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Does anyone else find it annoying how Apple referrs to it as 'iPhone'
- Thread starter OrlandoTragic
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I guess it's arrogance on Apple's part, as others have said. Personally, I prefer the "the" before the proper noun. The times when it really becomes annoying are when people refer to freeways without using the article "the" in front of it, such as take 101 to san jose instead of saying take THE 101...
Anybody else feel that way re: freeways?
P.S. Im from southern california if that means anything.
Anybody else feel that way re: freeways?
P.S. Im from southern california if that means anything.
I don't like the sound of the article-free reference to "iPhone." But as others have mentioned, using "the" in front of every reference could get pretty redundant, especially in something like a promo video.
I personally haven't noticed the lack of 'the' before 'iPhone' ... and I had been watching every video I could find about the 3G before it came out. Unless this was after the 3G release? Or maybe I was too busy drooling over the visuals ...
Still, I agree with the lack of 'the' being stupid. Proper noun or not, it's an item, not a person or a named animal.
Still, I agree with the lack of 'the' being stupid. Proper noun or not, it's an item, not a person or a named animal.
Can't be long now seeing as how "truthiness" was around only for a few months before it became the word of the year...
Hmm, to be honest I think that's a geographical thing.
I remember going to L.A. and people telling me "take the 405" and I was like wtf... I had never heard of it referred to like that.
That doesn't really irritate me, its one of those little things about different subcultures that makes me smile.
I've found the freeway thing to be regional. Here in the Detroit area, nobody ever says "the" in front of the freeway number.
But whenever I'm talking about freeways in Cali, I use the "the" in front.
the reason there is no "funnest" is because the usage of the word "fun" as an adjective is relatively recent. The word was originally used as a verb, as it cam from "fon" which meant to befool. Gradually fun shifted to being an adjective (first being a noun, as in "that's great fun", "let's have sopme fun", but didn't attain the forms funner and funnest, due to its slow evolution into an adjective.
So, funnest SHOULD be a word, it just hasn't become one yet.
However, I have no doubt that it will one day, as, if used long enough, words generally attain all the common forms that they "should" have.
One only needs to look at the word childeren, which is plural twice. childer was the original plural form of child, and then the olde english "en" pluralization was added. The only thing that has kept the widespread move to "childerens" is expansive media preserving childeren. However, I don't really see funnest doing the same, because funnest is less awkward in many situations that "most fun". "The most fun iPod ever" is just awkward to say, and funnest doesn't put an existing and established word out of business, like childerens would, it just does away with an awkward phrase. And history generally shows that over time newer forms beat out awkward phrases.
So, funnest SHOULD be a word, it just hasn't become one yet.
However, I have no doubt that it will one day, as, if used long enough, words generally attain all the common forms that they "should" have.
One only needs to look at the word childeren, which is plural twice. childer was the original plural form of child, and then the olde english "en" pluralization was added. The only thing that has kept the widespread move to "childerens" is expansive media preserving childeren. However, I don't really see funnest doing the same, because funnest is less awkward in many situations that "most fun". "The most fun iPod ever" is just awkward to say, and funnest doesn't put an existing and established word out of business, like childerens would, it just does away with an awkward phrase. And history generally shows that over time newer forms beat out awkward phrases.
Yeah, definitely no "the" in front of highway names in Ohio or Tennessee that I have detected.
Arrogant? Yes..but...
...deservingly so.!!
Hey everyone, it's Antaios, your trusty at&t sales rep here!!
Having been in this the cell phone industry since 2001, I can honestly say that the other day a co-worker I were talking about how iPhone is the first phone we call by name. For example if my iPhone is sitting on the counter, and I want my co-worker to pass it to me, I actually say, "Can you pass me my iPhone?"
Now you may not think much of that because you do the same but I will say in 7 years I never called any other of my phones by their names, I never said, "Can you pass me my Sony Ericsson s710, my Nokia 6230, my Blackjack, etc, etc, etc." It was always, "Can you pass me my 'phone' ?" iPhone has changed the game in so many areas... Maybe it's because we all have iPhones and we are trying to distinguish, "...pass me MY iPhone as opposed to YOUR iPhone" but I don't think so. I think iPhone has earned the right to be called by its title: iPhone.
...deservingly so.!!
Hey everyone, it's Antaios, your trusty at&t sales rep here!!
Having been in this the cell phone industry since 2001, I can honestly say that the other day a co-worker I were talking about how iPhone is the first phone we call by name. For example if my iPhone is sitting on the counter, and I want my co-worker to pass it to me, I actually say, "Can you pass me my iPhone?"
Now you may not think much of that because you do the same but I will say in 7 years I never called any other of my phones by their names, I never said, "Can you pass me my Sony Ericsson s710, my Nokia 6230, my Blackjack, etc, etc, etc." It was always, "Can you pass me my 'phone' ?" iPhone has changed the game in so many areas... Maybe it's because we all have iPhones and we are trying to distinguish, "...pass me MY iPhone as opposed to YOUR iPhone" but I don't think so. I think iPhone has earned the right to be called by its title: iPhone.
Well, that IS Detroit...
Now in places like Lake Orion and Auburn Hills, we actually have edujamakation!
I used that spelling to better point out the etymology. it was originally childeren, then the first e got dropped. Guess I should have made that clearer.
Using phrases such as "the 101" for a road is regional to California and the Northeast. Most anywhere else, people will look at you strangely.
But then, I'm originally from the South, and when I'd ask someone up North to mash a button, they looked at me weirdly too. Heh.
As for "the iPhone" vs "iPhone", yes it's definitely a haughty thing.
Just like when I worked for NSA. (Not "the" NSA, as civilians say.) Ditto for CIA. Both organizations considers themselves to be unique.
As the inside story goes, people say "God", not "the God"... so why would anyone say "the CIA" ?
But then, I'm originally from the South, and when I'd ask someone up North to mash a button, they looked at me weirdly too. Heh.
As for "the iPhone" vs "iPhone", yes it's definitely a haughty thing.
Just like when I worked for NSA. (Not "the" NSA, as civilians say.) Ditto for CIA. Both organizations considers themselves to be unique.
As the inside story goes, people say "God", not "the God"... so why would anyone say "the CIA" ?
Using phrases such as "the 101" for a road is regional to California and the Northeast. Most anywhere else, people will look at you strangely.
But then, I'm originally from the South, and when I'd ask someone up North to mash a button, they looked at me weirdly too. Heh.
As for "the iPhone" vs "iPhone", yes it's definitely a haughty thing.
Just like when I worked for NSA. (Not "the" NSA, as civilians say.) Ditto for CIA. Both organizations considers themselves to be unique.
As the inside story goes, people say "God", not "the God"... so why would anyone say "the CIA" ?
I worked for the DOJ, and basically the rule for the CIA and NSA guys I talked to was they normally referred to the CIA as "central intelligence" with no the. CIA would sometimes be with the the, and sometimes not, but when they said the full name out they always said "the central intelligence agency."
Its kind of weird in some respects that for universities, its the opposite. Saying "the" in front of the name is the arrogant way to do it, like The USC and The Ohio State University, etc.
