A lot is two words!

[TraceyS/FL]

I don't have enough time to read through all these posts so I hope this hasn't been pointing out a dozen times already. When we do syllabication, my dd always thinks Virginia has three syllables- Vir/gin/ya instead of Vir/gin/i/a. Same with California, etc.

 

Ummm, i'm not the greatest with this - but i'd go with your DD on this one.

 

3 for Virginia - like it shows here http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Virginia

 

4 for California - like here:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/California

 

As a California Native (central coast), i pronounce it like the first one she says. I don't know anyone that says it the 2nd way.

 

I hereby blame my CA public school education for all my misuses and mispronunciations. I learned A LOT in private school. But apparently i can't talk/speak! (nor type)

[Blessedfamily]

Ummm, i'm not the greatest with this - but i'd go with your DD on this one.

 

3 for Virginia - like it shows here http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Virginia

 

4 for California - like here:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/California

 

As a California Native (central coast), i pronounce it like the first one she says. I don't know anyone that says it the 2nd way.

 

I hereby blame my CA public school education for all my misuses and mispronunciations. I learned A LOT in private school. But apparently i can't talk/speak! (nor type)

 

Uh oh! :001_huh:... Well...when the Queen came to Jamestown last year, she said Vir/gin/i/a. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

 

 

Actually, we Virginians say Virginya but I though that was just my Tidewater accent. I didn't know it was correct.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Blessedfamily

[TraceyS/FL]

Uh oh! :001_huh:... Well...when the Queen came to Jamestown last year, she said Vir/gin/i/a. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

 

 

Actually, we Virginians say Virginya but I though that was just my Tidewater accent. I didn't know it was correct.

 

Well, you and I can be correct together! LOL!!

 

But really, these threads stress me out. I never had phonics - Abeka Blend ladders are, well, i have no clue (which is why i HAD to switch to BJU, at least their way makes sense to me).

 

Speech to me is sooo regional, and i tend to pick up things from my surroundings. Should have heard me after a year living with a roomie from Long Island, Chicago and Wisconsin. I was a mess! LOL!!

[Sanguine]

This is what bugs me:

 

would of

could of

should of

 

They would've, could've, should've known better.:001_smile:

 

 

As for the HW sound at the beginning of whether, what and whale, I was taught to pronounce words this way in elementary school. I can remember making one of those construction paper pinwheels attached to a straw. We were told to put our mouths close to the pinwheel and say words beginning with w and wh. The wh words were supposed to make the pinwheel spin.

[Laura Corin]

My DD's teacher annoys her because she does not speak English properly: She pronounces "when" as "hwen".

 

I had to tell DD that she was wrong, along with the rest of us who ignore the h in "wh" when speaking. Thank goodness it's not a criminal offense.

 

'H-wen' just doesn't make sense to me.

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

Ummm, i'm not the greatest with this - but i'd go with your DD on this one.

 

3 for Virginia - like it shows here http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Virginia

 

4 for California - like here:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/California

 

 

Or Cholmondely, or Featherstonehaugh? Give them a try.

 

Laura

[LauraGB]

I just have to admit that I did not know "is because" was incorrect! There are a lot of rules I do know but choose to ignore out of sheer laziness, and that's one thing, but to NOT know it is completely another! I asked my son yesterday morning if he knew that, using "the reason is because I don't like it" and he made a face and stated that "it just sounds weird". Same w/dh. So, if they knew this, why in the world wouldn't they be polite enough to tell me? :glare:

 

It is going to be tough, because it still makes sense to me, but I'm working on it. So, thanks!

[BabyBre]

Anyone else have one that they notice a lot?

 

 

Here's one that's driving us CRAZY these days, not just from kids, but from grown adults as well. "Like". It's just become, like, one of those things that, like, drive us, like, up a wall! I was searching ebay for ds's AP Bio textbook and e-mailed a question to a seller. The reply was, "theres highlighting on like one or two pages". :glare:

 

Mine are all in public school so this is coming home with them. Thank goodness it's not showing up in their writing. We've started a "Like Chart" where they owe a quarter for every "like" used improperly. Pretty effective so far. ;)

[TraceyS/FL]

Or Cholmondely, or Featherstonehaugh? Give them a try.

 

Laura

 

Now Laura, that isn't nice to do to this whole language never had phonics don't know no better girl! LOL!!

 

I could have gotten Worcestershire correct, but the others probably not without hearing them spoken correctly.

 

Worces.ter.shire sauce |ˈwoŏstərˌ sh i(ə)r; - sh ər|

 

According to my Mac dictionary - and i see that they have the ending both ways.

 

Featherstonehaugh - i'll go with 4, fea.ther.strone.haugh

Cholmondely - i'll attempt 3.... chol.mond.ely

 

This is going to be like the time i was in England and had no clue what that person said to me huh? LOL!

