MovieChat Forums > Sinister (2012) Discussion > The Death of the English Language!

The Death of the English Language!

posted 10 years ago by TerpStudent
85 replies | jump to latest

When a person is killed by way of hanging by the neck until they're dead, the correct past tense of the verb in this context is "hanged." Unlike the screenwriter and presumably every person in the film who referred to the four hangings in the backyard, I learned this in fifth grade (which was 1999, for me). Any dictionary and/or British film will confirm my profession (which made it all the more comical, ironic and tragic that even Ellison's British wife used the word "hung" incorrectly). I weep for the future of the English language.

Any failure to ignore the trolls will only grant them the satisfaction they seek!

[–] Agent_Mothman 10 years ago

You're kidding me right? If I roll my eyes any harder they will fall out of my sockets.

"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind" ~H.P. Lovecraft

[–] TerpStudent 10 years ago

No, it really is "hanged." It's in the dictionary.

Any failure to ignore the trolls will only grant them the satisfaction they seek!

[–] Agent_Mothman 10 years ago

I don't think you follow. I'm not saying that you are wrong. All I'm trying to convey is that you are blowing this out of proportion. "The Death of the English Language"? Please, this is not a big deal at all. If you want to complain about it's death or something, go look at the way most kids text to eachother!

Anyway, it's really not much different than someone saying octopi instead of octopuses. The majority of people think the former is the correct plural form, but they are wrong. Does that mean it's the death of the English language? Of course not.

"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind" ~H.P. Lovecraft

[–] TerpStudent 10 years ago

Does that mean it's the death of the English language?

It does in the sense that proper use of a language slowly dies out over time. I can only presume that neither the screenwriter, nor anyone else in the film, namely the three lead actors knew they were using the wrong word. When too many actors in a movie are making the same grammatical error and no one during production noticed or cared enough to have it corrected, that's still kind of a big deal.

Any failure to ignore the trolls will only grant them the satisfaction they seek!

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] mpurvismattp 10 years ago

Ok so I get that this "hanged", "hung" thing is really annoying to u, and I understand that it's being used incorrectly quite a bit in the film, I do. The problem with this synopsis is that people misuse words all the time in film, for instance a movie taking place in the south may use a lot of slang rather then proper English because people in the south often use slang to communicate. Most of us use slang in our daily lives either knowingly of unknowingly and movies often reflect this as do many classic novels such as Mark Twains "Huckleberry Finn" or "Tom Sawyer". The point is that characters in books and film are often written or played just like real people and they don't always use proper English when they speak. Now perhaps the makers of this film didn't know the proper English term "hanged" but then again the writers could have penned this slang into their script for a touch of realism.

[–] marcjacobspants 9 years ago

This family should know better. He is a "True Crime" novelist and they have all spent a lot of time with the police. They more than most should know the word is hanged, not hung. Still, I wouldn't start a thread over it. I'd just respond to one.

[–] sam21462 10 years ago

Proper use of language does not die over time, it evolves and changes. Modern English only laughingly resembles what it was in the 16th century. We, in no way, believe that the English language ever "died". It has, however, morphed into something different and it continues to do so today and every day for ever and ever. I have little doubt that English 500 years from now will be as different as it was 500 years ago. I also have little doubt that these changes were caused by people using words incorrectly until the incorrect use became correct. There is nothing to weep for as this is certainly natural and desirable as our societies evolve. It seems, to me, that what you wish for is not preservation, but stagnation.

[–] wight1984 9 years ago

It does in the sense that proper use of a language slowly dies out over time.

You do realise that 'proper usage' is merely convention, right?

Vocabulary and grammar changes over time. If it didn't then there wouldn't be an English language in the first place...

[–] paulsimpsonv 9 years ago

To be fair I agree with your point but the correct plural of octopus is octopodes but all 3 are now accepted in English ?

[–] yatzo376 9 years ago

No its "hung" like my buddy between my legs!😦

"You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine"

[–] mickmaxy 8 years ago

No its "hung" like my buddy between my legs!

Nobody cares for your dangling labia. Beef is hung, people are hanged. Back to school kiddo.

