I would guess that I see the phrase "your welcome" on the web and in emails more often than "you're welcome." I think what's happening is similar to the evolution of "good bye", which was derived from "god be with you".
I don't know if people are consciously associating "welcome" with a possessive modifier. Do these people think that it would be appropriate to say "our welcome" or "their welcome"? People never say "bad bye" or "great bye", but they also never say "bad morning" or "great evening".
Most Chinese students cannot be persuaded that "your welcome" or "you're welcome" is not the semantic equivalent of "bu ke qi" or "bu yong xie". I can talk about phatic communion etc., but unless I've taught the students a great deal of grammar, they will automatically dismiss my point.
My point is that communication is a sharing of mental perceptions. Everyone has personal physical perceptions of light and sound. How personal are the phrases that supposedly represent most people's mental perceptions? Grammar reveals who and what have shaped our thoughts.
Your welcome!
Your Welcome!
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woodcutter
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Google has the correct version at about double the incorrect, which is closer than I would have guessed.
Then again, many people, after all, always try to be informal on the internet and never fuss about time-consuming punctuation which would only make them look stuffy anyway.
(Hmm, and a comma in that particular ugly sentence after punctuation would make it non-defining, which isn't what I mean to do!)
I think that, and the fact that many people just don't really distinguish the two at all ever, is more likely than confusion about the possessive since the Chinese (if it revolves around them at all) are unlikely to find the exact translation of your welcome, "ni de huanying", very correct seeming.
But then again (again!), "ni shi huanying" perhaps sounds even worse, and it could be how they think of the correct version, because they only use "welcome/huanying" as a verb (right?).
Then again, many people, after all, always try to be informal on the internet and never fuss about time-consuming punctuation which would only make them look stuffy anyway.
(Hmm, and a comma in that particular ugly sentence after punctuation would make it non-defining, which isn't what I mean to do!)
I think that, and the fact that many people just don't really distinguish the two at all ever, is more likely than confusion about the possessive since the Chinese (if it revolves around them at all) are unlikely to find the exact translation of your welcome, "ni de huanying", very correct seeming.
But then again (again!), "ni shi huanying" perhaps sounds even worse, and it could be how they think of the correct version, because they only use "welcome/huanying" as a verb (right?).
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woodcutter
- Posts: 1303
- Joined: Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:14 am
- Location: London
Though to accept the woodcutter/lorikeet thesis you have to believe that people drop the e as well as the apostrophe, for some reason.
I think perhaps they do, because otherwise it looks odd.
There are 21 million examples of youre against 610 million for you're. Given the 2/1 ratio numbers I gave above, I suggest that supports the argument a little bit.
I think perhaps they do, because otherwise it looks odd.
There are 21 million examples of youre against 610 million for you're. Given the 2/1 ratio numbers I gave above, I suggest that supports the argument a little bit.