wadi Ram Valley
Only after rafting the Rio Grande River.
Yeah, it begs my blood pressure too. I usually say masala chai to avoid redundancy and be specific to the kind of chai, but garam masala just means hot spice blend, similar to melange. Spice Melange is the name for the magic spice in Dune, but Dune is called Arrakis by the native people (which probably just means sand dune in the Freman language.)