Wai_Wai  +  49984 Tue, 12 Oct 04 07:34 AM Peculiar 1. "Peculiar", "strange", funny" Do you think if they have difference in meaning? 2. Have you ever heard of people saying: - I'm peculiar (=ill). - I'm funny (=ill). It is said to be informal usage. But is that common? 3. (Modified after the 2nd post) Peculiar/funny vs ill vs sick - I'm peculiar (=ill). - I'm funny (=ill). - I'm ill. - I'm sick. Do you think if they have differences in meaning? 4. Is the word "peculiar(ly)" / "peculiarity" common in spoken language? Thanks a lot! ^^ 5. (Newly added after 2nd post) "Peculiar" Meaning: to be something that only a particular person, place, thing, group etc. has; somethin which is exclusive to them. Eg: It is an accent peculiar(=exclusive) to the north region This species of bird is peculiar(=exclusive) to Asia. It is my peculiar(=sepecial/particular) opinion on this issue. Wai_Wai Joined on Mon, Sep 27 2004 Full Member 125 I am NOT a native English speaker. Correct me if I make any mistake. Any comment is perfectly welcome. One idea: I advocate acronyms used at a min because: - difficulty to... Accents

	CalifJim  +  49995 Tue, 12 Oct 04 07:58 AM Wai Wai, There should be no "if" in that sentence. It should be Do you think they have any difference in meaning? 1. They can be used without much difference in meaning. Consult a dictionary. 2. 3. No. To communicate the sense of "ill", you have to say I feel funny. The use of peculiar in this context is not common in the U.S., although it can be used with the same meaning as funny. 4. peculiar is used in spoken language, and so is peculiarity; neither is very common, and neither is very rare, but I guess that peculiar is the more common of the two. peculiarly is not used at all as far as I know. CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,465 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

	Wai_Wai  +  49998 Tue, 12 Oct 04 08:10 AM You are American, right? There should be no "if" in that sentence. It should be Do you think they have any difference in meaning? Thanks for your correction. The reason why I use "if" to construct this statement: I wish to say: - Do you think whether (or not) they have any difference in meaning? I use "if" casually: - Do you think if they have any difference in meaning? > 1. They can be used without much difference in meaning. Consult a dictionary. So you treat them equally. That's ok then. The purpose of asking this is to know if English native speakers commonly treat them obviously differently. Turning to a dictionary couldn't get what I would like to know. > 2,3. So if we say: - I am funny/peculiar (it will mean you are strange in appearance, behavior etc.) - I feel funny/peculiar (it will mean you feel ill) Right? Wai_Wai

	Wai_Wai  +  49999 Tue, 12 Oct 04 08:11 AM Q3 is modified for the first post: 3. (Modified after the 2nd post) Peculiar/funny vs ill vs sick - I'm peculiar (=ill). - I'm funny (=ill). - I'm ill. - I'm sick. Do you think if they have differences in meaning? 5. (Newly added after 2nd post) "Peculiar" Meaning: to be something that only a particular person, place, thing, group etc. has; somethin which is exclusive to them. Eg: It is an accent peculiar(=exclusive) to the north region This species of bird is peculiar(=exclusive) to Asia. It is my peculiar(=sepecial/particular) opinion on this issue. Wai_Wai Accents

	CalifJim  +  50001 Tue, 12 Oct 04 08:22 AM The only way to say that in English is "Do you think they have any difference in meaning or not?" but the "or not" is redundant. Sorry! "Do you think if" is impossible! :( "Do you know if ..." is quite common, however. 2,3. I am funny / peculiar. = strange in appearance, behavior. Yes! I feel funny / peculiar = I feel ill. Yes, sometimes. But also = I feel unusual. I feel an unusual feeling. I feel a strange feeling. For example, you may say "I feel funny" if you feel dizzy. You might not be ill, just dizzy. CalifJim

	CalifJim  +  50003 Tue, 12 Oct 04 08:31 AM It is rather common to use "peculiar to like this: It is an accent peculiar(=exclusive) to the north region This species of bird is peculiar(=exclusive) to Asia. But not like this: It is my peculiar(=sepecial/particular) opinion on this issue. "peculiar opinion" means "strange opinion" You could say, "This opinion on the issue may be peculiar to me" but a more likely sentence is "I may be the only one with this opinion." I've mentioned "funny", "peculiar", "sick", and "ill" in another post. Read the part about "dizzy" and you'll see that they don't all mean exactly the same thing. CalifJim Accents

	Wai_Wai  +  50005 Tue, 12 Oct 04 08:34 AM "or not" here may act as a mild emphasis (comparing with there's not). You may say it is redundant anyway. > I feel unusual. Do you mind to explain more about the meaning of "unusual" here? Say, if you feel something/someone is unusual happening, can I say you feel funny/peculiar? To me, it sounds like it is mostly, not to say always, connected to our body/health in this sense. >I feel an unusual feeling. > I feel a strange feeling. Feel strange. Is it better to say: - I have an unusual feeling. - I have a strange feeling. - I feel unusual. - I feel strange. Wai_Wai

	Wai_Wai  +  50006 Tue, 12 Oct 04 08:40 AM To sum up what you say: When "peculiar" means "special, particular, exclusive" etc., it is common to use predicatively, but not attributively, ie: It is an accent peculiar(=exclusive) to the north region. It is a peculiar(=exclusive) accent in the north region <-- uncommon! Wai_Wai Accents

	nona the brit  +  50040 Tue, 12 Oct 04 01:54 PM My own perspective on: Funny, peculiar, ill, sick. Funny is used in Britain in the sense of 'I feel a bit funny' or 'Are you alright, you look a bit funny?' It usually means someone is a bit faint, or dizzy or nauseous. Peculiar 'I feel a bit peculiar' might be used by someone about themselves but is less common. You wouldn't say someone else looks peculiar as it could be taken as an insult! Ill - covers most situations Sick - not really used as much as the US (I believe) to indicate general illness. Refers to nausea/vomiting (and is the standard noun used for vomit). We also use in the sense of 'off-sick' from work, or a 'sick-note'. To go back to 'funny', we have a jokey expression in England that is a common response to a statement along the lines of 'Pete's a funny bloke'. We would say, 'funny ha ha, or funny peculiar' to distinguish between his being humorous or odd. nona the brit Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004 England Veteran Member 11,713 The name says it all. Nouns