SpiritDragon Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 So, do Torotans pronounce "soften"? With a /t/ or just /f/?The pseudo-sophisticated "often" so grates on my nerves that I cannot hear it without a shudder running the full length of my spine.Further, the inconsistency of "often v. "soffen" really makes me shiver with incredulity.Lehi Do other inconsistencies in the English language bother you the same way? For instance should bough be said buff to match tough, or nature have a soft "a" sound to match mature or vice versa? I'm really curious now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dahlia Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 Do you have a word or words that just bug you? I once heard that a lot of people don't like the word moist. I think I don't have a problem with a "moist cake". But a word that bugs me every time I see it is...whilst. I realize it is a British term for while, and not offense to the Brits, it just drives me crazy. How about you?I was watching 'In the Kitchen with David' on QVC today. I forget what product they were selling, but If they said 'moist' once, they said it 20 times. Thought about you each time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeSellers Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) Do other inconsistencies in the English language bother you the same way? For instance should bough be said buff to match tough, or nature have a soft "a" sound to match mature or vice versa? I'm really curious now.The examples you propose are of a different quality compared to "oft"/"often".English is a nearly phonetic language. Yes, we could spell "fish" as "ghoti", but we do not.It is unfortunate that William the Bastard (aka William the Conqueror) brought Norman French across the channel. We once had a runic "alphabet" that fitted our language better than the Latin alphabet he imposed on us. (This is a relatively simplified verison of the events, but useful for the present discussion.) There are 44 (or 45) phonemes (sounds) in English. We have already seen the loss of edth and thorn, for example, but there were other adaptations, as well.Then, too, there was the great Vowel Shift of the XIV~XVII. Ah became ay, ee became ih, ay became eh or ee. Orthography did not keep up (and I am grateful for its failure*) so we are left with a myriad of misfit words: "great" ought not be spelled that way at all.* English orthography often represents the derivation of the word as much as its pronunciation: "telegraph", as part of a larger word, is an example. In "telegraph", the accent is on the first syllable; in "telegraphy", it's on the second; in "telegrapic", the third; in "telegraphically", it's in the fifth. And the pronunciation of the vowels change, as well. Should we change the spelling of each of these words to follow the pronunciation? I don't think so, but that's my preference.Among the oddities, all of the words with "ough" are weird; it "says" "uff", "oo", "ah", "up", "ow", "awf", "oh", depending on the word it's in.So, with all of these impediments to orthography (a concept that does not even exist in many languages: in Spanish there is only one way to spell a word, it being a wholly phonetic language), it is a wonder that we can spell at all. But the difference between "offen" and "often" is not spelling, it's an ignorance of the basics of the language, its roots, its idioyncracies, its beauty.Lehi Edited January 24, 2016 by LeSellers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 "Vaisa versa" for "vice versa". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Wahla. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlimac Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Sean Hannity is on the radio when I pick the kids up from school. I can only stand 2 minutes of his monologues because he says "In other words" sooooo many times it drives me nuts. He also says "now" in his radio ads enough to make me change the channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlimac Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 It gives me "the feels". (gags) Also anything that's trendy that my 78 year old mother in law picks up and won't quit. For a long time it was "Welcome to my world", "Hello?". Now it's just "Whatever" for whichever word she can't remember. Such as, "Did you pick up the whatevers at the whatever?" Backroads 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David13 Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Some of them are fun.From the Bowery Boys, many years ago, the immoral Slip Mahoney used to say "don't jump to seclusions".Carnival knowledge, for carnal knowledge. That's where it's more fun, like a carnival.Archie Bunker used to say 'stifle yourself, Edith'. I still use that one on forums where someone disagrees with me.dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackmarch Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Do you have a word or words that just bug you? I once heard that a lot of people don't like the word moist. I think I don't have a problem with a "moist cake". But a word that bugs me every time I see it is...whilst. I realize it is a British term for while, and not offense to the Brits, it just drives me crazy. How about you?hi (he) and shi (she) and hir(her). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theSQUIDSTER Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 (edited) I just can't stand it when people are always calling some poor Jamaican albino an albinostifarian.. .. or an Italian person, who loves listening to reggae, a pastafarian .... or a person who can't quite decide whether or not JAH exists, an agnostifarian..... or .. or .. or ..... actually I was originally going to say the word "de-lish" bugs me.. Not sure where the whole rasta riff came from... Edited December 8, 2015 by theSQUIDSTER Vort and Blackmarch 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiritDragon Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 It gives me "the feels". (gags) Also anything that's trendy that my 78 year old mother in law picks up and won't quit. For a long time it was "Welcome to my world", "Hello?". Now it's just "Whatever" for whichever word she can't remember. Such as, "Did you pick up the whatevers at the whatever?" I'd never heard this said before today. We had our work Christmas door judging contest and the judge said that the winning door gave the feels - wow, what a strange one indeed. carlimac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prisonchaplain Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Words awful to my sensitive beating heart: 4) Politically Correct (PC, not to be confused with PC) I try to be nice around here, but often feel this opposition. People use "PC" as if it's some kind of bad adjective or something. carlimac, Blackmarch and Sunday21 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prisonchaplain Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 How about the use of "--ish" to mean what/when/where-ever? For example: I'll be there at 8...--ish." Translation: I'll get there when I get there, but thought I'd throw out a number, just for the fun of it. It strikes as a childish way of not making a concrete plan/promise. Blackmarch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiritDragon Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 Okay I came across one today that does really sit wrong with me. Fortunately I don't stew about remembering words that make me upset all the time as that would be sad. The word is hack / hacked / hacking I have no problem with the word being used to described swinging an axe or hatchet while attacking a tree (or something else to be hacked in this manner) and I have no problem with it being used to describe breaking through computer security passwords and firewalls etc. as would be done to hack into a computer or network to access sensitive files. What I don't even understand how it came to be is the use of the word to describe "cheats" or "made easy" in regard to any/everything. Suddenly we have video game hacks that used to just be called secrets, glitches, and/or cheats. We have diet hacks that appear to refer to ways to make dieting easier or more effective or more convenient. I certainly find it even more strange in the context of church related lessons such as hacking the gospel - it just sounds wrong. You either live it or you don't, no hacking required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 I hear some people say ....thataway as opposed to saying ...that away or that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 How about words that I love? I love Bless his heart... Goodness gracious, that boy is headed to all damnation, bless his heart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnn727 Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 "No Problem" especially from someone serving/waiting on you.Of course its no problem, you're being paid to do it!!! "My pleasure", or "Certainly Sir/Ma'am", or a lot of other responses are more graceful and proper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 "No Problem" especially from someone serving/waiting on you.Of course its no problem, you're being paid to do it!!! "My pleasure", or "Certainly Sir/Ma'am", or a lot of other responses are more graceful and proper. Chik-Fil-A trains their employees to say My pleasure. I kinda like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 Do they have Chik-Fil-A in The Philippines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classylady Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 This grates on me: Kindiegarten instead of Kindergarten.And the word fir instead of for. This is fir you. Drives me nuts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 Do they have Chik-Fil-A in The Philippines? Not yet. It will be difficult for Chik-Fil-A to compete with Jollibee, though. The Chicken Joy is very very popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 I can't even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 I had a friend who took his dog into the vet. The vet told him the dog's "tibia" had been broken. He said, so ca we fix the "tibula".Vet: No, TIBIA.Friend: That's what I said. Tibula.Vet: shakes his head.Me: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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