[mcconnellboys]

Okay, I've read through several of these and have read threads such as this before. My problem with straightjacketing grammar, spelling, and writing usage is that the English language is the most dynamic and ever-changing in the world. Words are constantly falling into disuse and becoming archaic. New words are constantly on the horizon. Usage of words takes them from being two words, to hyphenated words, to compound words and back again (homeschooling is one in flux that we should all be familiar with right now).

 

The Hip Hop era has brought us a plethora of new word/phrase usage. The cell phone era and texting are perhaps bringing us even more. Computer usage increases over the past couple of decades have accounted for tons of new terminology. The slang of today will be the well accepted usage of tomorrow.

 

If we halt changes to our grammar and usage, where should we do that? At the height of Victorian English, which included regular usage of double negatives - a real no-no today, n'est pas? At the beginning of the 20th century, when regular sentence structure ran on into paragraphs?

 

I tend to be in favor of allowing for local flavor to seep into language usage, accepting whatever comes our way. I think that in the end, we all benefit from the fact that English is perhaps the most versatile and flexible language in use today (at least the only one of which I'm aware).

 

That said, I'll be the first to hammer home appropriate spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. when it comes to formally written papers, but when we're speaking in the vernacular, as on these boards, in conversation with those we know, etc., then I tend to think folks should be able to let their hair down and strive to get their point across. There will always be someone in any nearly any group who may take exception to some word, phrase, mannerism, etc. that we use. I don't think you can ever please everyone, all the time....

[Blessedfamily]

This is going to be like the time i was in England and had no clue what that person said to me huh? LOL!

 

A British merchant here in VA got impatient because I couldn't understand him. He kept saying something was on "sile". Frustrated, he just pointed to a "sale" sign. His co-workers are British too, but I understand them perfectly(like Hyacinth Bucket). They said he's from a different part of England.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Blessedfamily

[Laura Corin]

 

Worces.ter.shire sauce |ˈwoŏstərˌ sh i(ə)r; - sh ər|

 

 

'sh ər' would be the normal British pronunciation when the syllable is on the end of a county name. We only usually use 'sh i(ə)r' when the syllable is on its own, for example in the phrase, 'The bells rang out across the shires.'

 

My mother in law pronounces worcestershire as 'War-chester-shire'.

 

You'll have to work harder on Cholmondely and Featherstonehaugh. Try to discover a way to make each of them have only two syllables.

 

And yes, I did pronounce Yosemite as 'Yoz-e-might' the first time I came across it.

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

A British merchant here in VA got impatient because I couldn't understand him. He kept saying something was on "sile". Frustrated, he just point to a "sale" sign. His co-workers are British too, but I understand them perfectly(like Hyacinth Bucket). They said he's from a different part of England.

 

I'm having a pretty hard time understanding some of my Scottish neighbours. I know I'll get there, but it's not easy.

 

Laura

[Maria from IN]

A British merchant here in VA got impatient because I couldn't understand him. He kept saying something was on "sile". Frustrated, he just point to a "sale" sign. His co-workers are British too, but I undestand them perfectly(like Hyacinth Bucket). They said he's from a different part of England.

 

I had a similar experience with my friends when I was growing up in southern IN. One girl in particular would always want to tell me "how I fell."

 

"How you what?"

 

"Fell."

 

"I don't get it."

 

"You know, my fellings!"

 

"Oh, you mean your fEElings."

 

"Yes, that's what I said."

 

"No, you were talking about chopping down a tree."

 

I never could stand that.

 

I know that this will never be changed, but the word "chiropractic" really bugs me. "So-and-So is a Doctor of Chiropractic." I'm sorry, but the 'ic' at the end speaks of adjective to me. Chiropractic what? Chiropractic medicine, chiropractic therapy, chiropractic dancing, underwater chiropractic basketweaving, anything--just don't leave me hanging like that!

 

Gracious.:001_huh:

[Storm Bay]

I had a similar experience with my friends when I was growing up in southern IN. One girl in particular would always want to tell me "how I fell."

Gracious.:001_huh:

 

This just reminded me of something that happened when I was 16 and we were spending a year in San Francisco (for any who don't know, I'm Canadian by birth and raising). Another girl, who came from a different state (I'll write it way at the end or it will give the story away) was telling me about the plans for her sister's birthday (I think her sister was turning 18).

 

Her: "My grandparents are going to rent a hole."

Me: "Your grandparents are going to rent a hole for her birthday party?"

Her: "Yes..."

It wasn't until the end of the conversation when she said to me, "I'll give you a cole" that I realized that she meant hall, not hole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She grew up in NYC prior to that. Who'd have thought hall could sound like hole? To me, hall & haul are homophones.

