Devolution toward Simpler

“Bring” vs. “Take” Revisited

Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Verbs, Versus

I continue to hear “bring” when the speaker means “take” instead.

Problem:
The verbs “bring” and “take” are not interchangeable.

Explanation:
As I wrote last year, one should use “take” when one is telling the listener to transport something to a location other than where one currently resides. One should use “bring” when one is telling the listener to transport something to a location where one currently resides.

I am revisiting this topic to say that I believe that use of “bring” instead of “take” supports two linguistic hypotheses:

  1. It supports my “Devolution toward Simpler” hypothesis. The verb “bring” is simpler to say than is “take”. The NG sound in “bring” is simpler to say than is the K sound in “take”. One can let the ending of “bring” trail off; in contrast, one must distinctly pronounce the ending of “take” to ensure that listeners understand what one said.
  2. It supports an avoidance-of-negative-connotations hypothesis. I believe that people unconsciously avoid “take” in favor of “bring” because of negative connotations of “take”. These negative connotations come from such phrases as “on the take” and “getting taken”; “bring” has no negative connotations, as far as I am aware.

Solution:
Use “bring” when the person making the request is at the destination.
Use “take” when the person making the request is NOT at the destination.

“This should be another cumulative criteria.”

Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Nouns, Plurals

I saw this in a document for a software project’s business requirements.

Problem:
The noun “criteria” is not singular.

Explanation:
The adjective “another” means an additional, which requires a singular noun.

The noun “criteria” is the plural of the singular noun “criterion”, which means a standard for evaluation.

Many will use “criteria” when what they mean is “criterion”. I believe that this is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. The noun “criteria” is simpler to say than is the noun “criterion”. In particular, it’s simpler to speak a word that ends with “a” than it is to speak a word that ends with “on” (which has to be held longer than “a”).

Solution:
“This should be another cumulative criterion.”

“Imply” vs. “Infer”

Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Verbs, Versus

I often hear “infer” when people mean “imply”.

Problem:
The verbs “imply” and “infer” are not synonyms!

Explanation:
The primary definition of the verb “imply” is convey or suggest without stating outright.

The primary definition of the verb “infer” is draw conclusions that are not explicit in what is stated.

In other words, “imply” is what the speaker or writer does, whereas “infer” is what the listener or reader does.

Many will use “infer” when what they mean is “imply”. I believe that this is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. The verb “infer” is simpler to say than is the verb “imply”. In particular, it’s simpler to follow the “n” sound with an “f” sound than it is to follow an “m” sound with a “pl” sound. (Try it!) Plus, it’s simpler to speak a word that ends with “er” than it is to speak a word that ends with “y” (which has to be held longer than “er”).

Solution:
Use “imply” when you’re talking about suggesting without writing (or speaking) outright. Use “infer” when you’re talking about reading (or hearing) more than what is written (or spoken).