[–] mickmaxy 8 years ago

Beef is hung, criminals are hanged.

[–] beecee101 10 years ago

Where I'm from they don't teach about "being hanged" in the fifth grade nor any grade. From watching older movies (especially Westerns) they flip flopped with the term mostly by character. Did Hawke's character use that improperly? I thunk it was the deputy. :) For real, if Hawke's character said that as a professional crime author I agree slightly with your beef. Great flick.

[–] mariogdll-703-55668 10 years ago

Oh please, I'm sure you're one of those people that says you feel nauseous instead of nauseated. English, as every other language, changes over time when the majority of people begin to use certain vernacular in any particular manner. For instance the word gay. Please, I dare you to say you feel gay every time you are feeling happy.

[–] TerpStudent 10 years ago

Please, I dare you to say you feel gay every time you are feeling happy.

Well, I'm openly gay, so the joke is on you. "Gay" has two different meanings: homosexual or happy. To say a person was "hung" (as in by their neck) is and always has been grammatically incorrect.

At least the writing staff of Everybody Loves Raymond is on my side: http://youtu.be/hr7SUDnKNmA

Any failure to ignore the trolls will only grant them the satisfaction they seek!

[–] mariogdll-703-55668 10 years ago

Lol, I guess the joke is on me. I'm not incorrect, however, in saying that you too use English incorrectly in many ways. Judging an entire movie because of a few grammatical mistakes is just silly.

[–] TerpStudent 10 years ago

Oh, no, don't get me wrong; I actually loved Sinister! It was a well-done, incredibly original horror film with a plot composed of some actual genuine creativity (as opposed to the exploitative blood and gore flicks). Sinister scared the *beep* out of me, especially when I first saw it in the theatre. Guess you could say I'm a huge film buff by day, grammar Nazi by night.

Any failure to ignore the trolls will only grant them the satisfaction they seek!

[–] mpurvismattp 10 years ago

I had a bigger problem with the movie not being very creative or scary personally.

[–] CakeMurphy 10 years ago

Scary? Maybe not. But not creative? Come on, quit being an elitist. This film's storyline is obviously something refreshing that nobody has written in decades. I'll hold it to any horror film written in the last 30 years.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Samus Aran 8 years ago

Oh please, I'm sure you're one of those people that says you feel nauseous instead of nauseated.

I nauseated you, now I feel nauseous. :-/

[–] Theshornwonder 8 years ago

Not a very good example. Hung and hanged at least mean nearly the same thing. Nauseous however is what makes one nauseated. So if you're naseuous then you are making everyone else nauseated. The two words aren't interchangeable.

[–] thebravada 10 years ago

"...every person in the film who refereed to the four hangings in the backyard..."

[–] Phoenix_13 10 years ago

People need to go back to the good ol' days and watch things like Schoolhouse Rock and even Little Rascals. I learned the "Hanged"/"Hung" distinction from the Rascals.

I agree with you, OP. The English language is dying a slow and painful death. It isn't evolution of the language. It's de-evolution. And it has become rampant mostly since the advent of the Internet (chat rooms and message boards) and text messaging.

Destroy all that which is evil, so that which is good may flourish.

[–] glphil 10 years ago

Go read something two hundred years old. THEN tell me language doesn't evolve. To imply English is written in stone and usage, grammar and definitions don't change, would make you very pompous and foolish!

[–] mpurvismattp 8 years ago

Word!!!

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Dauw 10 years ago

Ha. Reminds me of a passage from one of the Song of Ice and Fire books, in which a young woman laments the death of her father:
"He brought them the gold they asked for, but they hung him anyway," she says, to which her mother, the lady Mariya, promptly replies: "Hanged, Ami. Your father was not a tapestry."

This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

[–] perleatsworld-1 10 years ago

Are you really making the argument that colloquial language in a genre film is the death of the language? Colloquialisms have been around since language and you're coming off as a pretentious jerk. Not saying you are, just that you're coming off as one.

[–] thunderztorm 10 years ago

You know how language evolves?

By more and more people deciding a new word or way of writing a form is better than the old one.

Language changes all the time. The second you force a language to NOT change, you are killing it.