Why can't people use words correctly?

aegrimm · December 2009

I work in a call center. People are on the phones all day long. And they are representing our company. And they can't speak correctly.

All day long I hear my co-workers say things like:

"Supposebly" (note the "B" instead of the "D")

"I seen that..."

"I 'axed' my supervisor" (instead of 'asked')

The list goes on...but this is what I've heard inthe last half hour. Ugh. I want to pass out dictionaries.

chazzgirl · December 2009

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is a huge pet peeve of mine

One of my good friends (who I love) says "I seen" all the time...someone tried to correct her once and she got so uppity and offended I just looked away in embarrassment for her...

XXLAURAF · December 2009

That's the United States for you... lol

lulupinkerton · December 2009

Irregardless bugs the crap out of me.

sarajo317 · December 2009

I love when people say axed.. Stick out tongue

My favorite (that even my husband uses sometimes... grr) is - would you like to get off the car.. instead of get out of the car.. get off the car.. i didnt know I was sitting on top of it thanks!

chazzgirl · December 2009

another personal fave: "de-thaw" wtf????

Smootchy · December 2009

please don't get me started on what I hear in my office..

soko987 · December 2009

Ooh, ooh , I want to play too!

" So I says..."

"Foe-ward" instead of "For-ward"

"Are thems yours?" ( my MIL actually says this all the time. Ugh)

Call me a grammar Nazi, but I just cringe when I hear stuff like this.

1momma · December 2009

pacific for specific drives me batty.

cinderellabella · December 2009

I don't like when people say "eXspecially". Grr!!

aegrimm · December 2009

soko987:

Ooh, ooh , I want to play too!

" So I says..."

"Foe-ward" instead of "For-ward"

"Are thems yours?" ( my MIL actually says this all the time. Ugh)

Call me a grammar Nazi, but I just cringe when I hear stuff like this.

Me too!

Nicole.V · December 2009

lol I hate when people do that!

How hard is it to just pronounce the word the way it's spelled?? And if one more person in my office ends a sentence and makes it sound like a question I'm going to scream!!

You know when their voice goes up at the end like when your asking a question? I think it's called a rising inflection. MAKES ME CRAZY

OhioBobcat · December 2009

Ooooh oooh! I wanna play this game!!

So, when I taught 3rd grade in NC (my first year of teaching, mind you), I was with my other two "team" teachers (also who taught 3rd grade) and we were coming up with the spelling words for the upcoming week. The one with the MASTER'S DEGREE suggests:

"Pacific"

So I say..."Oh, like Pacific Ocean?"

With MUCH attitude she protests..."No PA-CIF-IC" and proceeds to spell the following...

S-P-E-C-I-F-I-C

I say, "Oh SPEcific."

She just looks at me and says, "That's what I said. PACIFIC."

Oh LAWD!!!

AmandaToo · December 2009

Ha! This board is where I see it most, though!

nannyannie · December 2009

Please see siggy. People who refuse to learn their native language make me nauseated.

sarajo317 · December 2009

My MIL gets shin and chin confused.. and it drives me crazy..

One time she came in saying that she busted her chin on something outside.. i was worried sick about her.. only to find out it was her shin.. i told her I was going to slap her if she said that again - because she CAN say both the right way.. she just chooses to use them wrong!

llc730 · December 2009

My FIL says "axed" instead of asked and a bunch of others which he blames on being orginally from Arkansas. My personal fav (aka total pet peeve) is "warshed" instead of washed.

AmandaToo · December 2009

llc730:
My FIL says "axed" instead of asked and a bunch of others which he blames on being orginally from Arkansas. My personal fav (aka total pet peeve) is "warshed" instead of washed.

There is a difference between dialect/accent and poor grammar, though. This is an instance of dialect/accent. It might not carry the prestige that the "other" version of saying it does, but that's what it is. (Says the English/Linguistics major.)

sarajo317 · December 2009

AmandaToo:

llc730:
My FIL says "axed" instead of asked and a bunch of others which he blames on being orginally from Arkansas. My personal fav (aka total pet peeve) is "warshed" instead of washed.

