I really hate it when people say ‘ax’ rather then ‘ask’. Is it really that hard to pronounce the sk? It bothers me to no end when people who don’t have an excuse, such as english not being their first language, butcher english.
Anybody else have a pet peeve concerning particular instances of english language butchering?
Kevja wow thanks for the enlightening comment. I love it when people presume to know why I post things. You are obviuosly an asshole, so fuck off.
Monstro , thanks for the links. They were interesting, particularly the first one. The second one, not so much. Just because people have a problem pronouncing things doesn’t mean it will piss me off less. Since there doesn’t seem to be a medical reason for this, I’ll still chalk it down to a lack of education, and probably, a lack of intelligence. It really isn’t a difficult word.
I don’t know if you can assume anything about either the education or intelligence of someone who pronounces it “ax”, any more than you can assume anything about the education or intelligence of someone who uses the word “pop” instead of “soda”. It’s just a pronunciation that some dialects have.
Not for you, but obviously for others it is. Do you think people say “ax” for the heck of it? So many people, “ax” rolls off the tongue easier than “ask”.
I actually have to concentrate when I say “ask”. Once, I was talking to someone and I found myself saying “ask” and “asked” a lot, and I really was having a hard time not confusing the two. In my brain, they sound very similar. I was glad when the conversation was over, that’s how taxed I was.
I have difficulty saying a lot of words “correctly” due to my Southern accent. It took moving up North for me to notice that I say “heel” instead of “hill” and “peel” instead of “pill”. Even after knowing that “ill” is a different sound than “eel”, I still have a very difficult time saying “ill” words “correctly”.
I don’t have a speech impediment, even though I did spend a year in elementary school in a speech class due to language issues.
You have the right to be pissed, I suppose. But it’s not as easy as saying someone is being lazy for saying a word the way they do. There are these things called accents and dialects that we must tolerate in a vibrant society like ours. No one really speaks standard English except for news reporters.
Urgh when I hear someone start to say “I axed him…” I want to smack them.
It completely distracts me, because I suddenly imagine them with an axe going around chopping at people like they are wood. Then I have to catch up on the thread of the conversation again. Thank goodness I haven’t encountered it here, just on TV.
Well, it’s not “‘its’ it’s ‘it’s’.;” nor is it “it’s ‘it’s’ not ‘its’; it’s ‘it’s.’”
It’s actually “it’s not ‘its,’ it’s ‘it’s.’” The difference being a comma vs. a semi-colon. Got it? If you don’t, feel free to ax me.
Well I’m pretty damn sure there is a huge difference between ‘ax’ and ‘ask’ and ‘pop’ and ‘soda’. For one, pop is not an incorrect pronunciation of soda. In fact it is just a different word to describe the same product. Ax is not another way to pose an inquiry.