Zydruna Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Before I moved to this area I had never heard these two words used incorrectly like this. Frankly, if you had told me that some people actually think it is correct to say "I need to sale my car" or "Target has shoes for sell" I would have sworn you were pulling my leg. Since being here however, I see it happen DAILY, coming from different people from all walks of life. It makes me :cursing: every time!! I told dd that if she doesn't learn anything else from our homeschooling, she WILL learn the difference between "sale" and "sell!" Anyone else have a grammar/vocabulary error that is common in your region that drives you nuts? 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 It drives me crazy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 That one makes me twitch. Are you in the south, by any chance? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I had no idea this takes place. I'm going to go ahead and consider myself lucky. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflowerlady Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Thank you. It needed to be said. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydruna Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Are you in the south, by any chance? Of course :rolleyes: Most "southernisms" don't bother me, and some I even find charming, but this one nearly gives me hives and I hear and see it constantly. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 One of my biggest pet peeves. Do you know how hard it is to not be *that* person on the FB for sale groups correcting everyone? The struggle is real. Oh so real. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Sell and Sale gets me too. I don't see it too much, but occasionally I will. I see loose weight a lot instead of lose weight. The one that makes me cringe every single time is "I seen ..."; what happened to saw or have seen? 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I just assumed the "sale" thing was from Latino immigrants. I see it on Craigslist all the time. If native speakers are doing it to, then I need to officially shudder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydruna Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 I think the use of "sale" as a verb in the south may be a result of the southern drawl - as in "se-ell"- and then when people heard it they altered the spelling to match the sound. That doesn't explain the usage of "sell" as a noun though. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I see this online in comments various places all. the. time. I could care less. slow breath. count to 10. . . . . It's I could NOT care less people!!!!! oh, and c/sh/would "of" instead of c/sh/would have. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I have a friend from a very particular region of the south and he pronounces "sell" as "sale" and "sale" as "sell" as well as swapping other words of that ilk like "hail" and "hell." He's literate and spells them correctly; that's just how he pronounces them. If he weren't so aware of it and careful with his spelling, I can imagine he would spell them the way they sound to him. Do you happen to live along the border of North and South Carolina, close to the mountains,by any chance? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydruna Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 c/sh/would "of" instead of c/sh/would have. :iagree: This one bugs me too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Do you happen to live along the border of North and South Carolina, close to the mountains,by any chance? Not the person you were asking, but I'm not in the South and still see the sell/sale mix-up frequently. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydruna Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 I have a friend from a very particular region of the south and he pronounces "sell" as "sale" and "sale" as "sell" as well as swapping other words of that ilk like "hail" and "hell." He's literate and spells them correctly; that's just how he pronounces them. If he weren't so aware of it and careful with his spelling, I can imagine he would spell them the way they sound to him. Do you happen to live along the border of North and South Carolina, close to the mountains,by any chance? Nope, closer to the KY- TN border. When I first started hearing it, I attributed it to the accent it didn't really bother me. Then I started seeing it written that way, even on formal documents written by well-educated people. Now, even when I hear it spoken it bugs me because I can no longer give the benefit of the doubt that the speaker wouldn't most likely use the wrong written word too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I've never heard or seen that before! Probably a regional thing. It would bug me too. :willy_nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Similarly, when I was little another little girl told me her mother was in ''gel''. I had no idea what she was talking about, and she finally had to go into a bit of detail to make me understand that her mother was in ''jail'', so then I felt terrible. They had just moved to California, but I don't know where they'd come from. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I think the use of "sale" as a verb in the south may be a result of the southern drawl - as in "se-ell"- and then when people heard it they altered the spelling to match the sound. That doesn't explain the usage of "sell" as a noun though. Well, they are pronounced exactly the same by everyone I know. Not a lick of difference when you hear them. My favorite: ideal instead of idea..As in, "I have no ideal how you would do that!" It is a very localized usage... