WIBU to correct someone's use of English after half an hour of 'ourselves' and 'yourself' [angry]?

[MirandaGoshawk]

Call centre. UK not Bombay or similar. Car insurance policy - DS had sold his car & they had cancelled my insurance as well & I'd just had a letter & found out I'd been driving round for a fortnight uninsured . So after half an hour of "So if yourself could send back the certificate to ourselves" WIBU to say "To US! Send it TO US!!"

Poor girl was silent. She didn't know if she'd been rude or I had!

[PanofOlympus]

No, you wouldn't be U but a bit prickly, if I may say.

Saying 'yourself/himself' is also an Irish mode so it could be an Eire call centre?

[MirandaGoshawk]

No, Scottish. I've had dealings with this firm quite a bit recently and the use of ourselves/yourself instead of you & us just got too much. It sounds daft. Don't know who started this but I find it really annoying. The fact that I was paying X amount per minute (can't remember) for something that wasn't my fault didn't help!

[PanofOlympus]

yes, it's also a bit of a Scottish thing (what with the v close ties between them).
I think it doesn't fit in with 'pedantry' really? And proud pedants generally sort of gently tap people on shoulders and politely ( and some times slightly condescendingly/patronisingly) point out a slight deviation from the correct usage of diction or grammar. Not really shout at someone for a culturally different language use.

Though being massively inconvenienced and mithered to having t oput a companies error correct in your own time must be really really annoying.

[MirandaGoshawk]

I assure you I didn't shout.

[Nanny0gg]

In England it's a new affectation, usually uttered by people who think it's either correct grammar or posh.
Either way, it needs stamping out.

Carry on, OP.

[nickeldaisical]

i would say it.

whenever someone does that on the phone, i roll my eyes and tell them the correct word.
"would that be yourself?"
"you"

[rathlin]

Yes, I think it would be rude to correct someone. I sat in a meeting with the nursery manager recently where she kept saying "I's is very sorry". I could not concentrate on anything she was saying apart from that phrase so understand your frustration but in my case, it would have been bad manners to have corrected her even though I was itching to (and also ask her why the box outside her office full of pens, paper etc. was labelled "Stationary".

[DoverBeach]

I probably wouldn't correct someone for saying it, but I understand why you did in that particular situation. However, I do find the overuse of 'myself' and 'yourself' very annoying.

Dh and I often shout at the television, 'YOU, it's YOU'. This probably means that we are middle aged (for shouting at the telly).

[campion]

Myself = not sure when to use 'I' and 'me'.
Yourself = delusion that it sounds friendlier than 'you'.

[MrsMiniversCharlady]

It's not that new an affectation (and very definitely not an Irish/Scottish thing). I clearly remember having a rant about it to my dad in an Asda carpark in Bristol about 12 years ago

[MirandaGoshawk]

Thanks peeps. Actually this was supposed to be a lighthearted thread - I wasn't really angry, it's just that the constant use grated and sounded ridiculous - faux posh.

And rathlin, presumably because it doesn't move

[CelticPromise]

YANBU. I hate it.

[JessieMcJessie]

Miranda, I once emailed a financial adviser (whom I knew to be very good with money) telling him I wanted to transfer my business to him. He replied "Jessie, great to hear from yourself, if you could just complete the attached form and send it back to myself" we can get the account transferred to ourselves". I never did fill in that form.....

I get it from my Mum, who once said to a cold- caller who asked " do you know that you could reduce your electric bill by 20% if you switch to us?" with "You mean my electricity bill?" before refusing to move to any supplier who could not use the correct grammatical term for the product he was selling.

You beat me to it with the on- moving box crack

[MirandaGoshawk]

Jessie, actually writing it down is even worse than saying it. Soon it'll be in the letters from banks etc - "For great rates switch yourself's current account to ourselves." Aargh. Who started this? I want to punch them

[Mrskbpw]

I agree it's not that new and also very, very annoying. I think it's all come from people thinking they shouldn't say 'me'. It also annoys me when they say 'I' when they should say 'me'.

The lovely John Humphrys has a big rant about it in his book about English...

www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Words-Mangling-Manipulating-Language/dp/0340836598/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351871997&sr=8-1&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[AgathaTrunchbull]

Unnecessary use of 'myself', etc, is VERY, VERY ANNOYING!! Nope, go ahead and shout. Quite right.