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Words or phrases that annoy you (even if you can't explain why) . . .
- Thread starter usagora
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We have words with --
- The same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings -- jet - mineral, colour or engine
- The same pronunciation but different spelling and meanings -- there, their or they're
- Similar spelling but different pronunciation -- through, though and thought
- And then there's bow, bow and bough -- "He made a bow as he presented the bow made from a yew bough."
If you can say that properly three times in a row quickly, you are probably safe to drive.
Don't forget the same word can be a noun or a verb depending on pronunciation: record, object, conduct, produce.
IIRC, there is something like that in Dune, where Paul has two names given to him. One meant the strength at the base of the pillar or some such?
I know what they are. Someone my parents knew had one in the 1970s. I just had no idea if there was significance to the name. They were rather stylish, but kind of a bruiser of a motorcycle.
Part of the explanation for how spelling and pronunciation (in English) may differ so dramatically can be laid at what is known as, or described as, or, referred to, as The Great Vowel shift, a process of changing pronunciation that gradually occurred over a number of centuries (roughly, from around Tudor times - or, even a little earlier - to approximately the latter part of the 18th century) .
Put another way, some words used to sound quite differently in English, with the consequence that the written word resembled more closely how the word was articulated, or pronounced, or spoken.
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For anybody interested in delving into how the English language has developed and evolved, I enjoyed reading:
The Story of English: Third Revised Edition : Robert McCrum & William Cran & Robert MacNeil : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Now revised, The Story of English is the first book to tell the whole story of the English language. Originally paired with a major PBS miniseries, this book...
archive.org
Our magnificent bastard tongue : the untold history of English : McWhorter, John H : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-211) and index
archive.org
Are they written in Middle English? I want to read something that makes sense.For anybody interested in delving into how the English language has developed and evolved, I enjoyed reading:
The Story of English: Third Revised Edition : Robert McCrum & William Cran & Robert MacNeil : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Now revised, The Story of English is the first book to tell the whole story of the English language. Originally paired with a major PBS miniseries, this book...archive.org
Our magnificent bastard tongue : the untold history of English : McWhorter, John H : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-211) and indexarchive.org
To that impressive (and fascinating) selection, - which I want to explore - I would also add a strong recommendation for Melvyn Bragg's excellent "The Adventure of English - The Biography of a Language".For anybody interested in delving into how the English language has developed and evolved, I enjoyed reading:
The Story of English: Third Revised Edition : Robert McCrum & William Cran & Robert MacNeil : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Now revised, The Story of English is the first book to tell the whole story of the English language. Originally paired with a major PBS miniseries, this book...archive.org
Our magnificent bastard tongue : the untold history of English : McWhorter, John H : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-211) and indexarchive.org
I believe that was turned into a TV series and I found it quite enlightening.
"ideation."
where did that come from?
i have an idea, George - let's make up a word for having an idea …
where did that come from?
i have an idea, George - let's make up a word for having an idea …
The earliest known use of the noun ideation is in the 1810s.
OED's earliest evidence for ideation is from 1818, in the writing of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet, critic, and philosopher.
ideation is formed within English, by derivation.
Etymons: ideate v., ‑ion suffix1.
However, the only place I ever see it is on the information about drugs, especially anti-depressants, which are remarkably often said to have the potential to cause suicidal ideation. Whether when started, or when stopped, or some time in-between. Other than in that context, I don't remember ever seeing it used.
I was responding to someone who said that they were "weary of T-Mobile" for their hidden charges.
Someone responded to my post
I responded by reminding him that weary meant tired.
I just don't know how people communicate any longer.
Someone responded to my post
I responded by reminding him that weary meant tired.
I just don't know how people communicate any longer.
And, of course, even if one overlooks a limited vocabulary (and the rich, nuanced and varied vocabulary is one of the glories of the English language) mere manners (not to mention forum rules) dictate that one ought not draw (irked) attention to his (rather basic) error in spelling, and er, grammar.
"There own intelligence"? Oh, dear, oh dear. Problems with pronouns......
Okay, I'll be perfectly honest, I did not know the difference between "weary" and "wary" until last year.
It was more the fact that he thought that I was stupid, not knowing the real meaning of weary. People confuse weary and wary regularly.
That web site has a lot of people who think that they know everything and there is no moderation on Disqus comments unless the web site provides it. When someone complains about MacRumors moderation, I usually cite this other web site as an example.
Pronouns? They complain about pronouns, for some reason.
I'm sad that you didn't know and glad that you now know.
For what it is worth, I agree with you completely.
Thanks!
I often feel as though I'm alone and that it really is bad that I want people to be better than they are. I see things from multiple languages at the same time. As I've mentioned previously, English is a bit loose when precision is needed but some people just use incorrect words. It's not just the USA, sadly.
Well, one can be "weary of" something, though I'm sure a confusion with "wary" is more likely. One means to be fed up with, the other means to be cautious. It depends on the intended meaning. The many exceptions to the supposed "rules" (not to mention various levels of ambiguity) make correcting one's grammar or usage tricky.
I'm quite sure there are many other such word pairings which I do not know, and likely get wrong.
But this particular one, it takes conversations like this for me to even realise they can be confused. Maybe pronunciation affects this? The way I speak, and those round me most of my life, they sound very different. But if I listen to some sources - radio, podcasts, etc. - I often get wrong-footed and completely miss what is intended.
In most cases, it's just someone who doesn't know better. In this case, it was several people who didn't know better.
I'm constantly surprised, especially with people who only speak English, that they use incorrect words constantly.
It's not just weary and wary, but then and than and dozens of others.
I can understand a few misused words because someone grew up with adults who didn't know English but when you're in school, your English teachers should be making sure that you know.
They are pronounced very differently, and (when they are used correctly) are used in entirely different contexts.
Thus, that there is any confusion between them re meaning, context, appropriate use, and, for that matter, spelling, is something that I must confess baffles me.
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