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydruna Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Similarly, when I was little another little girl told me her mother was in ''gel''. I had no idea what she was talking about, and she finally had to go into a bit of detail to make me understand that her mother was in ''jail'', so then I felt terrible. They had just moved to California, but I don't know where they'd come from. I had a very frustrating conversation with a co-worker shortly after moving here in which she was telling me about her daughter using "crowns" to create some project (I forget the details of it) and I could not for the life of me figure out how crowns would have anything to do with what her daughter was making. Finally, after about 20 mins of back and forth confusion, I finally figured out that she was talking about crayons! :lol: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Before I moved to this area I had never heard these two words used incorrectly like this. Frankly, if you had told me that some people actually think it is correct to say "I need to sale my car" or "Target has shoes for sell" I would have sworn you were pulling my leg. Since being here however, I see it happen DAILY, coming from different people from all walks of life. It makes me :cursing: every time!! I told dd that if she doesn't learn anything else from our homeschooling, she WILL learn the difference between "sale" and "sell!" Anyone else have a grammar/vocabulary error that is common in your region that drives you nuts? You must be in the South. I had NEVER heard these words used in this way until I moved to NC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydruna Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 My favorite: ideal instead of idea..As in, "I have no ideal how you would do that!" It is a very localized usage... Yes, I hear that one here as well. Thankfully I have never actually seen it written that way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyLady Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Well, they are pronounced exactly the same by everyone I know. Not a lick of difference when you hear them. My favorite: ideal instead of idea..As in, "I have no ideal how you would do that!" It is a very localized usage... Yes! My DH used to do this when we first started dating. At first I thought I was hearing him incorrectly and then when I called him out on it he had no idea it was wrong. He learned it from his father, who still uses it incorrectly. One that I've been seeing more and more often is 'an' instead of 'and.' Is 'and' really too long to spell out or do people not realize the word actually has a 'd' on the end?? :confused1: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I've noticed a lot of people around here use the word ornery. It is a great word! I love it! I use it all the time. But they use it incorrectly. As an example, at a PT eval one of my kids was cracking up over a whoopee cushion. He had never seen one and thought it was the funniest thing ever. The PT kept talking about how ornery he was and how he was going to be a handful because he is just the orneriest kid and so on. She meant boisterous or enthusiastic. It was making me twitchy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 A "suit" of furniture (bedroom suit as opposed to "suite") drives me nuts. It may be correct - I'm not really sure - but I hate it! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I've seen "grant it" several times used in placed of "granted." I think really horrible things about the people that do this. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Sell and Sale gets me too. I don't see it too much, but occasionally I will. I see loose weight a lot instead of lose weight. The one that makes me cringe every single time is "I seen ..."; what happened to saw or have seen? I dunno'. I seem to have a lot of loose weight hanging right over my waistband. :coolgleamA: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Re: ornery Alternative meaning: Although the majority of participants agreed with the dictionaries, a strong minority of participants had a completely different definition and had heard of no other. These participants, including myself, believe "ornery" to mean a good-spirited trickster, a cute yet exasperating individual, or someone who is mischievous (with a positive connotation). Many thought of a favorite and sweet wily grandparent or an adorable child who is always pulling April-fools-type tricks. The individuals who recognized this definition primarily came from the Midwest. Only a few participants recognized both the majority and minority definitions of the word. A few participants fell somewhere between the two definitions, i.e., a prankster but in the negative sense. (The whole thing is worth reading, including the comments.) Seems to me as a basic principle of lexicography that speech is primary. If a "strong minority" of speakers disagrees with the dictionary, then it is the dictionary that is at fault - not the speakers. If we were to say that one definition of ornery is wrong, why not say they're both wrong because the word is "really" just ordinary, and should be used with that pronunciation and meaning? (Of course, I have no idea what the original sample size was here.) Language change is an amazing thing, isn't it? Look what happened to "silly"! