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English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet

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Re: English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet

#71
My favorite word that's picked up a new meaning (for me, anyway) is trespass, as in "trespassers will be trespassed"[1].

Apparently, using the word trespass as a intransitive verb is correct (albeit archaic) and was used as such in the New Testament, as in forgive those who trespass against us.

[1]http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/trespassers-wil...

Re: English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet

#73
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is close to being complimentary, but it comes across as more of a compliment to Joss Whedon than the subject. At best, it's a neutral expression of fandom. At worst, it's an admission of fanboy (or fangirl) proclivities. Some sort of context is needed to clarify which one.

I like this Because reasons

Again, this is declarative, not complementary. Or maybe you agree with me. This extreme brevity is very ambiguous.

Re: English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet

#74

I'm here, commenting on this because -HN-Timesink

That doesn't seem like a particularly strong example, especially considering the phrase you chose isn't concise. "H N Time Sink".

"I forgot to feed my kids because Warcraft."

"My server melted because Slashdot."

As for Hacker News being a time sink in your life, I don't know that there's a phrase short enough to fit.

"I sunk all my time into innernet forums because single."

Re: English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet

#75
The grammatical class of prepositions changes considerably more slowly than other classes.

We need new nouns and new verbs all the time, because what occupies and what occurs in our environment changes so fast. Interestingly, despite that rapid change, the set of prepositions, the set of conceptual relationships we've chosen to concisely express, stays pretty steady.

It's fascinating to read about a new preposition entering into common usage, because it makes me wonder what new pressures we're collectively facing in describing conceptual relationships. Certainly it could just be Twitter's character limits causing people to drop the "of" in "because of", but maybe other forces caused this construction to have utility now.

My bet would be on an increased expectation that our conversational partners share our context, and our models for understanding why things happen the way they do, because internet.

Re: English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet

#76
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is close to being complimentary, but it comes across as more of a compliment to Joss Whedon than the subject. At best, it's a neutral expression of fandom. At worst, it's an admission of fanboy (or fangirl) proclivities. Some sort of context is needed to clarify which one.

I like this Because reasons

My favorite example of this one: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnw17vhAgu1qhhhaco1_500.gi...

Re: English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet

#77

Maybe it's just me, but the "prepositional because" is usually deprecative of the subject. The article details the implications of the prepositional because: "It conveys focus... It conveys brevity... But it also conveys a certain universality." People use it when they're busy, drunk, or absent-minded to be self-deprecative. As in: "Maxed out my credit card because too much beer!" But people also use it to disparage…

> In fact, I'm having a hard time coming up with an example of a "because X" clause that has complimentary implications. I added bacon to my milkshake because delicious. I don't normally like superhero movies, but I went to see the Avengers, because Joss Whedon.

"I added bacon to my milkshake because bacon!"

Re: English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet

#78
I first heard this construct in a Deep Thought by Jack Handey, from the mid-nineties I believe:

"After I die, wherever my spirit goes, I'm going to try to get back and visit my skeleton at least once a year, because, 'Hey, old buddy, how's it going?'."

I still laugh about it, and the main reason it was funny to me was the odd (but humorously apropos) use of the word "because."

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