tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post1996747393580859866..comments2024-03-28T16:11:36.465+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: Words of the Year 2009: staycation and go missinglynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-72564527772329233862015-08-30T16:15:44.119+01:002015-08-30T16:15:44.119+01:00Go missing was not common in the United States unt...Go missing was not common in the United States until the news media decided to adopt the term. it just grates against my ears in the same way they turn nouns into verbs (e.g. monetize, incentivize ; just add ize to your favorite noun and away you go). It's my view the media creates and encourages all the bad grammar and euphamisms (outsource; downsize etc) just to be apparently cleverAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02341948655609343000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-8687119069232612492011-04-13T10:35:02.979+01:002011-04-13T10:35:02.979+01:00Hi Kitty--
People do read the comments, even a yea...Hi Kitty--<br />People do read the comments, even a year after!<br /><br />I have to start out sceptical/skeptical of your information for two reasons: (1) People's memories aren't very reliable on when they started saying xyz--I should know, I am regularly convinced that I've been saying all sorts of things all my life, and then it turns out they're Briticisms that my US family/friends don't understand. (2) If you're 33, then you've only been reliably aware of language, I'd say, for 20 years at most. That's not a long time in the history of English.<br /><br />So, with those doubts in mind, I went looking in the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) for evidence that 'go missing' has been used in the South for a long time. <br /><br />'Go missing' can't be found there, but 'go + adverbial [in form of adjective or noun]' is there for cases like 'go Hollywood', 'go native' or 'go ape'. Those, of course, these days are considered 'common English', but DARE notes that this use of 'go' is originally British colloquial, but then moved on to the American southeast. So, you're on to something. <br /><br />But it's only really been showing up in American written English since the 1980s. The <a href="http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=went+missing%2Cgo+missing%2C+gone+missing&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=5&smoothing=3" rel="nofollow">Google Ngram</a> for went/go/gone missing shows this. That might be why in your experience it's not unusual. But for those of us a bit older, it is! And I suspect that the influence of BrE is at least if not more influential in this than just the regional version. (See Ben Yagoda's Britishisms blog for evidence of the Britification of American English in recent decades.)<br /><br />Thanks for commenting--I love keeping these disucssions alive!lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-11340173388664436762011-04-13T06:27:34.305+01:002011-04-13T06:27:34.305+01:00I'm posting more than a year after the origina...I'm posting more than a year after the original post, so I'm sure nobody will ever see this. But I just have to get this out: Like some of the other US southerners, I'm shocked that "go/gone/went missing" is considered foreign to most AmE speakers. I've used and heard it all my life (I'm 33 and from the US South). "My shoes have gone missing," "Her dog went missing"--I could have sworn I'd heard phrases like these from Americans from other regions as well. And yeah, it doesn't sound any stranger to me than "gone cold" or "went red in the face." <br /><br />You're right that there's a difference in meaning between "it is missing" and "it has gone missing," and you're right about deflecting blame; that's how I most often use it, with a sort of humorous intent. But there's also something more. I guess it's the difference between "it is cold" and "it has gone cold"--"gone missing" puts more emphasis on the *transition* into the state of being missing. Or something like that.<br /><br />So is this really a Briticism if US Southerners use it regularly and had no idea that other Americans didn't use it? Was it formerly in use in Britain *and* the US, only to die out everywhere in the US except the South?Kitty Onoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-39843123826062489162010-09-20T22:35:31.837+01:002010-09-20T22:35:31.837+01:00@Wendy:
Would you never say that a drink had &quo...@Wendy:<br /><br />Would you never say that a drink had "gone cold"? The drink is hardly doing anything in that circumstance.vphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16647609487352038948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-84374192654767727592010-09-20T22:02:36.487+01:002010-09-20T22:02:36.487+01:00Thank goodness! I just had a 2 day debate with my...Thank goodness! I just had a 2 day debate with my 25 year old English major son who insisted there is nothing out of place or remarkable with the phrase- gone/went missing.<br /><br />Indeed, but I knew it was a recent affectation, if you will by the US media. Maybe it is the availability of BBC-America programs. I have been watching a British Soap- Eastenders since 1986, and I knew that this phrase was a British term new to this side of the pond. I can occasionally be caught uttering that someone is "in hospital" because of my penchant for British TV shows.