# Supposably - have mispronounced words become standard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875 "2015-02-17T00:36:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/201 "2015-02-24T04:40:24Z")
yous peeps bee silly. All dis bak n fourth over dumass words dat don’t nobody no nothing bout enyway. Tis all hot heir To quote of the greats: “_ **Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth!** _” ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/202 "2015-02-24T06:36:18Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > yous peeps bee silly. All dis bak n fourth over dumass words dat don’t nobody no nothing bout enyway. Tis all hot heir > > […] Oh, stop it. You sound like someone who got into college on a football scholarship. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/203 "2015-02-24T22:14:31Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > yous peeps bee silly. All dis bak n fourth over dumass words dat don’t nobody no nothing bout enyway. Tis all hot heir > > To quote of the greats: > > “_ **Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth!** _” Just state your point. You keep posting this same type of thing over and over again. People are trying to explain something, if you don’t understand or agree with them, just say it. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/204 "2015-02-25T01:25:39Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Just state your point. You keep posting this same type of thing over and over again. People are trying to explain something, if you don’t understand or agree with them, just say it. My posts _are_ my point. 😉 And you must not be familiar with the late Richard Pryor. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/205 "2015-02-25T01:46:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If it’s \*SO ubiquitous now \* then they _are_ “writing it properly.” Unlike France, there is no National Board of Right Use English. What’s “proper”= what is common usage and can be understood. When that argument works to modify SAT scores, let me know. ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/206 "2015-02-25T13:50:57Z")
A few people have touched on this, but how exactly does the OP (and most of the rest of you, for that matter) think new languages are formed? By mistakes (in spelling, pronunciation, grammar) becoming ‘standard’. How did Latin become French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, and Spanish? Well, geographically separate people who all initially spoke Latin started butchering it in little ways, and hundreds of years later you have five languages where you once had one. How else could different languages form, realistically? If there were no “mispronunciations” (and “errors” of grammar), we’d all still be speaking some ur-language. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/207 "2015-02-25T14:05:12Z")
> [@whc.03grady](#): > > A few people have touched on this, but how exactly does the OP (and most of the rest of you, for that matter) think new languages are formed? By mistakes (in spelling, pronunciation, grammar) becoming ‘standard’. How did Latin become French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, and Spanish? Well, geographically separate people who all initially spoke Latin started butchering it in little ways, and hundreds of years later you have five languages where you once had one. How else could different languages form, realistically? If there were no “mispronunciations” (and “errors” of grammar), we’d all still be speaking some ur-language. We agree with you. If people want to butcher English, we can’t stop them. But they should realize that what they’re speaking is no longer English, and it’s certainly not Standard English. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/208 "2015-02-25T14:43:32Z")
It’s still English. Whether we can call it Standard English depends on how much variation you allow in the definition of it. Misspelling one word doesn’t mean that you don’t know Standard English. Furthermore, there are various versions of Standard English. Standard American English is not quite the same thing as Standard British English. ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/209 "2015-02-25T15:02:50Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > We agree with you. If people want to butcher English, we can’t stop them. But they should realize that what they’re speaking is no longer English, and it’s certainly not Standard English. No longer English? Guy in Minneapolis: That’s the Mississippi River. Gal in Memphis: No, _that’s_ the Mississippi River. Guy in New Orleans: No and no–_that_ right _there_ is the Mississippi River. Me, rolling eyes: It’s all the Mississippi River, you nitwits. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/210 "2015-02-25T15:12:19Z")
> [@whc.03grady](#): > > No longer English? > Guy in Minneapolis: That’s the Mississippi River. > Gal in Memphis: No, _that’s_ the Mississippi River. > Guy in New Orleans: No and no–_that_ right _there_ is the Mississippi River. > Me, rolling eyes: It’s all the Mississippi River, you nitwits. That’s all well and good in the U. S. A., but don’t try it with the Nile, the Amazon, or the Ob’, for example. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/211 "2015-02-25T15:50:35Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > We agree with you. If people want to butcher English, we can’t stop them. But they should realize that what they’re speaking is no longer English, and it’s certainly not Standard English. What’s funny to me is that you might think this is some sort of threat. “Person, I do not consider you to be speaking STANDARD ENGLISH!” And then the quaking starts. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/212 "2015-02-25T18:41:47Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > But they should realize that what they’re speaking is no longer English, and it’s certainly not Standard English. According to **Keeve** ,:rolleyes: perhaps but not according to any body of authority. ---
