Here are some very common errors that, as Ziva would say, drive me up the hall.
PRESCRIPTION vs. PERSCRIPTION
"The most widely sold 'perscription' medication on the market." Oh, my: You are, in fact, prescribed (emphasis on "pre") medication by a physician. However, this mispronunciation is as wide spread as the the black death. . . . and this is"per" the drug manufacturers!
"THE TOWN WAS NEARLY DECIMATED"
How often have you heard that used as a way to say people were nearly wiped out, when in fact, it means "one of every ten" people was eliminated. (From the Latin, decimare: "removal or destruction of one-tenth." See Online Etymology Dictionary) Now, if the town was annihilated . . .
V vs. VS.
Okay . . . this one really grates on me: "Roe 'v' Wade." It used to be "Rowe vs. Wade," but the supposedly enlightened ones don't care about our Latin (as in Roman) jurisprudence linguistic roots. I cringe every time I here "versus" being shortened to "vee." What is even worse is when someone says "verse" as in "the Yankees verse the Red Sox". ARGGGGH!
ESPRESSO / TOO MANY COFFEE BEANS (espresso)
We in America truly base our pronunciation of word on words with which we are familiar. "Espresso" isn't part of our culture. So many folks want a fast, hot drink we call "eX-press-O." Oh ,well.
"PLURALISM"
Heard on the Discovery Channel: "The welding team are worried." When good people make a wrong grammatical turn, the result is a dismemberment and incorrect reassembly of the language. Which words go where?! "Team" or "group" refers to a unit or oneness and not a plurality. (The sum of a team or group is 1.) The same is true of "band" and "gang." When people or things are referred to as a unit - as is "the welding team," the correct statement is: "The welding team is worried."
"IT IS SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE TO PICK ON THIS ONE . . ." > double negative
Regardless of your attitude, this one is in the dictionary: "irregardless." The "ir" doesn't mean or add a thing, but through usage, irregardless [sic] has been accepted as proper English: An example of how we begin to accept words rather than fight it.
"I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE SEEN . . ." > stupid statement
It is odd to say: if it is not redundant, it is at least incorrectly structured. Either you have "never seen . . ." or "in your lifetime there have never been . . ." The point is, can you see anything that isn't during your lifetime? (That is . . . unless you share some very strange beliefs.)
PRESCRIPTION vs. PERSCRIPTION
"The most widely sold 'perscription' medication on the market." Oh, my: You are, in fact, prescribed (emphasis on "pre") medication by a physician. However, this mispronunciation is as wide spread as the the black death. . . . and this is"per" the drug manufacturers!
"THE TOWN WAS NEARLY DECIMATED"
How often have you heard that used as a way to say people were nearly wiped out, when in fact, it means "one of every ten" people was eliminated. (From the Latin, decimare: "removal or destruction of one-tenth." See Online Etymology Dictionary) Now, if the town was annihilated . . .
V vs. VS.
Okay . . . this one really grates on me: "Roe 'v' Wade." It used to be "Rowe vs. Wade," but the supposedly enlightened ones don't care about our Latin (as in Roman) jurisprudence linguistic roots. I cringe every time I here "versus" being shortened to "vee." What is even worse is when someone says "verse" as in "the Yankees verse the Red Sox". ARGGGGH!
ESPRESSO / TOO MANY COFFEE BEANS (espresso)
We in America truly base our pronunciation of word on words with which we are familiar. "Espresso" isn't part of our culture. So many folks want a fast, hot drink we call "eX-press-O." Oh ,well.
"PLURALISM"
Heard on the Discovery Channel: "The welding team are worried." When good people make a wrong grammatical turn, the result is a dismemberment and incorrect reassembly of the language. Which words go where?! "Team" or "group" refers to a unit or oneness and not a plurality. (The sum of a team or group is 1.) The same is true of "band" and "gang." When people or things are referred to as a unit - as is "the welding team," the correct statement is: "The welding team is worried."
"IT IS SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE TO PICK ON THIS ONE . . ." > double negative
Regardless of your attitude, this one is in the dictionary: "irregardless." The "ir" doesn't mean or add a thing, but through usage, irregardless [sic] has been accepted as proper English: An example of how we begin to accept words rather than fight it.
"I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE SEEN . . ." > stupid statement
It is odd to say: if it is not redundant, it is at least incorrectly structured. Either you have "never seen . . ." or "in your lifetime there have never been . . ." The point is, can you see anything that isn't during your lifetime? (That is . . . unless you share some very strange beliefs.)
No comments:
Post a Comment