Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: to give importance/to attach importance

Someone I know claims that the expression "to give importance to" is utterly 
incorrect and should be replaced no matter what by "to attach importance 
to", which in my humble opinion is quite as correct as the former one. What 
do you say?
Thanks!
Tschau,
Enrico il Pentolaio.
-- 
Buffy: "...it's not a book thing. It's a phone thing."
Spike: "Who you gonna call?"
Spike: "God. That phrase is never going to be useable again, is it?" 

 do you say?
Although I feel like I've heard the latter not so often, a quick
Google search showed 259000 results for "attach importance" and "134000"
for "give importance".
-- 
Salvatore Iovene
http://www.iovene.com/

 
"utterly incorrect" is a bit too strong. It may not be the most common of 
those two expressions, but it's certainly not wrong.
I seem to hear "lend importance to" more frequently than either of the two 
cited.
-- 
Joey DoWop Dee
Remember: It is To Laugh

 cited.
Uh, good to know. Thanks!
Tschau,
Enrico il Pentolaio.


 for "give importance".
Yeah. I made that search some time ago, but I was actually looking for any 
possible differences of both meaning and usage which would make one be 
correct, and the other not. Apparently, they can be used indistinctively, 
though.



It is heard, but most common of all similar phrases is "lend credence to".
Joe from Massachusetts

 former one. What do you say?
You are right. It is well within the boundries of common speech. Use it with 
disdain toward any naysayers. 

 It is heard, but most common of all similar phrases is "lend credence to".
Doesn't that mean "dare credito a", not in a financial way of course?


 Use it with disdain toward any naysayers. 
I certainly will.
:-)


 (I wouldn't like to cut any bad figures... you know!)
Yes. It's really just a matter of personal style and preferences. You don't
always have to choose to say something the way that the plurality of native
speakers choose, as long as you choose an acceptable usage. I would say it, 
I have said it, and I will say it again.


It is banal, unimaginative and not idiomatic. You can "give" anything to
anything. "Give" is the all-purpose word which you reach for when your brain
is tired and doesn't want to exert itself.
Joe from Massachusetts


Yes, but don't confuse the English "give credit to" with "dare credito a".
Joe from Massachusetts

 is tired and doesn't want to exert itself.
Beh, certo. "Attach" un po' più ricercato di "give"... nella prova scritta 
del CAE o del CPE metterei "attach" pure io. Questo pero' non implica che 
l'altra espressione, seppur a tuo dire "sempliciotta", non si possa usare, 
come invece afferma la persona che mi ha fatto nascere il dubbio iniziale.
Grazie anche a te per la risposta!



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Joe! Give me a break!   :-P
Sorry: Lend me a break.
May I have a break, please?
Proffer me a break??
May I borrow a break, but I probably won't return it????
Is there a break anywhere in the offing???
A break, however slight, would really come in handy right now.
Who here has a break that I could take over?
A break, a break; my humble kingdom for a break.
Break me, Hogface!  8-D
Ouch, I think I just broke my jaw.


 Ouch, I think I just broke my jaw.
ROTFL!


 Grazie anche a te per la risposta!
Don't be swayed by personal prejudice. This phrase "give importance" is no 
different than many other commonly used expressions you may "give". No one 
will even blink an eye if you use it. The use of "attached" is perfectly 
fine, often used, and slightly more stilted and formal in tone than "give". 
You may use both with impunity, at no detriment to the perception of your 
intelligence. 

 come invece afferma la persona che mi ha fatto nascere il dubbio iniziale.
In italiano "attribuire" importanza è più ricercato di "dare" importanza,
ma la seconda forma è più comune ed entrambe sono idiomatiche.
Da quanto hai capito, è lo stesso in inglese per "attach" e "give"?

 wrote in message
news:12vjg48...@corp.supernews.com...
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"Attach importance to" has achieved the status of idiomatic phrase. Stilted
and formal phrases are used much less frequently  than their common cousins,
but in this case, "attach importance to" is used about twice as much as
"give importance to", which gives the lie to its being classified as stilted
and formal.
Joe from Massachusetts

 classified as stilted and formal.
Getting defensive there Joe? Sorry to negate your analysis in public, but
frankly the evidence you state doesn't "give the lie." All it proves is that
"to attach importance" occurs more frequently in essays, white papers,
journals, newspapers, blogs, and other written publications on the internet
than does "to give importance." In fact, if you change the phrasing to "give
as much importance" and "attach as much importance," suddenly "attach"
becomes the underdog (which also proves nothing).
In a rare attempt to be generous, I bothered to ask a very good professional
textbook editor about the phrases after reading your "opinion." She agreed
that both are perfectly acceptable phrases. "Give" is used in casual speech,
without fear of bodily harm from the language police or even most 
egotistical bigots, and it is less formal in tone than "attach importance". 
If I can paraphrase another poster on this topic, "give us a break."

 wrote in message
news:12vrom0...@corp.supernews.com...
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«Garzanti: importanza
[-]
attribuire, dare - a qlco.,
to attach importance to sthg.: »
Joe from Massachusetts