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Yes, I hear that one here as well. Thankfully I have never actually seen it written that way! Which tells me you live fairly close by. And, by your description of where you are (states nearby), you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I see that on occasion here too. The sign error that bugs me most is when people put letters backwards on signs. Not in situations when you can assume 'they ran out of the letter N so they are using an upside down U instead"....that I can kind of forgive. But the ones where letters like the capital letter N is backwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom23Boys Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 There is no difference in the way "sale" and "sell" sound where I live. Most people do use the correct spelling though. At least that I see. I am in south Louisiana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I see that all the time here! Many people have their "chester drawers for sell" on the local Facebook page. :rolleyes: They also say "I seen," which drives me crazy! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleinMN Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 "Borrow" it to you. No, you will LOAN it to me. One lady said that she and her husband had gone to the bank to get a loan, but that her husband's parents had borrowed it to them instead. Definitely, makes me nuts. I wanted to ask her....why did you go to the bank? "To get a LOAN, right?" Ugh. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Well, they are pronounced exactly the same by everyone I know. Not a lick of difference when you hear them. My favorite: ideal instead of idea..As in, "I have no ideal how you would do that!" It is a very localized usage... Here it is idear instead of idea. It is mostly people in their late 60's and older that I hear use it, so I find it cute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 "Borrow" it to you. No, you will LOAN it to me. One lady said that she and her husband had gone to the bank to get a loan, but that her husband's parents had borrowed it to them instead. Definitely, makes me nuts. I wanted to ask her....why did you go to the bank? "To get a LOAN, right?" Ugh. I take it you don't adhere to the traditional loan/lend distinction? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I struggle with people getting "than" and "then" mixed up. I just don't understand how that happens. It used to be something I only saw in people from the US, but I've seen it slowly creeping into natives here now too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 My turn. Why do people now say they are standing 'on' line?? Or they have to get 'on' line at the checkout?? Is there a line drawn on the floor and everybody is actually standing on it? Doesn't 'on-line' refer to the internet? Several years ago, didn't everybody wait 'IN' a line? This drives me crazy! :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 The people are around here confuse "let" and "leave" all the time. For example: I forgot my money so I had to let my groceries on the counter. Or: Leave me help you with that. They also don't do gerunds correctly. Instead of saying, "These dishes need washing," they'll say, "These dishes need washed." "The roses need pruned." "The tired needs fixed." I have since found out that it's a very common thing in this area, the dropping of the -ing. Some sort of PA Dutch thing that goes all the way up to Pittsburg and maybe Ohio. It drives me crazy. DH's family does this, though he doesn't, and he defends them in it. He found an article that stated that it's some sort of dialect and the people who do this have no clue that they're wrong. But they ARE wrong. And it drives me bonkers. I never, ever correct them, but I secretly cringe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 on craigslist. rod iron. . . . . um, no. this is what happens when people don't read actual books with good grammar and spelling. they start spelling things phonetically - even if the phonetics are wrong. though I did once cover for an office aid who filed phonetically . . . . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I think the use of "sale" as a verb in the south may be a result of the southern drawl - as in "se-ell"- and then when people heard it they altered the spelling to match the sound. That doesn't explain the usage of "sell" as a noun though. That's what I was thinking. In certain accents, sale and sell would be said identically, along with pin, pan,& pen. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 My turn. Why do people now say they are standing 'on' line?? Or they have to get 'on' line at the checkout?? Is there a line drawn on the floor and everybody is actually standing on it? Doesn't 'on-line' refer to the internet? Several years ago, didn't everybody wait 'IN' a line? This drives me crazy! :confused1: On line is the normal way to say it in the NYC area, and has been forever. In fact, it's a well-known NYC shibboleth. Maybe your area has had a recent influx of New Yorkers? DH's family does this, though he doesn't, and he defends them in it. He found an article that stated that it's some sort of dialect and the people who do this have no clue that they're wrong. They aren't wrong. They speak a different dialect from you. The rules that are okay in that dialect aren't the same as the rules that are okay in your dialect, but objectively, they are of equal value. Even if you speak SAE, that dialect isn't better or worse than any other ones. rod iron. . . . . What an amusing eggcorn! I'll have to submit it to the database, though I bet they've seen it before even if it's a new one by me. It's not the most common phrase, and we don't really use the word "wrought" anymore since "worked" move in, so it makes sense that people would reanalyze the phrase "wrought iron". Edit: Turns out they already have it, and have since 2005. I'm a day late and a dollar short, as always. