Hello,

I have a really weird question...I notice that when looking through the boards, I "hear" people say things like " On plan" and "close to goal"...what is my question? Why the omittion of the word "the", like "on the plan", and close to "the" or "my" goal...

It's not like it's a bad thing, but I notice it as a trend, and I was just curious . I figure that I'll never know if I don't ask... I also only notice it on weight loss blogs, and I heard one of my coworkers say she was close to goal...when I asked her about it, she said she really didn't know.

Okay, disclaimer: I do not think I am perfect, nor do I think I do not have strange quirks, so please don't blast me for asking a curiosity question. I know that online there is not eye contact nor body language to help others understand the intent behind a post.

I also notice that I never say " I am going to go to the bathroom", I say "I have to go the bathroom"..it's because I talk so fast....

No offense taken here....

I think it's just lingo that has developed... "diet speak" I guess - and it's human nature to copy the things you see other people do. Actually, considering a comment that my teacher made last week, maybe all of the "the's" are being sent to other phrases. She said she didn't understand why a sentence containing the word "parents" now is almost always expressed (by college students, anyway) as "the parents". For example: "Yeah, I had to spend time with The Parents last night."

Anyway, every subculture develops a sort of shorthand for things they say frequently, and this seems to be ours. I think a lot of these come from Weight Watchers, too, by the way, who has a marketing dept full of people whose job it is to develop lingo and catch phrases for the programs.

I don't know, really, that's just (in) my humble opinion! (IMHO)

-Lala

It goes along with my general "language is arbitrary" philosophy. If communication is accomplished, does it really matter what words we use?

Now, I admit that I'm one of the biggest word nerds around (my degree is in English grammar), but this one doesn't bother me. I think of it sort of like using those terms as a slightly different part of speech. When we say "close to goal," it's more like, "close to Goal," using "goal" as a proper noun. It's like saying, "close to New York" rather than "close to the city." Does that make sense? As for "on plan," it's almost the same concept. Part of my brain wants to hypenate those phrases, though that is not accurate in all cases. But I relate it to being "on time" or "off track."

I don't know if that helps or even makes sense. That's just how I think of it.

One other possibility is that people come here for camaraderie and leaving out the personalization helps in that. My plan might be very different from your plan, but we can both be on plan, just different ones. Also since we have different plans and goals not using “the” might avoid people feeling that someone is advocating one plan over another. If I say I am on the plan, it makes it sound singular - like there is only one plan to be on. This could make someone who follows a different plan than me feel uncomfortable.

Here's the answer: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...2&postcount=19

I don't think that (the previous poster's link) answers the question at all. Things like "lol," "g2g," "brb," and the like are typically used to save time typing, so they are usually used in instant messaging and cell phone text messaging. On these boards (and in blogs), though, I don't think omitting a single word such as "the" or "my" is done to save time. After all, many of us have been known to practically make a novel of a post at times

You know, I'm a technical writer by profession, and I've really never even thought about it. I do, however, sometimes hyphenate "on plan" when used as an adjective with a noun ("I made an on-plan choice," but not in the case, "I was on plan today.") Maybe that's wrong, but it makes sense in the little grammar bubble in which I live

Of course, my writing on here is MUCH less structured and professional than in the office, so I know I don't follow all grammar rules at all times like I would in, say, a proposal, but I still make an effort.

What really kills me is when someone says they "weight" a certain amount. Ooh, or recently at work, people have been mixing up "personnel" and "personal." Hello, two TOTALLY different things!

Hmm, I just wrote "at work." Not "at the work" or "at my work," but simply "at work." Maybe being "on plan" is like being "at work" or "in line." I know when I am at the store, I am waiting "in line," not necessarily "in the line." I don't think it has to do with the preposition, but perhaps with the noun. It seems we skip the "the" with non-solid (I know there's a real word for that, but I can't think of it right now) nouns. For example, "home" could be anywhere for anyone, so I am "at home," but a house is a solid, physical object, so I am, therefore, "in the house." In baseball, the on-deck batter is next up "to bat," a general position, yet he steps up "to the plate," a physical object. Am I on to something, or am I just talking myself in circles? So, reason would have it if we said we were "on the plan," we would be referring to a specific plan. Maybe?

If nothing else, language and communication are fascinating. I cringe when I realise that someone here is a teacher or english major. I don't write near as goodly as I used to.

Perhaps the omission of the words 'my' or 'the' goal indicates a lack of faith. If it isn't 'mine' or 'the one', I have distanced myself from it. The old magic gift as opposed to something I've worked toward and earned????

agree!

(See how I omitted I from "I agree!"? I'm trying to save time or be really lazy and just submit the shortest possible response!)

LESS COFFEE FOR YOU!!! (or - java 4 u in l33t sp33k) LOL!

JILLYBEAN~ Now you have me SCARED

Wow! Thank you all SO MUCH for your responses! I was actually quite nervous about putting that question out there because I didn't want people to take it wrong.....yesterday, after I posted, I noticed how often people do omit words, including myself. Maybe I notice it more when it's typed?

I eat breakfast, not "the " breakfast...I also agree w/ the proper noun thing, like I go to Church, but not to "the" church. I love the idea that "on plan" re-iterates that we are all working on a plan of some sort, and this way our comraderie is re-enforced...

Also good to know that there are other word nerds out there. Word on the " I weight this much" thing, another one that gets me is " I want to loose this much", but I've even caught myself doing it, maybe because I see it?

Who would have thought that a word question could actually develop into a fairly intellectual/philosophical discussion?

Wow! This was one of the craziest threads that I have read, lol.. You people are cracking me up, I LOVE IT!! IT is good to get off the subject of weight loss every once in a while.