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Comment by p4bl0 | Hacker News Reader

I realized reading this that I start many many sentences in French (my native tongue) with "Bon, " which is a strict equivalent. After a quick look at my IRC logs, it seems that a lot of my geek friends do the same. It's funny to see that this cultural trait is not specifically tied to the English language.

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I’m an English and French speaker, and I certainly do it in both languages. In French sometimes it’s even “bon, alors”. I’ve heard in in German with “also” as well.

I'm an English and German speaker and do it in neither. I find it contrived. There's a lot about language usage today that annoys me, like the new trend of being excited for something. You might look forward to something, and be excited about it. I realize that language evolves, so I keep my annoyance to myself. What I struggle with is the prejudice I reserve for those who brutalize a language for little else than being conformational, trendy or contrarian.

"There's a lot about language usage today that annoys me, like the new trend of being excited for something."

Dear Sir/Madam. Congratulations on being eligible for your senior citizen discounts. And why yes, I'm getting off your lawn immediately.

:-)

But yeah, I agree. I am too, how to put it, well past my college years. And yes, I too find more and more things annoying with passing years.

Interesting. After reading your comment, I just realized that practice is common in Hindi and Marathi too, using "Accha" and "Burr" respectively (both of which mean the same as "Bon" in French, i.e. "good" in English). I guess it may apply to many other languages too.

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