Phrases, Words and Mispronunciations That Bother You
- Thread starter Jaylotw
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The English own the language, so I can't complain that their pronunciation is often quite different from "American"/U.S. English, but it is a jolt sometimes. Schedule is shed-dual in proper English, and scedual in U.S. And controversy is con-TROV-ersy in English and CON-troversy in U.S. I've always been amused at how the English enjoy butchering French-derived words, using English phonetics to sound them out in devastating un-French ways. I think it is part of an ancient rivalry, but the English are unaware of it, which makes it more stinging. Since I struggled long years to learn French, but never got beyond reading novels in the language, I somewhat understand. But my wife and I loved Paris -- her fourth or fifth trip, but my first. Ooh-la-la.
I kinda think if anyone owns the language, they are finding it harder and harder to be stewards of standards, be they grammar, idioms, spelling or speech.
Of course you are as write as squid in a bucket.
I think people who balk at words,
And who hear scratches upon chalk boards from phrases,
Are miserable wretches wanting and loving
Language over meanings
When clearly truth presides and stretches, despite words.
And who hear scratches upon chalk boards from phrases,
Are miserable wretches wanting and loving
Language over meanings
When clearly truth presides and stretches, despite words.
I hate the way you used that word!
Ha ha!I have a friend who says that she hates the way the word "moist" sounds and feels to say. And, while I did post about the word "cart" being offensive to Southern ears. That doesn't mean that it really offends my ears.
Hell, half the stuff I hear sounds terrible, but more so just in the what they're saying than how it affects my eardrums.
I have a friend who is Indian, and he helps me out every now and then, odd jobs and such. I love the sound of what he says, but I always have to cup my hand behind my ears to request he slow down and say whatever he said again. I feel like he gets aggravated, but he talks so fast, and with an accent that is really, really hard for me to understand. We do speak more slowly down here.
And, some English, Irish, and Scottish accent in movies... I usually have no idea what the characters are saying. If I can, I will turn on subtitles for most movies. Otherwise, I just have to guess what is going on with those characters.
Scottish is the hardest. I don't know the linguistic technicalities, but I wonder if it's a dialect rather than an accent, or something like that.
I was in Brussels once. The Scottish football team was coming to play, and there were thousands of Scots in town for the preceding week. I partied with some of them, and we spoke the universal language of Belgian ale, but I was dismayed at how poorly I understood them. Afterwards, I started listening to Scottish hip-hop, and it has made a big difference.
I had said this on another thread, but... my wife's car has a GPS system that I have no idea how to turn off without messing up her settings. And, she either has it set on Australian or Scottish, and it drives me nuts. The few times I use her car, I am constantly yelling, "What?" Then, of course the car responds to me, and I have no idea what it says again. I am usually half crazed by the time I pull back into the driveway.
So, eschew the use of said electronic maniacal device!
Remember maps?
I am afraid the recent generation will have no concept of N, S, E, W, as most GPS's will rotate the map to the direction headed. My car has a setting that leaves in on North, but I can't see how to make my iPhone behave.
Remember maps?
I am afraid the recent generation will have no concept of N, S, E, W, as most GPS's will rotate the map to the direction headed. My car has a setting that leaves in on North, but I can't see how to make my iPhone behave.
You beat me to it. To be fair, this might be a legitimate marketing term suggesting a range of pricing, I suppose, but not in any context or usage I've ever encountered. And why do people use "whom" when they don't know how to use it? Same reason as the former, I suspect.
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