Grammatical NIGHTMARES

[oldminer]

th fct tht we cn rd this proves we dnt need 2 spl muhc beter than ths bt in ordr 2 hve minmal comunickton. Acpting pore spellin or bd gramer is not funny or smrt.

The use of accurate spelling and proper words leads to communication with the greatest depth of meaning. Some foreign languages seem to have more detail to each word or phrase than even proper English. Degraded English is far worse yet at communicating the nuances of a rich life. Teachers who let misusafes , vernacular and incorrect spelling pass without even a mention of the correct method in order to foster "expression" are far too common. Communication to me has been key to success.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 11/16/2007 10:45:32 AM
Author: AGBF

Date: 11/16/2007 10:34:24 AM
Author: MoonWater

But maybe they also pronounce walk and rock the same?

Yes, that is what I have been assuming. And also ''naughty''. If all the words were not pronounced the same way, they would understand the sound you and I hear when we see the word ''stalk'' or ''walk''. To us those words have an ''aw'' sound as in the word ''awe''. And you and I pronounce ''awe'' the same way. And ''saw''. And ''McGraw''. But I don''t know what word is universal enough in pronunciation to convey that sound to people who don''t already hear things as we do! So I can preach only to the choir!

Deb

Thanks ladies for trying so hard. Sorry to say though, all of those words still sound the same. I think I get it though. Are you pronouncing them as if you had a New Jersey accent? Say coffee. I pronounce it as "cahfee." Would you say "coo-wa-fee?" That''s the closest I could spell it phonetically but it''s hard to do.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 11/16/2007 3:40:51 PM
Author: zoebartlett

Thanks ladies for trying so hard. Sorry to say though, all of those words still sound the same. I think I get it though. Are you pronouncing them as if you had a New Jersey accent? Say coffee. I pronounce it as ''cahfee.'' Would you say ''coo-wa-fee?'' That''s the closest I could spell it phonetically but it''s hard to do.

I wouldn''t say that I pronounce "coffee" as "coo-wa-fee", but I definitely do not pronounce it as "cah-fee" either. I pronounce "coffee" as "caw-fee". The "caw" rhymes with "claw" and "jaw". I would be interested in how MoonWater pronounces it!

Deb

 

[AGBF]

PS-I have no idea what a New Jersey accent sounds like! I know New York, Boston, and Maine. I have heard accents from Brooklyn and the Bronx but couldn't tell one from the other. They just sound like New York accents to me.

Deb

 

[Steel]

Date: 11/16/2007 3:40:51 PM
Author: zoebartlett

Date: 11/16/2007 10:45:32 AM
Author: AGBF

Date: 11/16/2007 10:34:24 AM
Author: MoonWater

But maybe they also pronounce walk and rock the same?

Yes, that is what I have been assuming. And also 'naughty'. If all the words were not pronounced the same way, they would understand the sound you and I hear when we see the word 'stalk' or 'walk'. To us those words have an 'aw' sound as in the word 'awe'. And you and I pronounce 'awe' the same way. And 'saw'. And 'McGraw'. But I don't know what word is universal enough in pronunciation to convey that sound to people who don't already hear things as we do! So I can preach only to the choir!

Deb

Thanks ladies for trying so hard. Sorry to say though, all of those words still sound the same. I think I get it though. Are you pronouncing them as if you had a New Jersey accent? Say coffee. I pronounce it as 'cahfee.' Would you say 'coo-wa-fee?' That's the closest I could spell it phonetically but it's hard to do.

coffee = cough-e (As in : when I have a cold I sneeze and cough)

ETA: Ireland (South)

 

[Steel]

Dh used to pronounce genuine so that the 'ine' rhymed with 'wine, dine and mine' where as I pronounce it as 'in' the same way you would say 'min' (Yes dear, I'll be there in a min [short for minute]).

I have shown him the error in his ways!

********
50% of folks here pronounce vehicle as Vee hick icle (with the icle to rhyme with sickle)
50% of folks here pronounce vehicle as Veh hick icle


*************

Re Walk/Rock
Walk: I pronounce the awe to rhyme with stalk, balk, gawk, chalk, hawk, .
And rock: as mock and dock, lock, knock, wok, loch (loch ness monster!), block, o'clock, smock, interlock, Bangkok.
Does that help anybody?

ETA: I think I get it.
If you pronounce the A in walk and form an O with your mouth as if you were to be a pigeon and say coo cooo then it is more like the walk that I know and love.
But it you pronounce the A in walk as if you mean to say wah like a baby crying then you get the other walk. Is that it?

My, and the first walk could never rhyme with rock but the second (more like wha!!!!-k could rhyme with ruh-ahhh-k, with the ahh being like wahh without the W). Am I close?

My walk is a very short sound but the other walk is twice as long. (Would the A in war be common ground?)

This is fascinating. People; aren’t we funny?

 

[AGBF]

Date: 11/16/2007 7:43:17 PM
Author: Steel


coffee = cough-e (As in : when I have a cold I sneeze and cough)

This works for me, but I am sure that not everyone pronounces "cough" the same way! If one can read the phonetic marks at the beginning of the dictionary, it is probably possible for him to explain the sounds he wants.

