I continue to hear “bring” when the speaker means “take” instead.
Problem:
The verbs “bring” and “take” are not interchangeable.
Explanation:
As I wrote last year, one should use “take” when one is telling the listener to transport something to a location other than where one currently resides. One should use “bring” when one is telling the listener to transport something to a location where one currently resides.
I am revisiting this topic to say that I believe that use of “bring” instead of “take” supports two linguistic hypotheses:
- It supports my “Devolution toward Simpler” hypothesis. The verb “bring” is simpler to say than is “take”. The NG sound in “bring” is simpler to say than is the K sound in “take”. One can let the ending of “bring” trail off; in contrast, one must distinctly pronounce the ending of “take” to ensure that listeners understand what one said.
- It supports an avoidance-of-negative-connotations hypothesis. I believe that people unconsciously avoid “take” in favor of “bring” because of negative connotations of “take”. These negative connotations come from such phrases as “on the take” and “getting taken”; “bring” has no negative connotations, as far as I am aware.
Solution:
Use “bring” when the person making the request is at the destination.
Use “take” when the person making the request is NOT at the destination.