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Where I live no one misuses those words like that. Weird. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Re: ornery Alternative meaning: Although the majority of participants agreed with the dictionaries, a strong minority of participants had a completely different definition and had heard of no other. These participants, including myself, believe "ornery" to mean a good-spirited trickster, a cute yet exasperating individual, or someone who is mischievous (with a positive connotation). Many thought of a favorite and sweet wily grandparent or an adorable child who is always pulling April-fools-type tricks. The individuals who recognized this definition primarily came from the Midwest. Only a few participants recognized both the majority and minority definitions of the word. A few participants fell somewhere between the two definitions, i.e., a prankster but in the negative sense. (The whole thing is worth reading, including the comments.) Seems to me as a basic principle of lexicography that speech is primary. If a "strong minority" of speakers disagrees with the dictionary, then it is the dictionary that is at fault - not the speakers. If we were to say that one definition of ornery is wrong, why not say they're both wrong because the word is "really" just ordinary, and should be used with that pronunciation and meaning? (Of course, I have no idea what the original sample size was here.) Language change is an amazing thing, isn't it? Look what happened to "silly"! I grew up in the mid-Atlantic region and ornery was used with the positive connotation there. I didn't know about a negative connoation until I was in college. And yes, dictionaries are kept updated based on how speech patterns change. There are certain criteria for when a word enters the dictionary and when a new definition is added. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I see that all the time here! Many people have their "chester drawers for sell" on the local Facebook page. :rolleyes: They also say "I seen," which drives me crazy! I have seen "chester drawers" since the 70's when it would show up repeatedly in the Pennysaver ads. Another was "Rot Iron" or "Rod Iron." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 When I visit family in OK we always go antique shopping. The last time I was there, one shop had a hutch full of knick-knacks with two hand-written signs taped to the glass doors. Both said, "FILL FREE TO OPEN". I was wishing I had a red marker or pen on hand, but sadly I was forced to walk away without correcting it! :lol: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 They also don't do gerunds correctly. Instead of saying, "These dishes need washing," they'll say, "These dishes need washed." "The roses need pruned." "The tired needs fixed." I have since found out that it's a very common thing in this area, the dropping of the -ing. Some sort of PA Dutch thing that goes all the way up to Pittsburg and maybe Ohio. It drives me crazy. My SIL/work partner speaks this way. I silently scream every time. Her family of origin was Pennsylvania Dutch (which is an interesting bastardization itself; they are not Dutch, they are Deutsch - German). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 On line is the normal way to say it in the NYC area, and has been forever. In fact, it's a well-known NYC shibboleth. Maybe your area has had a recent influx of New Yorkers? I live in New York and it wasn't like this a decade ago. I've had many conversations with other confused New Yorkers who wonder the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I don't live in the south, sale and sell are not pronounced with a southern drawl (i.e., sell doesn't sound like sale), and yet I still see them used incorrectly. All the time. It's plain 'ol ignorance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harm Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Where I live the most common misused word is brought instead of bought. "I just brought a new car." Really? No, you didn't bring it anywhere, you bought it! Drives me batty. I even corrected a guest in our home by accident once. I think I offended them. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I live in New York and it wasn't like this a decade ago. I've had many conversations with other confused New Yorkers who wonder the same thing. I live in NYC and have my whole life, and I adamantly disagree. As proof, I give you Do You Speak American?, which was produced 10 years ago and based on work going back to the 1980s. They specifically mention "on" line.There is also the Dialect Survey, which was completed in 2003. It certainly was like this a decade ago. You simply didn't notice much, and are now grappling with a recency illusion. Happens to everybody. I first noticed "if you would have $VERBed" in place of SAE "if you had $VERBed" a few years ago and began to see it everywhere. At first I thought it was a neologism, but then I realized it'd been going on for decades and I just hadn't noticed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applethyme Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 "Can you borrow me...." Drives me crazy! :cursing: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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