*sigh.*

[kuangning]

Sometimes, I want to make a list of oft-mangled words that make me cringe and not want to read communities.

The herb that makes the tea to start menstruation (incidentally, that makes it an emmenagogue) is parsley. Not, as some would have us believe, "parsely". No, dear, spelling it the same wrong way consistently still doesn't make you right.

Also, unless you are oviparous, and if you are, then you should be rich, that being something humans aren't designed to be, you are not laying in your bed in night. You are lying there. I know, I occasionally make the same mistake, and have to refer back to the rule to correct myself. But... try, won't you? Please?

No, I'm not going to strip with you. But if you're asking my indulgence, then certainly I can bear with you. Not "bare". That's just rude when we've never met before, don't you think?

While we're at it, I wish I could make the misspelling "dissapear", well, disappear.

Yep. Sometimes I want to make a list. And make it easy to find. Definitely post it somewhere online. And then I remember -- there already are lists. They're called "dictionaries". And, well, we know these people already aren't consulting them.

But oh, how I wish they would.

Comments

Sing it, sister!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

"Saftey" is like fingernails on a blackboard to me.

Also, "birth" is a NOUN. "To bear" a child is the verb... no matter how politically correct and newly popular the word "birthing" may be.

Re: Sing it, sister!

[midnightfae.livejournal.com]

*gasp* Because, of course, languages never actually evolve! *shakes her head vigorously* Nope! Never!

Re: Sing it, sister!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, the usual response to people who prefer linguistic correctness. The moment I can tell the difference between a language evolving and stupidity, I'll be sure to rant only against one of them.

Re: Sing it, sister!

[zibblsnrt.livejournal.com]

Simple. Does a large chunk of, or a majority of, the population use the new usage? If so, it's the 'correct' one. Language is one of those things in which popular usage overrides textbook standards.

Re: Sing it, sister!

[kuangning]

A large chunk of the population of this country can't tell you how many other countries share the continent with us, read well enough to fill out a job application, or consistently spell such a common name as "Michael". If that is the only measure, then we're in bad shape.

Re: Sing it, sister!

[zibblsnrt.livejournal.com]

It's the only measure for a living language, not most other things. I'm referring more to spoken than spelled English, though.

Re: Sing it, sister!

[kuangning]

*nods.* I can understand it in spoken English, or writing that's meant to reproduce spoken English. But this is a printed-word forum, and there is a spell-check function available when one is posting comments. There is therefore no excuse for "dissapear". Or, for that matter, "parsely".

Re: Sing it, sister!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I agree in theory. I think deciding about a specific case is not at all guaranteed to be easy. I haven't polled a statistically significant sample of Americans, much less people from other English-speaking places, about "birth"; I admit it's laziness on my part to assume Occam's razor.

Re: Sing it, sister!

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

dictionary.reference.com says:

Regional Note: Until recently the use of birth as a verb meaning "to bear (a child)" has been confined to Southern speech: "Heap o' good it do a woman to birth a mess o' young uns and raise 'em and then have 'em all go off to oncet." (Marjorie K. Rawlings). Recently, however, the nonstandard Southern usage has coincided with widespread usage of verbs derived from nouns, such as parent, network, and microwave. Birth in this new usage is most commonly found in its present participial form and is used as an adjective in compounds such as birthing center.

It's not incorrect, I'd say, so much as very regional, non-standard, and expanding. They verbed it. ;)

I'll accept non-standard as correct, but I'd be careful about usage and context.

Re: Sing it, sister!

[kuangning]

*wince.* Yes.

And the verb is "breathe". Not "breath". Similarly, one "bathes" or one takes "baths".

I'm a bit of a snob, I know. But I fully believe that English is the most beautiful, vibrant, versatile language one could hope for, lending itself to expressing things that simply couldn't be said gracefully in many other languages. That makes it a bit harder to master, but mastering it is well worth the effort. People who don't seem to make more than a rudimentary effort to learn their own native tongue annoy me.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

The lay/lie confusion is one of my peeves. One of the teachers at the school where I taught last year confused them frequently, or rather, always said "lay." I think people assume "lie" means to tell a falsehood, and thus, is wrong.

Lay requires an object. I see it as easy, but then, I see English as a delightful adventure.

[kuangning]

I think that's the best summary I've seen yet. :) My former co-workers also used "lay" for everything; it hadn't occurred to me that there might be a different explanation than simple force of habit.

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

I think I love you.

[kuangning]

Librarians and professors usually do. *laugh.*

[lothie.livejournal.com]

I probably misspell parsley. *embarrassed*

[kuangning]

Do you do it again and again and think the wrong spelling's the right one, though? ;)

[lothie.livejournal.com]

I doubt I'd get aggressive about it but I really did think it was spelled that way. I'm glad I know better now (and I'm such a good speller normally!).

HAHAH!

[rare.livejournal.com]

You're a word/grammar snob too! I blame my grandmother, since she always corrected me, but now I expect people to pay attention. And these are definitely good. Oh, the danger of homonyms! And the evils of internet chat rooms! "Thx, u gave me teh rite word 2 use!" *argh*

Re: HAHAH!

[kuangning]

*snicker.* Yeah. Although I don't have a precedent in my family -- I've always been the one everyone else brings their work to, for editing.

[anoisblue.livejournal.com]

I'm guilty of laying vs. lying, I think. That one always gets me. If you see it wrong in a post of mine, please tell me.

Can we add the millions who write loose when they mean lose? Drives me nuts.

[kuangning]

Oooh, yes. That drives me crazy, too.

[scarlett13.livejournal.com]

I get the feeling that I am not the only one receiving e-mail and wanting to correct spelling and grammar and send it back.

[kuangning]

Heee. No, you're not.