Word peeves. I love that name. Word peeves are words that people say that are wrong. Or mispronounced. Regional colloquialism comes into play here. Words that get their meaning across but it grates on the ears of those knowing listeners when these most common words of the English language are just not spoken correctly. I'm not dissing the British or the Canadians or any other culture. Words like "theatre" or "colour" are perfectly alright. It's just the spelling that's different connoting a geographic location.
This has nothing to do with spelling. This is all about speaking the most common words we use everyday. I read blogs and visit websites every day and I'm surprised at just how much wrong stuff is misspelled. We can rant and rave about spelling errors all we want but our kids still grow up with a phonetic ear instead of a correct pencil. During conversations with people at work and in public, it amazes me that a lot of folks speak words wrong. Maybe they just haven't "lernt right". One can discern some origin and territorial and educational information about a person just by having a conversation with the person.
I understand that folks may just "not know any better," but this is no excuse. When newscasters and sports announcers mispronounce words, how many times do you want to tell your buddies or your girl just what an idiot the announcer really is. After all, he's getting the big bucks, right? Why can't he pronounce words correctly? Is pronunciation a requirement to graduate from college? I guess not.
Our own President is often heard pronouncing "new-kya-ler" instead of "new-clee-er". This has been the brunt of smiles and jokes in the media and perhaps even in Britain. I actually heard Mike Ditka, at a preseason football game a few seasons ago, claim that the new Bears quarterback was "hair apparent" (heir apparent) to fill the shoes of the past player. We all knew what he meant. But maybe he just "lernt wrong." He is, after all, "Da Coach."
For now, I'll give you ten words that are most commonly mispronounced. To me it seems a little sad that folks just don't know that they're saying the wrong thing, yet still communicating. Alas.
Asterisk - asterick or astrick
Et Cetera - eck setera
Height - heighth
Across - acrost
Peripheral - perifial
Italian - Eye-talian
Vegetable - vetch-tuh-ble
Recognize - reckonize
Statistic - satistic
Exit - egg-zit
Although you may hear these words and others mispronounced on a daily basis, you'll know. We all know. the speaker of the words lost the way during school when the tongue was developing into maturity.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Word peeves
Computer guy
If you ever thought you know a lot about computers and are perhaps thinking about getting into Computer Tech Support or some other computer related field... pause... and think about it.
You are not unlike a doctor or dentist or some other unique specialist. You are in demand.
Read this poor bastard's story about his life as a tech weenie. Then sit down and reflect on your own aspirations.
The latest UFO vids
There's a YouTube video that's been circulating around the Web that's got people talking. It shows two UFOs flying just a few hundred feet above the camera.
The chatter is: "It's fake. It's real. It's a commercial. It's for a movie. WTF!", etc.
I've looked around and got some new info. Form your own opinion.
First, here's the original video:
I've found a Part 2 for this event:
UFO Haiti sighting part 2
Then there's Part 3:
UFO Haiti - Part 3
Yeah. Well. There ya have it. "Wanco?" WTF?
The most functional English word
Shit ... that's right, shit!
Shit may just be the most functional word in the English language.
You can smoke shit, buy shit, sell shit, lose shit, find shit, forget shit, and tell others to eat shit.
Some people know their shit, while others just don't know shit.
There are lucky shits, dumb shits, and crazy shits. There is bullshit, horse hit, chickenshit and batshit.
You can throw shit, sling shit, catch shit, shoot the shit, or duck when the shit hits the fan.
You can give a shit or take a shit or don't give a shit. Or serve shit on a shingle.
You can find yourself in deep shit or be happier than a pig in shit.
Some days are colder than shit, some days are hotter than shit, and some days are just plain shitty.
Some music sounds like shit, things can look like shit, smell like shit and there are times when you feel like shit.
You can have too much shit, not enough shit, the right shit, the wrong shit or a lot of weird shit.
You can carry shit, have a pile of shit, or find yourself up shit creek without a paddle.
Sometimes everything you touch turns to shit and other times you fall in a bucket of shit and come out smelling like a rose.
Some people drive a piece of shit around town.
When you stop to consider all the facts, shit is one of the basic building blocks of the English language.
Thanks to mandalynn.
C & H complete
Here's a link to what is allegedly the complete collection of Calvin and Hobbes.
You could probably get lost viewing all these classic comics.
Look over by here.
F**king with your mind
Witness a snippet from Bill Nye's "Science Guy" series about illusions.
Yes it's your wonderful brain at work just like your wonderful computer is presenting this vid.
Amazing.
The compact disk turns 25 years old
The CD is now 25 years old. Link to story.
I remember back when it was a fetus-vinyl thing before it morphed into tape.
Now we have iPods and other MP3 playing fetal Zune-looking stuff.
What's next? I think it'll just be a knob. Yep, an MP3 knob. Or an iKnob.
Probably without the silent 'k'.
And now for you kids out there...
Click this link and see how many TV candy commercial jingles you remember.
A nice write up is included by the writer for each vid.
Hey, c'mon. Relive a little bit of your childhood as an adult right now back then.
Thanks to candyaddict.com.
