[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by whizzkid_ram

^^
You refer the Great Tamilnadu. he he

Nope, RajaTaurus is correct that it is not in TN

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

Abhi, I hear very often 'why because' in the same way instead of just "because", which also belongs to a state and it is not Tamilnadu. Guess it please.

And 'as because' IMO, does not belong to TN. Could be KA or AP.

It is widely used in West Bengal.

[whizzkid_ram]

Here in TN, people used to say "BUT AANA" while talking in tamil.

The meaning of both the words is one and same.

[inreverse]

Teacher with a stick (knuckles smashing wand if I may call it)... Repeat Surrey(ok), Sussex(ok), Massachusetts(ok), Arkansas(whack) ....

[tortoiseNhare]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

An interesting debate - after a long time. I read that page and you know what, I am not convinced.

Mark ought not drink so much sounds completely wrong to my ears.

We need more brains. More opinions.

My friend Nirendra Nath Thakuria is a well known expert in the English language in my region. He has the following to say:

In informal non-assertive contexts the 'to' may be dropped: e.g. They ought not (to) do that sort of thing.

References:

1. New Fowler's Modern English Usage
Edited by R. W. Burchfield
3rd Edition (page 560)
Oxford University Press

2. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language
Edited by Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum
1st Edition 2002, Reprinted 2002 (page 109)
Cambridge University Press

e.g. He ought to take more care.
There is a growing tendency, however, for it to be constructed with a bare infinitival in non-affirmative context (particularly negatives), bringing it closer to the central modals.
e.g. You ought not /oughtn't take any notice. Ought we invite them both?

3. Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (a Merriam Webster)
1989 Edition (pages 701, 702)

4. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language
Ed. Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech and Svartvik
Longman, 1995 (13th Impression, page 139)

It normally has the to-infinitive although occasionally in familiar style the bare infinitive occurs in nonassertive contexts.

[RajaTaurus]

"Why because" is used widely in AP.

[ac 427]

'i will resend the mail again.' used by my juniors

Cheers,
ac

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by inreverse

Teacher with a stick (knuckles smashing wand if I may call it)... Repeat Surrey(ok), Sussex(ok), Massachusetts(ok), Arkansas(whack) ....

Ha ha, that was indeed splendid. Had i been the teacher, I'd have put Kansas before Arkansas!!

Speaking of Surrey, my wife found it difficult to remember that we were staying at Sutton, Surrrey. So I readily solved the problem by telling her that it rhymes with Mutton Curry!

Originally Posted by ac 427

'i will resend the mail again.' used by my juniors

Cheers,
ac

Another oft heard question is 'From where do you come from?'
The best way of making such persons conscious of their mistake is by responding ' from Hyderabad from from'.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

One half expects that sentence to be more like "Sho now ooee ard going to dee-phine, your the, joint phoraysht manayj-maint". The 'ard' is a difficult sound which is pronounceable only in that part of the land.

That was perfect. Always surprised how people of that region pronounce 'r'.

One doesn't have to look far for the origin of the "your the". Just think of the bharnakoolar eekooibhalaynt phrase used to cover the longish pause to recollect the subsequent phrase.

Coming to 'why because' i've heard this usage in TN, AP, KA, WB. Generally people use this whenever they are trying to explain something very patiently

[Ravveendrra]

I guess the "why because" started with a rhetorical "Why?" followed by the answer to the why. Over time people seem to have forgotten that the "Why" is to be followed by a question mark and that the answer (starting with because) is a seperate sentence. It is quite funny to hear people say whybecause as a single word.

eg.: We should avoid plastics. Why? Because they are bad for health and environment.

Cheers,

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Indeed, this thread is delightfully English; it has all the dottiness expected of a thoroughbred Englishman!

Gee, Thanks! for that








(Should I say, "We are like that only"? )
(Will the moderators let me get away with a third smiley?)

[sukrit7]

people often say mileage in place of average.
As far as I understand(i'd like a clarification on this),mileage is the number of miles covered(kms) whereas average km/litre.
Sam, ' is often used in place of ",is it actually correct or just a widely practiced mistake?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Here's one I've noticed: misuse of on time.

One is on time for an appointment; one is in time to catch a train (which might leave on time!); one stops (hopefully) in time to avoid hitting the car in front.

I stopped on time to avoid the accident --- is wrong.

[anupmathur]

And the plural of software is software!
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

I guess the "why because" started with a rhetorical "Why?" followed by the answer to the why. Over time people seem to have forgotten that the "Why" is to be followed by a question mark and that the answer (starting with because) is a seperate sentence. It is quite funny to hear people say whybecause as a single word.

eg.: We should avoid plastics. Why? Because they are bad for health and environment.

Cheers,

Most of the English lingo that we speak are literal translations from corresponding vernacular language. So there will be big influence on how things are spoken in your language when it is translated to English. In Indian languages "because" does not seem to have a single-word equivalent. Most languages used two words to create that meaning. So when we speak, we assume that "because" is not a "standalone" word and add a "why" in front to make it look like "kyon ki". Apparently "because" is an evolved form of "by cause".

[RajaTaurus]

^^That's the precise explanation of why-because. Kudos.