Deb

 

[Steel]

Date: 11/16/2007 8:17:34 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 11/16/2007 7:43:17 PM
Author: Steel


coffee = cough-e (As in : when I have a cold I sneeze and cough)

This works for me, but I am sure that not everyone pronounces 'cough' the same way! If one can read the phonetic marks at the beginning of the dictionary, it is probably possible for him to explain the sounds he wants.

Deb

Holy pronunciation Batman!

You are right, how did I miss that? The O in cough should again form a O with your mouth same as cooo cooo and not an aw as in WAH!

 

[diamondfan]

Lynn, my mom always told me you lie down and you lay the book down. A lot of her grammar tips help but often I am rushing and therefore type sloppily. I do try to proof my posts, but sometimes hit submit too soon...
Liberry and nucular annoy me to no end as well. It just sounds ignorant to pronounce the words that way. Especially for the President, who I am sure has been adviced many times as to how to pronounce it correctly.
''
Who and Whom can be tough. I remember him goes with him/her and who goes with he/she. Ask not for WHOM the bell tolls...it tolls for HIM or HER, not HE or SHE. Again, do I always recall to check it? NO...but at least when pressed I can recall the rules of speech for it!

 

[Elmorton]

Calvary and Cavalry....these don''t come up often, but when they are, they''re so often misused...

Calvary - where Jesus was crucified

Cavalry - military unit on horseback (although...the cavalry still exists today w/o horses. I can''t figure that one out)

Many people will say calvary for both, and I can''t figure out if it''s because a) most people hear calvary much more often than cavalry or because b) cavalry has a vowel-consonant combination that isn''t very common in English.

 

[MoonWater]

Date: 11/16/2007 6:33:05 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 11/16/2007 3:40:51 PM

Author: zoebartlett

Thanks ladies for trying so hard. Sorry to say though, all of those words still sound the same. I think I get it though. Are you pronouncing them as if you had a New Jersey accent? Say coffee. I pronounce it as ''cahfee.'' Would you say ''coo-wa-fee?'' That''s the closest I could spell it phonetically but it''s hard to do.

I wouldn''t say that I pronounce ''coffee'' as ''coo-wa-fee'', but I definitely do not pronounce it as ''cah-fee'' either. I pronounce ''coffee'' as ''caw-fee''. The ''caw'' rhymes with ''claw'' and ''jaw''. I would be interested in how MoonWater pronounces it!


Deb

Haha, just like you. CAW-FEE. I definitely do not have a NJ accent, though I''m sure I could mimic one. Use to mimic a Brooklyn, NY accent very well (had some relatives from there that would visit every summer, at the end of the summer I would adopt their accent).

 

[MoonWater]

Date: 11/16/2007 11:05:40 PM
Author: diamondfan
Lynn, my mom always told me you lie down and you lay the book down. A lot of her grammar tips help but often I am rushing and therefore type sloppily. I do try to proof my posts, but sometimes hit submit too soon...

Liberry and nucular annoy me to no end as well. It just sounds ignorant to pronounce the words that way. Especially for the President, who I am sure has been adviced many times as to how to pronounce it correctly.

''

Who and Whom can be tough. I remember him goes with him/her and who goes with he/she. Ask not for WHOM the bell tolls...it tolls for HIM or HER, not HE or SHE. Again, do I always recall to check it? NO...but at least when pressed I can recall the rules of speech for it!

My fave Prez word "terror" or "terrorist" I can not stop copying the way he says that.

And who v. whom! I hate it! I can NEVER remember. I always have to look it up first. I remember writing an English paper and struggling with it. I got an A with no comment so I''m assuming I did it correctly haha.

 

[diamondfan]

And I just noticed I typed adviced instead of advised!!!!!

Oops!

Grammar check programs are a lifesaver when things are confusing!

 

[Harleigh]

Date: 11/16/2007 1:14:06 AM
Author: Gypsy

Date: 11/15/2007 9:52:35 PM
Author: AGBF
Here is the latest version of the quiz to which I was referring. I still like this quiz the best!

Accent Quiz

Deborah

What American accent do you have?
Neutral

You''re not Northern, Southern, or Western, you''re just plain -American-. Your national identity is more important than your local identity, because you don''t really have a local identity. You might be from the region in that map, which is defined by this kind of accent, but you could easily not be. Or maybe you just moved around a lot growing up.

I''m the same as you for accents, Gypsy...Neutral.

And, having been born and raised here in California, I find the following quite amusing, though all of my family is from Wisconsin:

70% General American English

15% Dixie

10% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

0% Yankee

 

[Delster]

Date: 11/16/2007 8:06:30 PM
Author: Steel
********

50% of folks here pronounce vehicle as Vee hick icle (with the icle to rhyme with sickle)

50% of folks here pronounce vehicle as Veh hick icle



*************

And a further 50% (all of them Gardai) pronounce it "VIT-ick-ill"

ETA - I did that survey the last time someone posted it on here and I came out as having a Boston accent. I, um, really don't have a Boston accent but I guess that's as close (geographically anyway!) as American gets to Irish?