**Author:** ![ellie303](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/53a042/32.png) [@ellie303](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ellie303)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/213 "2015-02-27T10:32:20Z")
@ Ornery Bob “I’m sorry that your mother didn’t care enough about you to teach you manners, but it’s not my problem. Please leave me alone” “But I need you to fix my computer.” “Fuck off.” HAHA. “I have no patience for people so insecure that they have to “prove” their superiority.” I definitely agree. ---
**Author:** ![ellie303](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/53a042/32.png) [@ellie303](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ellie303)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/214 "2015-02-27T10:39:38Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Wow. People actually still correct that one? I simply refuse to use the word “whom” in casual conversation. Only if I’m intending to speak in a formal voice will I use it–it’s not a part of casual speech where I’m from, nor, it seems, where any of my friends are from. Seriously, even the most literary types I know do not use “whom” in casual speech. And I get amused when I hear over-corrections where people use “whom” where the subjective case “who” is called for. I agree. Casual conversation is so different than public speaking. If I’m doing a speech, I get uptight about who vs whom, but it seems too rigid in everyday conversation. ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/215 "2015-03-01T02:04:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You’re absolutely right. I fouled up my description of her mispronunciation. > > She says “conne **c** t” whereas AFAIK everybody else says “connet” with the second “c” just skipped. > > D’oh :smack: I say “Connect-ee-cut” when I’m trying to spell it, or when I’m being a dork. ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/216 "2015-03-01T02:55:28Z")
When everyone just had computers, people had to spell their own words when posting – all they got was a red squiggly under their word if it wasn’t something the spell checker knew. A spell checker won’t tell you if you used “to” when you meant “too”. Now, there are probably as many people posting and texting and tweeting using a software keyboard on a screen that has predictive type as on a regular keyboard. So we now have people that can’t spell or construct a sentence being advised by an AI that has no idea what they are trying to say. People used to read books and newspapers and magazines, all products that had high production values to ensure that the author’s intent was adequately presented, correct in both format and content. Now, they read each others posts and texts and tweets, written by people who cant spel oar right an English sentience. BTW, some words are just very clumsy to try to speak. “Breakfasts” often gets the same treatment as a previous poster’s “forests” \>\> “foress”. On the other hand, I have also heard “breakfasses”. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/217 "2015-03-01T06:37:58Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > And of course you guys insist on using ‘al oo min um’ instead of ‘al u min yum’. I mean - it’s spelled - ALUMINIUM not ALUMINUM. That is hard word to pronounce or spell so I’m not surprised a lot people have a hard time with it. > [@Shakester](#): > > …except in the US it’s spelled without the second I. Americans have been putting their spelling mistakes and mispronunciations into American dictionaries and calling them “correct” for a long time now. > . What words. Can you give us example. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/218 "2015-03-01T07:52:48Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > Now, people using “literally” to mean the _exact opposite_ of the word… What do you mean? Where are people saying literally. > [@Hampshire](#): > > The double negatives still grate on me. up". What are double negatives? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/219 "2015-03-01T08:17:11Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > About ten years ago, I was dictating something to someone. I don’t recall the circumstance, but this person was a high school graduate, possibly a college graduate. I enunciated every word very clearly and deliberately, to avoid confusion, and to make it easier for him. > > When I was done, I looked at what had been written. It was perfect, except every time I said “the”, he had written “thee”. I guess I had enunciated the words a bit too deliberately. You know, if you stopped to consider the full implication of this incident–that is, if you were to fully grasp it–you’d probably reconsider some of the assertions you’ve made in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposably-have-mispronounced-words-become-standard/712875/220 "2015-03-01T10:13:17Z")
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