There is a difference between dialect/accent and poor grammar, though. This is an instance of dialect/accent. It might not carry the prestige that the "other" version of saying it does, but that's what it is. (Says the English/Linguistics major.)

So does this mean that chin and shin are apart of my MILs dialect/accent??

NELCORP · December 2009

I can't stand, and my DH does this, when people use they instead of their. They bus is packed. Let's try Their bus is packed.

AmandaToo · December 2009

nannyannie:
Please see siggy. People who refuse to learn their native language make me nauseated.

Can I applaud you for proper use of nauseated here? Awesome.

nannyannie · December 2009

AmandaToo:

llc730:
My FIL says "axed" instead of asked and a bunch of others which he blames on being orginally from Arkansas. My personal fav (aka total pet peeve) is "warshed" instead of washed.

There is a difference between dialect/accent and poor grammar, though. This is an instance of dialect/accent. It might not carry the prestige that the "other" version of saying it does, but that's what it is. (Says the English/Linguistics major.)

This. My grandmother says "Darter" instead of "Daughter". It's just her dialect, not because she actually thinks that the word has two "r"s in it. Dialects can be annoying too though... they just are not considered improper speech.

AmandaToo · December 2009

sarajo317:
AmandaToo:

llc730:
My FIL says "axed" instead of asked and a bunch of others which he blames on being orginally from Arkansas. My personal fav (aka total pet peeve) is "warshed" instead of washed.

There is a difference between dialect/accent and poor grammar, though. This is an instance of dialect/accent. It might not carry the prestige that the "other" version of saying it does, but that's what it is. (Says the English/Linguistics major.)

So does this mean that chin and shin are apart of my MILs dialect/accent??

Possibly. Does she replace "sh" for "ch" in anything else? I've never noticed this in any accents, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm also a believer that as long as a thought is expressed in what is ultimately a mutually understood manner, it doesn't matter if it's the standard usage. However, her pronunciation does cause confusion!

Fuzzy8252 · December 2009

You should hear my Grandma!!!! Not only is she grammatically incorrect most of the time, but she also manages to sound like Ned Flanders.

nannyannie · December 2009

AmandaToo:

nannyannie:
Please see siggy. People who refuse to learn their native language make me nauseated.

Can I applaud you for proper use of nauseated here? Awesome.

Hey, some of us have to keep the English language alive. Why else would I be getting a Master's in Literature, but for the love of the language itself?

It's certainly not the pay...

Luciddream328 · December 2009

I've got one! I hate it when people use "text speak" when just having a conversation. I'll be talking to my sister, and she'll say, "OMG, I have the funniest thing ever to tell you." And she'll say it like that, "Oh em gee."

My friend is a high school teacher and she said she actually has had to explain to her students what proper English is, and she's given 0s on papers that are turned in full of that crap!

sarajo317 · December 2009

AmandaToo:
sarajo317:
AmandaToo:

llc730:
My FIL says "axed" instead of asked and a bunch of others which he blames on being orginally from Arkansas. My personal fav (aka total pet peeve) is "warshed" instead of washed.

There is a difference between dialect/accent and poor grammar, though. This is an instance of dialect/accent. It might not carry the prestige that the "other" version of saying it does, but that's what it is. (Says the English/Linguistics major.)

So does this mean that chin and shin are apart of my MILs dialect/accent??

Possibly. Does she replace "sh" for "ch" in anything else? I've never noticed this in any accents, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm also a believer that as long as a thought is expressed in what is ultimately a mutually understood manner, it doesn't matter if it's the standard usage. However, her pronunciation does cause confusion!

I havent noticed her replacing it with anything else.. it just drives me crazy because she CAN say both - she just chooses to use them in the wrong place. I think she secretly does it to drive me mad!!!

sarajo317 · December 2009

Luciddream328:

I've got one! I hate it when people use "text speak" when just having a conversation. I'll be talking to my sister, and she'll say, "OMG, I have the funniest thing ever to tell you." And she'll say it like that, "Oh em gee."

