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"Infos" please

A

aridash

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Joined
Nov 29, 2005
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before i ask this question, i want to highlight im not knocking anyones English, as my command of foriegn languages is zero and i respect anyone who can speak English as a second langauge. most of you chaps i dont even realise are foreign unless the location says so.

unless... you use the word "infos" for info. why is this used in the plural form? i've never understood this, but it seems universal amongst non-native English speakers to use "infos" or "informations", where does this creep in? is it a plural word in other langauges? this has been bugging me for years
 
Well, cant speak for other languages, but in danish we have words that has plural where english doesnt.. eg. In danish we say: "en information, flere informationer" ("one information, several informations" if you translate directly.. The s-plural you englishmen normally got is the "-er" bolded.. Same with money.. Many Danes drop into the "many money" trap because we say "mange penge" .. "mange" can be directly translated to "many".. I sometimes catch myself almost doing it.. LOL

Hope that gave you some form of explanation..
 
In Zim there would also be an "s" after many things.

I think it boils down to a multiples of responses required.

And thinking about it, we use it ourselves with words like "News" - ie what is new today? Watch the - or What is the "News" being a multiple of new events etc

Info, New - Infos, News

A lot of people that take the time to get conversant with the English language tend to put their own practical spin on it. Or just make it up based on the rules they have been taught heehee. After all, the English language is not a logical or easy thing to learn, and I applaud those that give it a go :tongue2:
 
safara said:
A lot of people that take the time to get conversant with the English language tend to put their own practical spin on it. Or just make it up based on the rules they have been taught heehee. After all, the English language is not a logical or easy thing to learn, and I applaud those that give it a go :tongue2:
Click to expand...

Yeah English has for example

a) Tear and.....
b) Tear.

One means water leaking from an eye
And the other means to rip.

Two different meanings, said two different ways, meaning totally different things.

a)There
b)Their
c)They're

as well.

Funny old language. :)
 
In German the word "Information" means one piece of information and "Informationen" (plural) has the same meaning as the English word information. Germans also use the colloquial word "Infos" for "Informationen" so when it comes to Germans speaking English, this may be the cause of them using "Infos" for information.

:wise:
 
Mega said:
Yeah English has for example

a) Tear and.....
b) Tear.

One means water leaking from an eye
And the other means to rip.

Two different meanings, said two different ways, meaning totally different things.

a)There
b)Their
c)They're

as well.

Funny old language. :)
Click to expand...

Reminding me of a pic I saw on FB today.. :p click me
 
ReZume said:
Reminding me of a pic I saw on FB today.. :p click me
Click to expand...

Funny thing that got me staight away with that pic is in England we dont call aubergine a egg plant thats in USA. :D

For me my dad was from the east end so i learnt cockney slang, but when i moved to Midland's tfive years ago they used differnt words again. Like Tab in london means cigarette, but midlands it means ear. I was always told English language was hardist to learn as we have so many words for one item or one word can have so many meanings.
 
bigdaddy trim said:
For me my dad was from the east end so i learnt cockney slang, but when i moved to Midland's tfive years ago they used differnt words again. Like Tab in london means cigarette, but midlands it means ear. I was always told English language was hardist to learn as we have so many words for one item or one word can have so many meanings.
Click to expand...

A fag in the UK means a cigarette and in America something totally different. ;)

So does Bum come to that.
 
Mega said:
Yeah English has for example

a) Tear and.....
b) Tear.

One means water leaking from an eye
And the other means to rip.

Two different meanings, said two different ways, meaning totally different things.

a)There
b)Their
c)They're

as well.

Funny old language. :)
Click to expand...

Not to speak of:

pronounced /ˈboʊ/
Bo (martial arts weapon)
Bow (Bow and arrow)
Beau (a boyfriend)
Bow (a ribbon on a present)
Bow (used with a violin)

pronounced /ˈbaʊ/
Bow (to bend over at the waist)
Bow (opposite of the stern of a ship)
bough (branch of a tree)
etc

ugh

In English, 'information' is a mass noun so its not countable. If you add more information to the information you still have information. You can make it countable by adding a measure word like 'pieces.' I have 2 pieces of information.
 
Mega said:
A fag in the UK means a cigarette and in America something totally different. ;)

So does Bum come to that.
Click to expand...

Yes, "smoking some fags" can have quite a different meaning in those countries. :D

Edit: Another word that comes to mind is fanny. I don't think fanny packs would be very popular in the UK. ;)
 
Mega said:
A fag in the UK means a cigarette and in America something totally different. ;)

So does Bum come to that.
Click to expand...

thanks Mega you just solved two more mysteries of the UK english for me. When someone asked me for a fag outside the Uni building I was seriously wondering how I could have offended them to call me that. :laugh: I was able to make the connection to the cigarette meaning eventually though. ;)
 
XeroX2 said:
thanks Mega you just solved two more mysteries of the UK english for me. When someone asked me for a fag outside the Uni building I was seriously wondering how I could have offended them to call me that. :laugh: I was able to make the connection to the cigarette meaning eventually though. ;)
Click to expand...
In high school we had a student visiting from somewhere in the UK. While doing class work he asked me if I had a rubber he could use. I laughed so hard I got a detention.
 
thoreau said:
In high school we had a student visiting from somewhere in the UK. While doing class work he asked me if I had a rubber he could use. I laughed so hard I got a detention.
Click to expand...

Classic :lolup:
 
Utfart=exit
Slut=end

In Swedish ... Always crank people up
 
Audrey Cheerful said:
In German the word "Information" means one piece of information and "Informationen" (plural) has the same meaning as the English word information. Germans also use the colloquial word "Infos" for "Informationen" so when it comes to Germans speaking English, this may be the cause of them using "Infos" for information.

:wise:
Click to expand...

thats good infos, i'm going to keep an eye if this is a predominantly German speaker thing. the first person i noted it with was a german speaking Swiss. i notice it with Dutch Belgians I work with, Dutch being pretty similar to German.

bigdaddy trim said:
... I was always told English language was hardist to learn as we have so many words for one item or one word can have so many meanings.
Click to expand...

while others say its easier, as theres no genders to learn, its less strict grammar for everyday conversing (dont let your english teacher or pedents hear that) and generally very flexible. you can make up words and people will go with it. like pluralising "info" ;)
 
aridash said:
twhile others say its easier, as theres no genders to learn, its less strict grammar for everyday conversing (dont let your english teacher or pedents hear that) and generally very flexible. you can make up words and people will go with it. like pluralising "info" ;)
Click to expand...

That would be "English" and "pedants", thank you very much :p
 
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