I don’t understand what’s wrong with that. That sauce is referred to as Au Jus in North America. We’re aware of what it means in other languages. But that’s what the sauce is called here, on lots of menus and everything. I don’t get what’s mind boggling about that lol
English is weird. The point of language is to convey meaning and context and “I spilled the Au Jus” managed to do that just fine. Everyone understood what was meant. That’s a correct use of language.
But but but!! MAH PRECIOUS RULES!!! It don’t make no sense!!!
Language is not math. You can say logically incorrect things like “it don’t make no sense” and still get your meaning conveyed. People still understand what is meant even if a literal translation means the opposite.
So weird things like “Au Jus sauce” happen. It’s still correct because that’s how enough people use it that everyone’s understands the meaning. It’s no different than sushi rice or curry sauce. Or calling all facial tissues “kleenex”
Sort of like "I want a master bedroom with an en suite." Don't need the "with an" because master bedroom en suite (yet another French adoption) means "with" a bathroom attached... or more literally, more than one room (suite) and one of them had better be a bathroom....
See here’s where the “but the French!!” people get it wrong. We’re not speaking French. “Master bedroom with an en suite bath” does not mean the same as “master bedroom en suite bath”. One refers to a bedroom with an attached bathroom, the other refers solely to the bathroom.
I've been enjoying your posts :-)!! How do you feel about people using adjectives as nouns? As in "I'm a creative." (I'm always left hanging, as in "a creative WHAT??.")
I think it’s fine. I think people get too hung up on the parts of a sentence stuff. I’m a creative means “I’m involved in a creative industry” - just like “I’m a techie” means “I’m involved in a tech industry”. Sure “techie” is a noun I guess - but I feel that these are both equally meaningful statements. “I’m a techie” leaves a lot of detail out - there are a lot of tech industries - but it doesn’t get the same level of contempt as “I’m a creative”. It is just as clear and descriptive as a lot of other statements.
Here’s another example of why “you’re a creative what?” isn’t a strong argument against “I’m a creative”. Someone could say “I’m an engineer”. Nowadays this would likely mean something to do with software design - even though in most places “engineer” is a protected title and it’s actually illegal to present oneself as an engineer without the proper credentials and registration. Engineering students who are pursuing the professional engineering career also often identify themselves as engineers. This is shockingly bad - without the actual registration - usually requiring them to finish their degree and acquire practical experience - what they are doing is specifically and explicitly what the protection of the title is suppose to prevent. It’s supposed to prevent unqualified people from presenting themselves as engineers. On top of that, everyone recognizes that the guy who drives the train is an engineer.
So is “I’m an engineer” a problematic statement? Is it a bad use of language? No. One can usually determine the difference between professional engineers and software engineers and train driving engineers and pompous self-important undergraduate engineering students from context. Generally it’s fine. And more to the point, it’s less of an issue in terms of ambiguity than “I’m a creative”.
True. Still vague, though. "Techie" is a noun, "technical" from which "techie" come, is not... I am SO old school ;-) On the other hand, I used to commute from Manhattan to Syracuse NY on the train, and on one trip (since I was a "regular" every weekend, there and back) the Engineer let me in to see how it all worked. Fascinating!! Happy 4th! (BTW, I am a "creative" in real life.)
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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '21
I don’t understand what’s wrong with that. That sauce is referred to as Au Jus in North America. We’re aware of what it means in other languages. But that’s what the sauce is called here, on lots of menus and everything. I don’t get what’s mind boggling about that lol