My friend is a high school teacher and she said she actually has had to explain to her students what proper English is, and she's given 0s on papers that are turned in full of that crap!

a 17 year old that goes to school with my youngest brother got a zero on a paper - because she turned the WHOLE paper in written in text.. she honestly didnt know what she did wrong.. poor girl.

goldenleaves · December 2009

chazzgirl:
another personal fave: "de-thaw" wtf????

This bugs me too! I also hate "PIN number". The N stands for number.

And ATM machine. The M stands for machine.

AmandaToo · December 2009

sarajo317:
AmandaToo:
sarajo317:
AmandaToo:

llc730:
My FIL says "axed" instead of asked and a bunch of others which he blames on being orginally from Arkansas. My personal fav (aka total pet peeve) is "warshed" instead of washed.

There is a difference between dialect/accent and poor grammar, though. This is an instance of dialect/accent. It might not carry the prestige that the "other" version of saying it does, but that's what it is. (Says the English/Linguistics major.)

So does this mean that chin and shin are apart of my MILs dialect/accent??

Possibly. Does she replace "sh" for "ch" in anything else? I've never noticed this in any accents, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm also a believer that as long as a thought is expressed in what is ultimately a mutually understood manner, it doesn't matter if it's the standard usage. However, her pronunciation does cause confusion!

I havent noticed her replacing it with anything else.. it just drives me crazy because she CAN say both - she just chooses to use them in the wrong place. I think she secretly does it to drive me mad!!!

I know my mother pronounces certain people's names incorrectly as a kind of covert disrespect. There's a cool concept called covert prestige in linguistics that attempts to explain how well-educated people, guys especially, use poor grammar in order to get more respect from peers. An example is using "ain't" around other guys. Maybe you're right!

DaisyGrl13 · December 2009

AmandaToo:

llc730:
My FIL says "axed" instead of asked and a bunch of others which he blames on being orginally from Arkansas. My personal fav (aka total pet peeve) is "warshed" instead of washed.

There is a difference between dialect/accent and poor grammar, though. This is an instance of dialect/accent. It might not carry the prestige that the "other" version of saying it does, but that's what it is. (Says the English/Linguistics major.)

True, so my aunt says PRE-vert instead of PER-vert.

And my boss says fustrated...it's freaking FRustrating that he can't say it right!

aegrimm · December 2009

DaisyGrl13:
AmandaToo:

llc730:
My FIL says "axed" instead of asked and a bunch of others which he blames on being orginally from Arkansas. My personal fav (aka total pet peeve) is "warshed" instead of washed.

There is a difference between dialect/accent and poor grammar, though. This is an instance of dialect/accent. It might not carry the prestige that the "other" version of saying it does, but that's what it is. (Says the English/Linguistics major.)

True, so my aunt says PRE-vert instead of PER-vert.

And my boss says fustrated...it's freaking FRustrating that he can't say it right!

We have a supervisor here that says FLustrated. With an L. I can't take her seriously when she's giving feedback. "It's normal to be flustrated..." Really? Because I don't even know how to go about being flustrated.

ernlei608 · December 2009

My biggest is "don't got done", or just using don't in the wrong places.

mrs_sherod · December 2009

I hate when people say 'allz I know is'! What?????? I looked up 'allz' and didn't see it in the dictionary...

UrbanLe1 · December 2009

The use (or improper use) of nauseated/nauseous is absolutely, positively the worst! Even DH won't listen to me when I tell him he's using it incorrectly (and as he's a doctor and uses it relatively often, it's shameful.)

And Nanny--I'm so with you. Working on my English PhD over here...and often wonder WHY I'm bothering.

fisha25 · December 2009

My boss who is great, always says "yous guys" as in did yous guys get that done? It drive me nuts.

antosh2008 · December 2009

The town in which I live is primarily German and Czech descendants. There are some things that are pronounced a bit differently.

BUT, Senglemann Hall (a restaurant downstairs, dance hall upstairs) IS pronounced just as it looks. An "s" that says "ssssss" like a snake. I have to do speech therapy with my DS, so I have learned some techniques on how to sound things out.

Well, my fantastic MIL calls it Zinglemann Hall. IT'S NOT A FREAKING Z! She said it five or six times in one conversation on a long road trip to see a friend of ours play guitar. OMGosh was that the worst car ride EVER!