Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Username

Andrew Littler

Member Since

December 26, 2011

Total number of comments

1

Total number of votes received

10

Bio

Latest Comments

Littler

  • December 26, 2011, 11:24am

The use of "littler" as an adjective is relatively modern and despite now appearing in several dictionaries, I would still maintain, is grammatically incorrect. If I have two brothers and I am the eldest, then one is my younger brother, the other is my youngest brother. Even if you allow for "littler" being correct, the word would none the less refer to the physical size of your respective brother, not their age. Using language in the correct way has nothing to do with elitism, it facilitates understanding. What is the point of communicating with someone, in the same language, if they are not going to understand you. Gitit?