Post AZjKY9kUXLiovSrXCS by AccordionBruce@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by AccordionBruce@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #AZjJGFbfv35bvWdXfc by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-09-13T16:24:01Z
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In my poll from a few days ago, nearly all of you thought it was not wrong to use the verb "contacted" in the sentence "She immediately called an officer at the Naval Intelligence Service, who in turn contacted the FBI."I was surprised to learn that decades ago, people objected heartily to using the word "contact" as a verb. This came up when I interviewed Steve Kleinedler, formerly of the American Heritage Dictionary for the Grammar Girl podcast this week. 1/X
(DIR) Post #AZjJMiWDL1zLKiALKa by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-09-13T16:25:09Z
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What was most interesting and new to me was that the argument wasn't just about "verbing nouns," but also about "contact" being too vague. People argued you should say someone "called," "wrote," or "told" someone else something. Part of me wonders if the increase in the number of ways we have to communicate helped drive the acceptance of "contact" as a verb. Now we can also fax, text, and message, for example. 2/X
(DIR) Post #AZjJVijdu0HebwjwjQ by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-09-13T16:26:46Z
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Acceptance has been gradual, however, so if all these new ways to communicate were part of what led to greater acceptance, it was probably only a small part.In 1988, 65% of the panel said this sentence was fine, and in 2004, it was up to 94%.Check out the whole podcast (episode 945) to learn more about the usage panel and what happened to the American Heritage Dictionary. 3/3APPLE PODCASTS: https://applepodcasts.com/grammargirlSPOTIFY: https://spoti.fi/454uDte (We're still working on the transcript.)
(DIR) Post #AZjJk5EF4JaCQZtwzQ by gturpin@mastodon.social
2023-09-13T16:29:25Z
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@grammargirl I often default to ‘contact’ when the more specific details are awkward. “I sent them a message on WebEx chat.” Yuck.
(DIR) Post #AZjJmNywJdJJAWqFUW by e_urq@journa.host
2023-09-13T16:29:49Z
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@grammargirl Your explanation makes a lot of sense. Not just are there a lot of ways of getting in touch with someone, some are pretty obscure. "Sent her a private message on Instagram" "Filled out the contact us form on the organization's website" "discussed the issue with him on an invite-only online forum for ornithologists, in a thread where they were the only two active."Sometimes you'd much rather be vaugue about it, when the method of contact is obscure and distracting!
(DIR) Post #AZjJqR0N1AavheRR4K by sogerald@masto.ai
2023-09-13T16:30:32Z
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@grammargirl It does seem likely the increased number of contact methods drove acceptance. It's appropriate/easier/more succinct to use "contact" when one doesn't mind which contact method is used: voice, text, email, etc.
(DIR) Post #AZjJumgsKjQi7NOgAS by maco@wandering.shop
2023-09-13T16:31:20Z
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@grammargirl I am very surprised to hear that "contact" as a verb is newish in English because "contactar" exists in Spanish, so I just assumed it was one of those words we got from Latin-via-French!
(DIR) Post #AZjKY9kUXLiovSrXCS by AccordionBruce@mastodon.social
2023-09-13T16:38:29Z
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@grammargirl I wonder if “Friend” is heading this way tooNot only thanks to the button on social mediaBut now we know people on social media as our friends, who we have never met, but we may discuss them in real life as if we know them Are they our friends? How else do we refer to them without using more complicated language like, “this person I know only from Instagram”
(DIR) Post #AZjMFzWY0varuSo3V2 by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-09-13T16:57:36Z
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@AccordionBruce There have definitely been times when I've debated whether to call someone I only know from online as a "friend."
(DIR) Post #AZjN08wLKzBSQxsYPg by sqfreak@mstdn.social
2023-09-13T17:05:51Z
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@grammargirl Verbing weirds language. https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1993/01/25
(DIR) Post #AZjNJpPxd9mHg77QxM by UnCoveredMyths@writing.exchange
2023-09-13T17:09:30Z
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@grammargirl I must have been on the cusp of that change. I don't remember contact ever being anything other than a verb.Except a movie title.
(DIR) Post #AZjRfaNQdGSFDXZ4WO by AccordionBruce@mastodon.social
2023-09-13T17:58:15Z
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@grammargirl It’s a stumbler. What do we call them? “Person I only know online but have talked to most every day for years”
(DIR) Post #AZjRnNExMFfSn8JcsC by AccordionBruce@mastodon.social
2023-09-13T17:59:39Z
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@grammargirl Mostly those are the ones I wish were nearby to be friends in real life
(DIR) Post #AZjU8zV4VGq1RTHyOO by EclecticLee@digipres.club
2023-09-13T18:25:48Z
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@grammargirl I had a very similar thought when Mr. Kleinedler gave the very specific list of alternatives, but I don't think the timeline matches up. It seems "contact" was already widely (but not universally) accepted before we all got cell phones and the Internet. But the generic "contact" as a verb is practically a necessity with so many ways to contact someone today.
(DIR) Post #AZjUVS6moq6mXXdkR6 by EllenInEdmonton@mstdn.ca
2023-09-13T18:29:54Z
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@grammargirl So many nouns have been verbed!I was never aware that contact was originally just a noun since I've probably used it more often than not as a verb.
(DIR) Post #AZjWiN96mSysp10y7k by mrkwlsn@mastodon.social
2023-09-13T18:54:48Z
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@grammargirl there’s a series of mid-century mystery novels I enjoy whose genius detective strongly disapproved of using “contact” as a verb. I always wondered why. Mystery solved!
(DIR) Post #AZjYt0vFwm8UzUjmWe by ShariBaby@c.im
2023-09-13T19:19:05Z
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@grammargirl As long as they don’t say “reach out,” I’m good.
(DIR) Post #AZjbR3KXhWAADFvKF6 by ianRobinson@mastodon.social
2023-09-13T19:47:41Z
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@grammargirl That’s what I thought. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how the third party was contacted.
(DIR) Post #AZjiG8Gbhq1416p4Ns by orionkidder@writing.exchange
2023-09-13T21:04:05Z
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@grammargirl It would be interesting, if we had the data, to look at exactly when this happened and how people use it. Your explanation is plausible, but now I wonder if we can test it.I also think "contact" sounds more sophisticated or technical, the way people say "utilize" instead of "use," just bc it has more syllables and sounds vaguely Latin.
(DIR) Post #AZl5Tloc7rDlihjn4y by LikesCookies@twit.social
2023-09-14T12:59:02Z
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@grammargirl I think "contact" is more acceptable now as well because our devices have "Contacts" in them.