<br /><br /> I don't like it "gone missing", because I think it morbidly dramatizes the occurrence. I think what is really being implied is that the missing person has disappeared under mysterious circumstances perhaps out of the control. I like "not been seen". That indeed describes the situation without any speculation- just the facts please!<br /><br />Finally, structurally, I think the phrase wrongly designates the action- being missing- to a volitional act by the subject- the missing person. If you "go bankrupt" or ballistic or Hollywood- the implication is that the subject is doing this action, while in gone missing- the implication is the the subject, be it a purse or a child has encountered some circumstance not of their making...Wendy Wissler-Luckenbillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14015581950406473728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-65827106193491118622010-02-05T16:07:27.287+00:002010-02-05T16:07:27.287+00:00DreamersRose:
You pontificate that "gone mis...DreamersRose:<br /><br />You pontificate that "gone missing" is "bad English", yet in the very same clause you use the collocation "gone popular". Why is one "bad" and the other "good"?<br /><br />For what it's worth, a search of Google Books found approximately six times as many hits for "gone missing" as for "gone popular".vphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16647609487352038948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-403975239168113412010-02-05T16:00:05.584+00:002010-02-05T16:00:05.584+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.vphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16647609487352038948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-74373855982342508832010-02-05T05:44:21.623+00:002010-02-05T05:44:21.623+00:00I can't stand "gone missing" either....I can't stand "gone missing" either. It's just bad English gone popular, on both sides of the Atlantic. What about "He's been missing since Tuesday"?DreamersRosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03971199119836886130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-16548098162472592992010-01-21T01:55:04.781+00:002010-01-21T01:55:04.781+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-92102155089006593122010-01-04T16:56:04.737+00:002010-01-04T16:56:04.737+00:00Bit late now, but another candidate for US to UK m...Bit late now, but another candidate for US to UK migration is "advisory" as a noun. Eg see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8439087.stmMark Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14407839707461689152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-33625679400331831612010-01-03T00:42:29.297+00:002010-01-03T00:42:29.297+00:00I did not grow up (in California) hearing "go...I did not grow up (in California) hearing "gone missing." I'm thinking I've only started seeing it regularly in the past ten years or less.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14376545097377854998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-47898327657849599672009-12-31T11:34:49.168+00:002009-12-31T11:34:49.168+00:00Or perhaps the British and the Americans have reac...Or perhaps the British and the Americans have reached back into their German roots to grab out: "verloren gehen" (valency of 2) (to go missing). Perhaps because the British are geographically closer, it has been "remembered" faster? <br /><br />My personal usage would be solely to express sarcasm - as in I've intentionally pretended to "lose" something, thus allowing it to have gone missing. It still has a somewhat exotic taste to it, which is probably why I would relegate it to a non-serious situation. (AmE L1, Ger L2)<br />-MelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-80012645681274177802009-12-30T14:48:02.613+00:002009-12-30T14:48:02.613+00:00I'm with Margaret! This late 20's female f...I'm with Margaret! This late 20's female from Chicago and eastern NC has heard/used "go missing" all her life and *never* imagined that it was rare, inferior, or slang (Down with prescriptivism anyway!). Semantically, to me, it does not convey wilfulness, and I'm shocked to hear that analysis. I've never analyzed it as parallel today to "go dancing" - where missing would be a verb - but rather as parallel to "go red (in the face)" - where missing would be an adjective. Thus, it conveys that "we don't know where they are, and they may not either" - applicable most especially to military MIA or other missing persons, until enough of the mystery is solved to discern such more narrow categories as "POW/desertion/kidnapping/runaway/absconded/etc."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-45605956749663343602009-12-28T05:59:00.647+00:002009-12-28T05:59:00.647+00:00I'm a middle-aged resident of the U.S. souther...I'm a middle-aged resident of the U.S. southern midlands. I've heard and used the expression "go missing" all my life. It is a common phrase here. I never even realized there were people who had a problem with it.Margaretnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-29786294331594738672009-12-27T18:26:03.251+00:002009-12-27T18:26:03.251+00:00"Gone missing" has been heard on the BBC..."Gone missing" has been heard on the BBC and other news reports lately, in the sombre circumstances of a teenager who disappeared on Christmas Eve and whose body was found on Boxing Day. So much for it being inherently facetious or slangy.