[Storm Bay]

I'm having a pretty hard time understanding some of my Scottish neighbours. I know I'll get there, but it's not easy.

 

Laura

 

I had absolutely no idea, despite learning Canadian history, how much influence the Scottish fur traders & settlers had on my Canadian accent until I was an adult. I had no idea how many people think that what comes out of the back end of a horse is ma NOOR instead of ma NYUR or that to most English speakers shone rhymes with cone, not on. But when I visited Scotland there were times when I couldn't understand what was being said, either.

[TXMomof4]

I'm having a pretty hard time understanding some of my Scottish neighbours. I know I'll get there, but it's not easy.

 

Laura

 

Last year I went to visit my sister in England. On the way back to the airport, the shuttle driver was Scottish and I was the only passenger. He started talking and I know I must have looked like an idiot - I couldn't understand a single word the man said. Finally, I said, "I know you're speaking a form of English, but I cannot understand you at all." He said, "I'll talk to you like I do my 2 yo. If I speak very slowly, then can you understand me?" It still took work, but it was hilarious. I told him he needed to spend some time working on a southern drawwwllll.

[mommaduck]

Dutchified phrasing:

 

"It's burny outside."

"We were crayoning."

"He was a ferociously friendly dog!"

 

 

But then, I shouldn't be saying anything as I went from speaking Geche as a child, to learning how to speak in a "proper, no accent, slower, Chicago" manner, back to a bit of my southern ways, and now learning Tsalagi (Cherokee), which is also a speedier language. I remember "slow down; I can't understand you!" being a common phrase stated to me.

Edited November 2, 2008 by mommaduck

[fivetails]

 

You'll have to work harder on Cholmondely and Featherstonehaugh. Try to discover a way to make each of them have only two syllables.

 

 

 

I don't know about the feather one, but I think Cholmondely is "chum-ly" or something, right? There was a user on a different message board with that as her name and nobody could figure it out, then she changed it to the way it's said...she changed it to chumly or chumlee or something - I forget now... (if I'm not mixing words up - pretty sure that was it) .... ?

 

Heh - What you said about Yosemite...reminded me of how I said "Arkansas" until a few years ago....yep, bet you can guess. :tongue_smilie:

[fivetails]

 

"It's burny outside."

 

 

As in hot? We say "slippy" here for when the roads are...well...slippy! :D

[mommaduck]

As in hot? We say "slippy" here for when the roads are...well...slippy! :D

 

Yep, as in hot. I about lost it laughing when I heard it said though.

[yoda]

I really enjoyed this thread, loved reading all the different experiences with language, which is such a fun topic anyway.

Having lived, worked and traveled in many countries with different languages I've had my share of mess ups and misunderstandings.

 

In France I was accused many times of being pretentious when I couldn't understand the french pronunciation of English or German words or places etc. Once friends were talking to me of the .......

 

complex duh deep (trying to render this phonetically the way they said it, almost impossible) and it took me forever to understand they were talking about the ............. oedipus complex.

 

Another time someone told me they were going to see mee ah-mee. I thought they meant mi ami (my friend) and again it wasn't until way further into the conversation that I got it: they were going to see... Miami.

 

Anyway it's always interesting to see how language is not a rigid thing, but people in different places play with it and change it and grammar and spelling continually evolves. Unless we're talking about Latin I suppose.

[Chelle in MO]

I really enjoyed this thread, loved reading all the different experiences with language, which is such a fun topic anyway.

Having lived, worked and traveled in many countries with different languages I've had my share of mess ups and misunderstandings.

 

In France I was accused many times of being pretentious when I couldn't understand the french pronunciation of English or German words or places etc. Once friends were talking to me of the .......

 

complex duh deep (trying to render this phonetically the way they said it, almost impossible) and it took me forever to understand they were talking about the ............. oedipus complex.

 

Another time someone told me they were going to see mee ah-mee. I thought they meant mi ami (my friend) and again it wasn't until way further into the conversation that I got it: they were going to see... Miami.

 

Anyway it's always interesting to see how language is not a rigid thing, but people in different places play with it and change it and grammar and spelling continually evolves. Unless we're talking about Latin I suppose.

I had a friend in college who was an exchange student from Japan. One day we were going out w/a group of girls and I said, "Let's go, guys!" My Japanese friend said, "I thought guys was boys??" She was confused for a minute!

 

Chelle

[Oak Knoll Mom]

or that to most English speakers shone rhymes with cone, not on.

 

And to me, shone, cone, and on all rhyme with each other. :-)

[StaceyinLA]

it drives me mad when I read:

 

"I have some items to sale."

 

It also drives me crazy when people put apostrophes on pluralized words.