# Let me axe you something.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 14, 2001, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283 "2001-11-14T06:59:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/141 "2001-11-22T02:59:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > \*\*Cheat Chet? > No Jew? > Nose go. \*\* Since nobody bothered to respond, I will do so myself. The above conversation can be translated as: Did you eat yet? No, did you? No, let’s go. ---
**Author:** ![shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/142 "2001-11-22T05:41:15Z")
I’m a middle-class white girl who teaches English Lit. to predominantly African-American high school students. While I typically love their varying uses of language and have even adopted a few into my own vocabulary, there are a few things that drive me nuts simply because I hear them all the time. Some are AAVE related, some aren’t. 1. As was mentioned a few posts up, “Let me hold a pencil.” 2. “Ms. Shrew, where do you stay?” 3. “Ms. Shrew, I saw you yesterday in the screet.” 4. “Where’s my book at?” 5. “I can’t stay today. I got practice.” I never used to mind the “sc” for “st” until I had a student by the last name of Strong say to me one day, “Ms. Shrew, what’s wrong with me? I’m a seventeen year old, and I can’t pronounce my own last name. The other guys at Duke are gonna laugh at me.” I felt as if I had failed him. ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/143 "2001-11-23T15:35:14Z")
I have no idea why Forbin and jack@ss have a problem with the word disorientated. The [OED](http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00066463/00066463se1) seems perfectly happy with it. As does [Merriam-Webster](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=disorient). First recorded use in the 1700s… :shrug: ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/144 "2001-11-23T21:45:26Z")
My step-sister was raised by her mother and step-father (who has altimers disease :rolleyes: ). I was raised by my mother and step-father (her father). I use correct grammar and pronunciation. She does not. It’s quite funny to listen to a conversation between the two of us. I’m isn’t and she’s ain’t; I’m nuclear and she’s nukular; she’s anyways and I’m at any rate. It makes me wonder about the whole nature vs. nurture argument. My full sister speaks properly. My two step-brothers are sort of in between, as they went back and forth between families while we were young. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/145 "2001-11-24T02:19:36Z")
I just wanted to add that I say things wrong on purpose constantly to amuse myself, although most people don’t get it. I frequently hear myself saying things like “Where the fuck my cell phone went?” and “Where the hell e’ybody at?” Yeah, I get alot of strange looks. Along the same lines, I had several English teachers while growing up that told us that it doesn’t matter how you talk as long as you _know_ the right way to say it and it’s right when you write it down. ---
**Author:** ![shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/146 "2001-11-24T03:08:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cisco \* > Along the same lines, I had several English teachers while growing up that told us that it doesn’t matter how you talk as long as you _know_ the right way to say it and it’s right when you write it down. That’s pretty much what I tell my students. Differences in language are beautiful, but it’s important to know HOW to speak Standard American English in case you ever want and/or need to. It’s a big part of the road to Social Mobility if that road is one you wish to travel. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/147 "2001-11-24T03:45:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Andy \* > \*\*I have no idea why Forbin and jack@ss have a problem with the word disorientated. > The [OED](http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00066463/00066463se1) seems perfectly happy with it. As does [Merriam-Webster](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=disorient). > First recorded use in the 1700s… > > :shrug: \*\* I think the word is **disoriented** , not **disorientated**. Kinda like **preventative**. It should be just **preventive**. People sometimes stick that extra “at” in there by mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Cumber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5ac83/32.png) [@Cumber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumber)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/148 "2001-11-24T04:51:14Z")
Dammit. Disorientated always seems hideously wrong to me, but I use preventative, and logically you’re right, it should be preventive. I can’t be happy either way. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/149 "2001-11-24T04:56:40Z")
“Could of” and “should of” get me. Also, and it’s a general US thing, “gotten”, as in, “Have you gotten the bread yet?”. It is “got”. But, I know, it is a part of the American language and as such will not be changed. I have a friend who pronounces binocular as “binoclear” and nuclear as “nucular”. I often pronounce things incorrectly (or, as in the following example, substitute similar sounding words) for my own ammusement such as “placebo” instead of possibly. Wife: “Will you be able to go out tonight?” Me: “Placebo” **Harry, carry, ferry** Harry and carry are pronounced as if they have an “a” in them, ferry is pronounced as though it has an “e” (funny that eh?). I can’t really see how they can rhyme unless you say Harry like “hairy”. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/150 "2001-11-24T05:30:25Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Skogcat \* > **Also, and it’s a general US thing, “gotten”, as in, “Have you gotten the bread yet?”. It is “got”. But, I know, it is a part of the American language and as such will not be changed.** _ The preferred past participle for got is “gotten” in standard American English, and “got” in British English. Grammatically they are interchangable, but preferred usage differs depending on where you are. The same is true with burned/burnt, and learned/learnt. Neither is more grammatically correct than the other, but one is the preferred usage. > [@](#): > > **Harry, carry, ferry** > > Harry and carry are pronounced as if they have an “a” in them, ferry is pronounced as though it has an “e” (funny that eh?). I can’t really see how they can rhyme unless you say Harry like “hairy”. \*\* These are called r controlled vowels. The /r/ following the /e/ and /a/ distort them to such a degree that it is virtually impossible to distinguish between them. Try this. Have someone say either “ferry” or “fairy” in isolation. Can you tell the difference outside of context? If so, you have a more discriminating ear than the vast majority of people. Use these in a poem as rhymes and it won’t jar the ear at all. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/151 "2001-11-24T05:41:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > \*\* > > These are called r controlled vowels. The /r/ following the /e/ and /a/ distort them to such a degree that it is virtually impossible to distinguish between them. Try this. Have someone say either “ferry” or “fairy” in isolation. Can you tell the difference outside of context? If so, you have a more discriminating ear than the vast majority of people. Use these in a poem as rhymes and it won’t jar the ear at all. \*\* I think it depends on who is doing the talking. Most people I know (Australia/New Zealand) pronounce “ferry” with a short “e” and so it can be distinguished from “fairy” which has a longer vowel sound. “Harry” and “carry” both sound different enough from “ferry” that they wouldn’t be used in a rhyme. Though it doesn’t stick out like dogs balls in the above rhyme because they are used within the line rather than at the end and so if I was to read that poem cold I would not suspect that those words were meant to rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![PRNYouth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PRNYouth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PRNYouth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/152 "2001-11-24T05:51:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mauvaise \* > \*\*As for the OP: I had a manager once who would use “boughten” as the past tense of “bought”. Grrr. > \*\* **Mauvaise** , [boughten](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=boughten) is indeed a word, according to Merriam-Webster. Your manager certainly was incorrect to use it as the past tense of bought (which is, of course, already past tense – I’d like to hear examples of how he or she used it), but it **is** a word. I once got into an argument about it with a girl I was dating! I didn’t believe it was a word, and since she’d been teasing me about “ya’ll”, I challenged her on it when she referred to “boughten cookies”. We looked it up, and lo and behold, she was right. It is chiefly dialect, but it means the same as store-bought. (Speaking of pet peeves, “low and behold”, which I often see online, irritates me!) ---
**Author:** ![Salix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Salix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salix)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/153 "2001-11-24T05:57:13Z")
It makes me irrestless when people irrelentlessly use the word irregardless. ---
**Author:** ![Etaoin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Etaoin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Etaoin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/154 "2001-11-24T06:47:27Z")
John, while Jim had had had “had,” had “had had.” “Had had” had had a better effect on the teacher. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/155 "2001-11-24T12:48:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skogcat \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > > \*\* > > > > These are called r controlled vowels. The /r/ following the /e/ and /a/ distort them to such a degree that it is virtually impossible to distinguish between them. Try this. Have someone say either “ferry” or “fairy” in isolation. Can you tell the difference outside of context? If so, you have a more discriminating ear than the vast majority of people. Use these in a poem as rhymes and it won’t jar the ear at all. \*\* > > I think it depends on who is doing the talking. Most people I know (Australia/New Zealand) pronounce “ferry” with a short “e” and so it can be distinguished from “fairy” which has a longer vowel sound. “Harry” and “carry” both sound different enough from “ferry” that they wouldn’t be used in a rhyme. Though it doesn’t stick out like dogs balls in the above rhyme because they are used within the line rather than at the end and so if I was to read that poem cold I would not suspect that those words were meant to rhyme. \*\* If “fairy” is pronounced with a long /a/ sound (fay-ree), as you describe, it is indeed quite different. If “fairy” is pronounced with a short /a/ sound, as it is by most Americans, there is only a very slight difference, one that most people do not hear. The experiment I describe would be useless to someone who pronounces “fairy” with a long /a/. Rhymes are slippery things. In poetry, they do not have to be exact rhymes (the term is slant rhymes) to catch the ear correctly, particularly in the case of feminine rhymes. In “The Raven” Poe rhymes the end of his first two lines with the first two syllables of a three syllable word in the middle of the third, and the third line has a differnt vowel sound than the first two. Yet it still works. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/156 "2001-11-25T11:34:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > \*\* > > If “fairy” is pronounced with a long /a/ sound (fay-ree), as you describe, it is indeed quite different. If “fairy” is pronounced with a short /a/ sound, as it is by most Americans, there is only a very slight difference, one that most people do not hear. The experiment I describe would be useless to someone who pronounces “fairy” with a long /a/. > > \*\* Ok, long /a/ sound was an incorrect way to describe it. But think of the difference between “fetch” and “fear” or “fair” and you may see how “ferry” can be different from “fairy”. Harry/carry /a/ as in Cat Ferry /e/ as in set I suppose you’re going to say that cat and set rhyme to you guys too!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/157 "2001-11-25T12:51:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Etaoin \* > \*\*John, while Jim had had had “had,” had “had had.” “Had had” had had a better effect on the teacher. \*\* 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Etaoin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Etaoin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Etaoin)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/158 "2001-11-25T15:37:19Z")
Had it with had had, had you? [http://hive-mind.com/mindgames/had/hadsol.html](http://hive-mind.com/mindgames/had/hadsol.html) ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Rubin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billy_rubin/32/3622_2.png) [@Billy\_Rubin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Rubin)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/159 "2001-11-25T16:03:49Z")
Well, you don’t have to go nucular just because someone can’t pronounce a word properly. b. [sub]God, I hate that, and Jimmy Carter used to say it all the time!![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Diogenes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283/160 "2001-11-25T17:01:31Z")
“of an evening” Ex. “We should go to the movies of an evening.” _cringe_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-me-axe-you-something/93283.md?page=9)