Commonly mispronounced words

[Kingswood]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

All six of those words rhyme.

Only for speakers who pronounce the vowels in hurry and furry the same. We who distinguish them have no trouble doing so. It's nothing more than regional differences in pronunciation. To me, "awe" and "oar" sound the same but I know that's not true for some people.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Kingswood

Only for speakers who pronounce the vowels in hurry and furry the same. We who distinguish them have no trouble doing so. It's nothing more than regional differences in pronunciation. To me, "awe" and "oar" sound the same but I know that's not true for some people.

I bet you're a riot at parties!

[iSellMyTextbook]

aegg instead of egg

[Kingswood]

Originally Posted by monster

I bet you're a riot at parties!

I give excellent backrubs. Enough said.

[andcal]

"supposably" instead of supposedly
"irrevelant" instead of irrelevant
"calvary" instead of cavalry

[Kingswood]

"Grievous" is not spelt "grievious" but many people pronounce it this way.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

And while we're at it, grieve does not take a direct object, i.e., you mourn a loss, not grieve it. Grieve doesn't properly take an object at all -- the subject/sufferer merely does it.

Mailmakers who write "halberk" for "hauberk" are similarly ill-founded.

[xoxoxoBruce]

No such thing as mailmaker.

[DanaC]

grieve does not take a direct object, i.e., you mourn a loss, not grieve it. Grieve doesn't properly take an object at all -- the subject/sufferer merely does it.

True. But you can grieve over a loss.

[Kingswood]

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

And while we're at it, grieve does not take a direct object, i.e., you mourn a loss, not grieve it. Grieve doesn't properly take an object at all -- the subject/sufferer merely does it.

Maybe we need a Grammar thread.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Originally Posted by DanaC

True. But you can grieve over a loss.

As you see, not a direct object, but an indirect one.

I hold a similar view towards the phrase "belabor the point." I think "labor the point" a better phrase, despite being able to find the belabor usage cited approvingly by authorities. But laboring the point is to overdo it, while belaboring is battering -- physical or figurative -- and I should think any point so abused would rapidly be bent over and lose any resemblance to a point.

Any who simply must cite the above paragraph as an illustration of the verbal vice it condemns is at liberty to do so.:p

Bruce: mailmakers do have an ontological existence. And they won't check with you on their jargon, the willful creatures.:p

[ravenranter]

I hear these mangled a lot:
"ax" rather than "ask"
"chimbley" rather than "chimney"
"sammich" rather than "sandwich"
"pitzer" instead of "pizza"
"prolly" instead of "probably"
"dunno" instead of "don't know"
"buttah" instead of "butter"
"heah" instead of "hear" or "here"

Yes, I live in New England. <_<

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

I hold a similar view towards the phrase "belabor the point." I think "labor the point" a better phrase, despite being able to find the belabor usage cited approvingly by authorities. But laboring the point is to overdo it, while belaboring is battering -- physical or figurative -- and I should think any point so abused would rapidly be bent over and lose any resemblance to a point.

Using belabor is showing extreme, to emphasize the point.

Bruce: mailmakers do have an ontological existence. And they won't check with you on their jargon, the willful creatures.:p

So are hobbits, fairies and trolls, but until mailmakers appears in at least one of the OneLook's 931 dictionaries, it doesn't even qualify as slang.

[Grey Slayer]

Speaking about pronunciation...
A challenge...

Anyone care to create a single sentence containing all TEN pronunciations of the letter grouping "ough", possible in the English language. Just to clarify - I'm talking English-English here.

[monster]

hmmm I found this, Here

Is that cheating?

The combination ough can be pronounced in fourteen different ways:
1. awe: thought, bought, fought, brought, ought, sought, nought, wrought
2. uff: enough, rough, tough, slough, Clough, chough
3. ooh: through, slough
4. oh: though, although, dough, doughnut, broughm, Ough, furlough, Greenough, thorough
5. off: cough, trough
6. ow: bough, plough, sough
7. ou: drought, doughty, Stoughton
8. uh: Scarborough, borough, thorough (alt), thoroughbred, Macdonough, Poughkeepsie
9. up: hiccoughed
10. oth: trough (alt)
11. ock: lough, hough
12. oc[h] (aspirated): lough
13. ahf: Gough
14. og: Coughlin (also #5)
The following sentence contains them all:
Rough-coated(2), dough-faced(4), thoughtful(1) ploughman(6) John Gough(13) strode through(3) the streets of Loughborough(2+8); after falling into a slough(2) on Coughlin(14) road near the lough(12) (dry due to drought)(7), he coughed(5) and hiccoughed(9), then checked his horse's houghs(11)and washed up in a trough(10).