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Posted: Thu May 31, 2001 10:45 pm
by leedogg
minerva, iknow people that speak very proper but the vast majority(myself included) don't.
I'm sure thats a perfect example. can you end a sentence with don't?
BTW, 11th grade semester english exams 93 and 94, and i still can't talk right!
EDIT- i still get giddy when i get the top of a page!
[ 06-01-2001: Message edited by: leedogg ]
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2001 4:13 am
by Mr Sleep
The word 'aks' instead of 'ask' really annoies me.
There is also 'minellium' instead of 'millennium' as you might imagine this casued some frustation 2 years back
Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2001 12:42 am
by fable
The Latest.
Today, I was describing a particularly obnoxious poster-with-a-cause on another list to my wife. She replied, "I know what you mean, he's strumming his own horn all the time."
As she said this, the fabric of the English language could be heard unraveling slightly throughout the land. And it's been fraying so badly of late, too.

Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2001 5:01 pm
by The Outsider
Hm, my kvetsches of the day would be:
1. Complete lack of knowledge about the use of an apostrophe. Almost every piece of casual writing I see has the occasions at which one crops up reversed.
2. The drive to use the word 'good' ad nauseam. While this is not always a grammatical incongruity, the phrase "I done good" is not one I wish to hear from someone who has presumably passed the fourth grade.
3. People who get very angry about having their inaccuracies pointed out. Somehow, it's my fault that I know that they're abusing language. "So? 'sit tooya?" is a standard response, of the type that can be admitted past the board censors.
Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2001 7:47 pm
by Gwalchmai
You know what makes me sad? The loss of the subjunctive voice in English. It is now proper to say “If this was your town” instead of “If this were your town.” Also, it is okay to say “If this is treason” instead of “If this be treason.” I mourn the passing.
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2002 9:20 am
by Mr Sleep
Anyone here's gotch anymores to adds to thish lisht?

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2002 9:39 am
by HighLordDave
Everyone knows that Americans are generally illichterrate, but nothing makes me laugh more than the way we prounounce place names, especially those we import from other countries. Examples:
Havanna, FL - Hay-van-nah
Cairo, GA - Kay-ro
Lima, OH - Lie-maw
Versailles, KY - Vur-sales
And my favourite:
Two guys are arguing about how to pronounce the name of Kissimmee, FL (it's outside of Orlando; near the Mouse Factory). Of course, they're snowbirds on vacation, so neither really has a clue.
They find some unassuming local, and the first says to him, "Can you tell us the name of this place. My friend says you pronounce it Kiss-sim-me."
The other guy adds, "And my friend insists that you pronounce it Kiss-i-mee. Can you say it real slow so we're sure to get it right."
The local leans in close to the two men and says, "Bur-gur King."
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2002 9:51 am
by Ned Flanders
I find it irritating that so many people have problems have problems using the word "scissors" in a sentence.
I would use:
Could you please pass the scissors
or
I need to use a pair of scissors to get that done
(punctuation intentionally left out, don't start with me)
I have heard people say:
I need to use a scissors
or pass the scissor please
Now, both of these sentences may possess correct grammar but it just sounds odd to me. Other examples include:
Wisconsin-come here, once (never understood that one in all the years I lived there)
There are people out there who don't know what a bubbler is (it's water fountain here in the midwest)
People who refer to any carbonated beverage as 'pop' drives me berzerk.
Perhaps I get a little too wound over the small things.