<br /><br />The usefulness of the phrase comes from its vagueness. "The boy went missing" doesn't imply anything beyond the bare fact of his disappearance -- he could have run away, been kidnapped, or suffered an accident.Robbienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87172521103307389252009-12-22T20:17:45.748+00:002009-12-22T20:17:45.748+00:00Andy JS said: "The interesting thing about &q...Andy JS said: "The interesting thing about "gone missing" is that as far as I know it is not regarded in the UK as slangy at all. It's just a normal phrase which anyone might use in any situation."<br /><br />Yep. I didn't realise until reading this page that anyone thought it unusual. Or that it is rare in the USA.<br /><br />And yes - that other word feels like one of those mainly used by journalists whinging about the way we speak now. Not really part of our common language and not likely to last for long.Ken Brownhttp://ken.wibsite.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-71743176009639411412009-12-21T18:40:37.574+00:002009-12-21T18:40:37.574+00:00The word "Staycation" makes me physicall...The word "Staycation" makes me physically gag. I am not joking, it catches in my throat like a piece of broken pretzel. <br />Thankfully I have never encountered the word outside of this blog (On both sides of the Atlantic - I'm a British Ex-Pat), but even thinking about saying it is Nails on the Blackboard/Chalkboard time. <br />Ugh!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-59966396594156150082009-12-20T15:48:41.602+00:002009-12-20T15:48:41.602+00:00I don't think there is a standard BrE term for...I don't think there is a standard BrE term for spending your holiday at home, other than "spending your holiday at home". Or else "not going anywhere for your holiday".<br /><br />"We shall have to take our holiday in the back garden" is (very) mildly facetious, and I would think coined <i>ad hoc</i> by Sayers.Robbienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-84041088276254256562009-12-19T17:02:27.046+00:002009-12-19T17:02:27.046+00:00"If a person 'goes missing', then the..."If a person 'goes missing', then there's a sense that although we don't know where they are, they do."<br /><br />Reminds me of a saying that runs in my family: "I AM NOT LOST. I know <i>exactly</i> where I am. What I don,t know is where everything <i>else</i> is."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-18510018101144700672009-12-19T16:33:41.917+00:002009-12-19T16:33:41.917+00:00@John Cowan - I've always called it being on t...@John Cowan - I've always called it being on the Costa del Backgarden (although someone did ask me where that was once)townmousehttp://cityexile.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-81807827079539651522009-12-18T23:45:40.346+00:002009-12-18T23:45:40.346+00:00So what is the BrE word for a holiday taken in one...So what is the BrE word for a holiday taken in one's own house? In <i>Murder Must Advertise</i>, Mr Smayle says to his wife, "We shall have to take our holiday in the back garden", but I don't know if that's <i>ad hoc</i> or a standard expression. Google isn't very helpful.<br /><br />(CAPTCHA is <i>quitest</i>, obviously the superlative of <i>quite</i>.)John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-73406432131484367112009-12-18T22:35:48.213+00:002009-12-18T22:35:48.213+00:00Whither irony?Whither irony?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-67194174313667045292009-12-18T20:40:51.619+00:002009-12-18T20:40:51.619+00:00I guess Richard Howard-Bolton is very possibly fis...I guess Richard Howard-Bolton is very possibly fishing for a response just like this one, but if you speak you have an accent. The word refers to how you speak, so you can't speak without one. A correct response to "is that an accent I hear?", although inevitably unpopular or over the head of the questioner, would be "yes, because someone spoke".Cameronnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-74144322685089557792009-12-18T18:36:36.281+00:002009-12-18T18:36:36.281+00:00The interesting thing about "gone missing&quo...The interesting thing about "gone missing" is that as far as I know it is not regarded in the UK as slangy at all. It's just a normal phrase which anyone might use in any situation. I can imagine it being used in the most sober of situations such as in court for example.<br /><br />I've never heard "staycation" in normal speech myself. I'd be surprised if it is still in use in a few years time.Andy JShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15819413906544791899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-49716496066052827352009-12-18T15:06:47.598+00:002009-12-18T15:06:47.598+00:00I read your earlier piece on AVIC and, living here...I read your earlier piece on AVIC and, living here in the Colony (actually just near it, north of Dallas), I find it wonderful. I've lived off it for 30 years!<br />Of course the downside of being English in the US is that I have a bad case of ethnodeficiency (see <a href="http://howlandbolton.com/essays/read_more.php?sid=17" rel="nofollow"> here</a> or <a href="http://howlandbolton.com/essays/read_more.php?sid=236" rel="nofollow">here</a>) and people <b>will</b> insist on saying how they like my accent when I don't even have one.Richard Howland-Boltonhttp://howlandbolton.comnoreply@blogger.com