Wrong way/wrong word!
By ElicBxn
@ElicBxn (64169)
United States
July 19, 2016 11:59pm CST
I see various places, not just here, in fact it seems that Facebook is filled with people using the wrong word.
Now, one of my friends was talking about her niece...
That made me realize that in spite of the fact that I really can't spell, I really do know more of the language than I thought I did.
For example. I see people writing" "give me a brake." Let's slam on the brakes here and think about that. Then I see someone else say: "I put on my breaks." You did?
And whether or not you like the weather, there is a difference between the two words, even though they sound the same.
And darn that "two, too, and to," does it get more confusing? Well, there is... well, that word - "there, their, and they're."
(Yes you can put a comma before the and, but you don't have to.)
I'm sure nobody writes "eye" instead of "I" but there's another pair of words that sound the the same.
And speaking of "pair" how about pare or pear?
I know, I know, I'm sure there have been lots of discussions about the crazy English language. Part of the craziness is because its basically a Germanic language with a heavy layer of Normanized French shoved on top. That's French as spoke by the Normans who got their names from being "Norse-men" or "North-men." Then throw several other languages into the mix as well.
What other language has cows on the hoof and beef on the plate? Other languages it is the same word.
For example, "shirt" "skirt" "kilt" "shift" all come from the same root word in Indo-European, but came in various ways so we end up words that mean different things all descended from the same word.
So, I want to say to all of you to whom English isn't your native language how much I admire you! I know I would not be able to come close to being able to talk or write in whatever language you speak at home. Don't think I'm in anyway going after anyone here on myLot, just commenting on what I'm seeing in my roving on the web.
Here is the article that reminded me of this... Thanks for posting this @msiduri
A twenty-four-year-old niece of mine, a recent college graduate, linked a paper she wrote to Facebook. It was about communication and the ability to listen. The...
7 people like this
8 responses
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
20 Jul 16
English is certainly a minefield for those who haven't learnt it at their mother's knee. If that weren't complicated enough, there are at least two versions of 'good' English - the British and the American languages. I am full of admiration for some whose first language is not English and who, nevertheless, write better English than most native speakers ... not to mention that they may also be fluent in their own mother tongue and the official language of their country!
Of course, the confusion between 'tenant' and 'tenet' is really inexcusable in a college graduate but there are a few other things which make me grit my teeth - "could of", "viola", "per say" and "flourescent" (off the top of my head).
2 people like this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
20 Jul 16
I agree about "tenant" and "tenet" - heck, "personal" and "personnel" (I used to work in Personnel so I had to tell my grammar junkie friend the difference.) I do use "could of" except that I say "could'a" which is even worse, but I do it.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
20 Jul 16
@ElicBxn What you actually say should probably either be spelt "could've", "could ha'" or even "could'a'" in order to make it clear that a contraction of "have" is involved.
Other ones I often see are "effect/affect" and "principle/principal". There are many more which jump up and hit me when I'm least expecting it!
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@msiduri (5687)
• United States
21 Jul 16
@Marcyaz That's true. And some people were just never taught and think they're doing it right.
In a sign language class years ago, I was trying to describe to the teacher the difference between "lie" and "lay." The signs for that had come up. She looked at me confused for a moment then said something to the effect of, "It's not something most people worry about."
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@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
20 Jul 16
@ElicBxn Well, now, in Bristol (in England) the local dialect has always added an 'l' to the end of words which end in a vowel. Girls who were christened 'Norma' get used to being called 'Normal' and even the name of the town itself (which was 'Brigstow') has become 'Bristol'! So, 'der de bist', as they say there ... meaning 'There you are'!
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@msiduri (5687)
• United States
20 Jul 16
Thanks for the plug, @ElicBxn. One thing I did not mention in the post is that my mother is an immigrant who had to learn English. I understand the difficulties of learning it as second language. She is also a college graduate. I understand a little German—her native language—just absorbed from the family.
My niece also speaks—and writes and reads—French well enough to have spent a semester in France. The paper just needed maybe half an hour's worth of editing. I could have done it for her easily, but I just have to step back.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
20 Jul 16
My great grandmother was from Germany. Her husband, who was English, and she met after they moved here (pre-Ellis Island.) He told her that they were in America and she had to speak English - not teach the children German. A few words of German came down to us, but that's it. I have a language learning disability, I have tried to learn German, French, Latin and Spanish... no such luck. Like a few words in German, I have a few words in Spanish because I live in Texas.
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@msiduri (5687)
• United States
20 Jul 16
@ElicBxn That's tough. I live in California. It's hard not to pick up some Spanish if only by osmosis.
I've found over the years that the German I speak is mostly dialect rather than proper German. After a few attempts at trying to speak w/strangers and embarrassing myself, I gave up.
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@JESSY3236 (22199)
• United States
21 Jul 16
It might be all typos, or even shorthand.
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@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
21 Jul 16
not in these cases, they are consistently use the wrong word... I have to say that I really didn't learn some of it in school either - I didn't learn the difference between "then" and "than" until I was long out - but, then again, I really didn't write that much where other people read it until I was long out.
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@The_Bong_Woman (850)
•
21 Jul 16
Well people definitely mess up a lot. At times it's the punctuation that suffers (like people write its instead of it's) and at times it is the spelling which is brutally murdered! For instance, some people actually write potatos instead of potatoes.
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@The_Bong_Woman (850)
•
23 Jul 16
@ElicBxn A wise thing to do, indeed, rather than acting whimsical and making a fool of oneself.
