Language usage that annoys you

[Ani]

.

The mixing up of then and than in writing is another one as I don't understand how it happens (other than as a result of a typo/autocorrect). Are they homophones in some accents? To me at least their pronunciation is quite distinct, unlike there/their etc.

Yes they are homophones to me.

The only one that really bothers me is misusing using myself. "Give it to myself or Michael". For the most part people only do this when they are trying to sound formal, not when they are speaking one on one.

[limey75]

I remember Mark Twain complaining in his amusing book "The Awful German Language" that almost every other word out of a German's mouth was "also" (thus, so). I can't say I've noticed this too much myself but I do find it a very useful filler word!

[Speakeasy]

"Only" as a misplaced modifier annoys me. For example, "I only speak English" equates to:
I cannot understand spoken English,
I cannot read English,
I cannot write English,
I only speak this language.

Generally speaking, in English, with a view to avoiding ambiguity, adjectives and adverbs should be placed as closely-as-possible to the word that they modify. Valid exceptions occur in English; however the example that I provided above is extraordinarily common and it is quite simply wrong. The corrected version would be "I speak only English"; that is, "I speak no language other than English."

EDITED: Formatting

[Cainntear]

We have "someone", "anyone" and "no one".

Don't you mean "no-one"? "no one" would only exist in phrases like "no one man should have all that power.

I direct the reader to Muphry's Law...

Since I am an American speaker of English and live in the Americas I refer you to grammarist.com

Fair enough, but that feeds back to my point about the loss of the space/hyphen/one word distinction in writing compound words. Maybe Americans just don't use hyphens much at all....

[Serpent]

Hyphens are a hassle on touchscreen devices. This trend isn't limited to English.

[tastyonions]

We have "someone", "anyone" and "no one".

Don't you mean "no-one"? "no one" would only exist in phrases like "no one man should have all that power.

I direct the reader to Muphry's Law... ;)

Since I am an American speaker of English and live in the Americas I refer you to grammarist.com

Fair enough, but that feeds back to my point about the loss of the space/hyphen/one word distinction in writing compound words. Maybe Americans just don't use hyphens much at all....

I wonder if we were the first to do away with "to-day" and "to-morrow."

[galaxyrocker]

"Only" as a misplaced modifier annoys me. For example, "I only speak English" equates to:
I cannot understand spoken English,
I cannot read English,
I cannot write English,
I only speak this language.

Generally speaking, in English, with a view to avoiding ambiguity, adjectives and adverbs should be placed as closely-as-possible to the word that they modify. Valid exceptions occur in English; however the example that I provided above is extraordinarily common and it is quite simply wrong. The corrected version would be "I speak only English"; that is, "I speak no language other than English."

EDITED: Formatting

See, to me, "I speak only English" sounds off. "I only speak English" would certainly be the most natural way to say "I speak no language other than English", and that would be the default meaning, with the others you said being secondary and dependent upon things like stress.

[limey75]

The corrected version would be "I speak only English"; that is, "I speak no language other than English."

You're absolutely right, IMHO. But the incorrect version is what most people will say in practice.

AFAIK, this issue wouldn't arise in German or Norwegian, as "Ich nur spreche Deutsch" and "Jeg bare snakke norsk" both sound off. (Natives please correct me if this is wrong )

[tastyonions]

And how about "I speak English only?" For some reason that calls to mind someone stubbornly refusing to speak any other language. "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" "No, I speak English only!"

[leosmith]

It's the "new" usages of existing language that all of the sudden become trendy that annoy me the most. A few years ago it was "perfect". We used it as often as possible. I still hear it way too often from servers in restaurants.

These days it's "I'm just sayin'". Say anything you want, not matter how rude, and follow it with "I'm just sayin'" and the entire thing is supposed to be acceptable.