Say what?
Sometimes when I listen to my students speak, I wonder how the hell they ever passed English class. Forget my students, what about a whole chunk of society?
I’ve always paid particular attention to how I say things. I don’t know why, but I have. Maybe it was that I was a language major in college and listened carefully so that my “new” accent couldn’t be detected when speaking with a group of natives.
Maybe it was growing up on Long Island. My ears still prickle when I hear that nasal sound when words like talk were morphed into tawk. When the show “The Nanny” became a hit on NBC, I cringed listening as “Fran Fein” laughed and showed the world her insanely nasal speech. It so hurts my ears!
Forgetting the accents, what's happening with the English language?
I mean, think about it, adults are supposably here for kids to ax questions so we can lead them in the apopriate direction in life and help shape them into successful and functional members of society. It’s disgusting when I listen to people conversating in everyday situations – not necesscelery just here at my job – and hear the same crap being used as if they were acceptable, REAL words.
Anotherwords, our language is falling to shit.
There is one thing, however that gets me. Someone told me that sherbert isn’t a word. It’s sherbet.
WHAT?
I was convinced they were wrong. So, me being me, I went to the liberry acrosst town to check it out.
Know what? It’s NOT a word!
Fuck it. I’m still gonna use it. It sounds better than sherbet. Even more, when it’s my birfday in Febooary or I’m out to dinner for Valentime’s day, I’m gonna order sherbert. No one will notice.
I’ve always paid particular attention to how I say things. I don’t know why, but I have. Maybe it was that I was a language major in college and listened carefully so that my “new” accent couldn’t be detected when speaking with a group of natives.
Maybe it was growing up on Long Island. My ears still prickle when I hear that nasal sound when words like talk were morphed into tawk. When the show “The Nanny” became a hit on NBC, I cringed listening as “Fran Fein” laughed and showed the world her insanely nasal speech. It so hurts my ears!
Forgetting the accents, what's happening with the English language?
I mean, think about it, adults are supposably here for kids to ax questions so we can lead them in the apopriate direction in life and help shape them into successful and functional members of society. It’s disgusting when I listen to people conversating in everyday situations – not necesscelery just here at my job – and hear the same crap being used as if they were acceptable, REAL words.
Anotherwords, our language is falling to shit.
There is one thing, however that gets me. Someone told me that sherbert isn’t a word. It’s sherbet.
WHAT?
I was convinced they were wrong. So, me being me, I went to the liberry acrosst town to check it out.
Know what? It’s NOT a word!
Fuck it. I’m still gonna use it. It sounds better than sherbet. Even more, when it’s my birfday in Febooary or I’m out to dinner for Valentime’s day, I’m gonna order sherbert. No one will notice.
posted by BlueChickat 11:01 AM
6 Comments:
Just found your blog I don't know how, by "walking" through blogville. I red your text and it made me laugh. I don't know if you are American, English, Australian, or Canadian I can only tell you that the German teachers say exactly the same, so do the French, Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese for their respectif language. I live in Belgium and speak french and what I see and hear here it's a catastrophe and I feel the same in german or when I read english blogs ! There is something going on in all languages apparently. But on another hand I think that's also normal that way or could you imagine to speak and write in an english from the 15th or 16th century ? Only look at Shakespear he used another language as we had or have.
Is "irregardless" a word? Some say it is, some say it ain't. Irregardless, it bugs me.
Maritza: "irregardless" is redundant. It's not in the dictionary, and not a real word. "Regardless" is the correct word. FYI.
I see the same with language. It seems to me that people are getting more illiterate. I know they were taught proper English in school (or their own native language). I don't know what it is with the mangling of English--written and spoken.
My brother and sister in -law always say 'ideal' instead of 'idea'.."That's a good ideal!"..and they always got to the store 'for' they can get something..drives me straight up the wall.
Great post and a terrible problem. It's a sad state of affairs for the poor mangled language. I always think of Anguished English when I read posts like yours.
LMAO
Oh, god - yes, thank you for writing this. I don't normally consider myself a snob, but when it comes to language (written more than spoken, even) I get really annoyed about folks that announce they are going to travel down "highway farty-far (44) to go home so that they can do the warsh (wash)."
What?
I have lived in several states in different parts of the country, and love different accents. I adore the different ways that people express themselves. I myself make up words, use all kinds of slang, expletives, and nasty-ass grammar...I especially love to use the word "fuck" (oooh, that was fun!).
However: I do it by choice and know how to express myself in other ways as well. It pains me when I hear people butcher the English language and don't even know they are doing it.
I love sherbert, by the way. I think I'm going to have some Ornch Juice.
:)
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