# What mispronunciations/grammatical errors drive you absolutely batty? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148 "2005-08-15T21:32:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Barely\_Adequate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58956e/32.png) [@Barely\_Adequate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barely_Adequate)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/101 "2005-08-16T22:00:05Z")
> [@lorinada](#): > > Realitor and joolery’s famous cousin - athalete. Which in turn reminds me that there must be a special place in Hell reserved for the pretentiously ignorant sportscaster who needlessly coined the atrocity “athleticism”. …and it’s “deh-TROYT”, not “DEE-troyt” (admittedly a minor quibble, except to those born and raised in Motown) ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/102 "2005-08-16T22:01:24Z")
Oh, I’m at the end already? I’m an editor, and I am very glad most of you have covered many of my pet peeves already. Here we go: “AHN-vuh-loaf” This is how my step-mother pronounces “envelope.” It’s specific to her, but it grates my last raw nerve. I’ve given up correcting her after about 20 years. Notice to all Dopers – You generally do NOT need to pronounce the “s” at the end of any of the following: **regard** – Unless you are _sending many kind regard **s**._ Otherwise, "the meeting is _in regard to…"_ or you _“make a comment regarding…”_ **toward** - you never need “toward **s** ”. Never. Unless there’s more than one. anyway - I believe this one was covered. There’s never an “s” at the end. **backward, forward** - Nope. Only one there. No “s” needed. Ever. Recently, another editor (who thankfully, has moved on to greener pastures) proclaimed no less than three times in an editorial meeting, that we would all have to be more **“villigent”** this year. At first, I thought I heard her wrong. Then she said it a couple more times. I looked around and decided that either I’m the only editor there with half a brain, or my colleagues have excellent poker faces. Incidentally, I’ve submitted this one to Scott Adams and actually received an e-mail back from him thanking me. It’s my most prized and treasured e-mail. Many of my Ohioan family members call those big storms, “HYUR-icanes.” Gah! Another Ohio thing is to pronounce “roof” as “ruff” and “wash” as “worsh”. There are probably a lot more regionalisms I’m forgetting, but since many of those seemed to have crept into this thread… ::shrugs:: From journalism school, my all-time favorite, most annoying pet peeve is a usage error, not a prnounciation error. “Over 3 billion served.” It should be “More than 3 billion served.” If the opposite of over is under, then the two terms denot physical location. “Less than” and “more than” denote quantity. People misuse the terms and use the one for location when they mean the one for quantity. What is really heartbreaking about this, to me, is the fact that this is the Number 1 Journalism School Rule of AP Style that is pounded into your head throughout college, and I hear this misusage frequently on cable news networks, local news broadcasts, and I also see it in print all the time. :mad: :: crosses fingers that I didn’t miss a typo:: ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/103 "2005-08-16T22:05:19Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > From journalism school, my all-time favorite, most annoying pet peeve is a usage error, not a prnounciation error. Dammit. :smack: **"Pronounciation,"** typed the former Spelling Bee Champion, as she slunk out of the thread in shame." slunk? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Barely\_Adequate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58956e/32.png) [@Barely\_Adequate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barely_Adequate)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/104 "2005-08-16T22:18:46Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > Dammit. > > :smack: > > **"Pronounciation,"** typed the former Spelling Bee Champion, as she slunk out of the thread in shame." > > slunk? > 😃 …and I’m reasonably certain that the former SBC meant to type “pronunciation”. Slunk a bit further… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/105 "2005-08-16T23:21:11Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > What cheerful praise does she reserve then for the Scots and Irish, and their dialects? Well actually she is from the north-east of England and speaks with an accent that most people would not even recognise as English. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/106 "2005-08-16T23:23:23Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > On auction. > > Is this “orction” supposed to replicate the way it’s pronounced in New York? > > I would say “awk-shun”. In our regional accent, ock and awk are not the same. > You need to round the lips a bit to get the “w” part. Yeah that s the same pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/107 "2005-08-16T23:24:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Something that winds me up is that Scottish people, like my girlfriend, say “the bed needs made” instead of “the bed needs making” or “the bed needs to be made”. Or “those clothes need ironed”. Arrrrrggghhhhh. AHH! Yes! I’m starting to hear this all the time now. I assumed it was a Southern American thing, since I hear it from the “born ‘n’ bred” types here in semi-rural Florida, rather than the out-of-staters. I usually hear it in the context of something that “needs done.” Few things are as annoying in print as misplaced apostrophes, but “should/would **of** ” is a contender. Another trend I’ve noticed on the “innernet” (don’t get me started on that one) in the last couple of years is dropping the space between two words that often appear together, such as “infront,” “ofcourse,” “incase,” “atleast,” etc. I’m going to pop a blood vessel in my eye the next time I see that. I once saw a sig line on Slashdot that said, “‘A lot’ is two words. You wouldn’t say ‘alittle,’ would you?” At first I thought that was a great way to make that point, but then I started to see “alittle.” \ It’s a losing battle, I swear. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/108 "2005-08-16T23:31:54Z")
References to the \* figure as an _asterix_. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/109 "2005-08-16T23:55:13Z")
> [@Fromage A Trois](#): > > … Scottish people, like my girlfriend, say “the bed needs made” instead of “the bed needs making” or “the bed needs to be made”. Or “those clothes need ironed”. The US home of this is probably Pittsburgh PA. Interesting to learn it can be found in the Old World. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/110 "2005-08-16T23:56:50Z")
I managed to shove “assepted” for “accepted” out of my mind until I talked to my grandfather last night. I swear my family used to pronounce the C in that word. I have no idea where it went. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/111 "2005-08-17T00:49:16Z")
The concrete section which divides a main road is called a median strip, not a medi **um** strip. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/112 "2005-08-17T01:08:13Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > If the opposite of over is under, then the two terms **denot** physical location… > > :: crosses fingers that I didn’t miss a typo:: Missed one 😃 I agree with most of the peeves listed (and am guilty of a few), but I just don’t get the peeve about _often_ being pronounced OFF-ten. Etymologically it is an alteration of _oft_. Just seems natural to pronounce the T. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/113 "2005-08-17T01:32:30Z")
> [@soulmurk](#): > > Just seems natural to pronounce the T. If there’s one thing English teaches us, it’s that “natural” ain’t necessarily _right_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/114 "2005-08-17T02:22:17Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > If there’s one thing English teaches us, it’s that “natural” ain’t necessarily _right_. 😃 Too true 😉 Though I’ll never be able to break myself of pronouncing the T. Sorry all that are peeved by that. To me it’s the people that don’t pronounce it that makes it sound weird. Just omitting a letter in the middle of the word… it’s like saying _liberry_. I grew up in northern NJ, so hearing certain words pronounced without the heavy “aww” sound still sounds off (read: Awf) to my ears. It just sounds so… weak, to hear coffee pronounced _cof-e_ instead of _CAW-fee_, etc… ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/115 "2005-08-17T02:45:58Z")
All of mine have been covered here except for this one, which probably doesn’t happen anywhere else in the known universe. A news person at the station where I work refers to a thing called “sosal security.” It’s not a one-time slip-up, either. Every freakin’ time. Sosal. I’ve tried to fathom whether she is trying and failing to pronounce it as “so-see-al” instead of “so-shul”, but no, it’s “sosal.” I’ll be over here strangling something. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/116 "2005-08-17T02:49:03Z")
> [@jastu](#): > > May I add to this with my pet peeve: Eye-rack. Listen to military personnel. That is the standard pronunciation - for them. I guess because they have to style themselves tough hillbilly Joe Sixpack types. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/117 "2005-08-17T03:59:17Z")
NEE-ZHEHR instead of NYE-JER ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/118 "2005-08-17T05:10:38Z")
A more enjoyable 10 minutes’ teeth-grinding I’ve never spent, thanks folks. My contribution: the redundant **of** that seem to be appearing everywhere now. It’s not that bad **of** a show I’m not that good **of** a speller and its feral cousin: It’s **in back of** the tree over there - what’s wrong with **behind**? ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/119 "2005-08-17T11:55:52Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > NEE-ZHEHR instead of NYE-JER Which is your preferred? Because NEE-ZHEHR is the way its pronounced in Niger, and also in BBC news broadcasts. Even though it looks tempting, you shouldn’t think of Niger as Nigeria minus the “ia”. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/120 "2005-08-17T11:57:06Z")
> [@moonstarssun](#): > > One thing I noticed here in WI that’s a little weird is the pronounciation of “foliage.” They say “fole-age” instead. 😕 My wife grew up in the Bronx (NY) and she tells me that most of the people in her neighborhood pronounced foliage as “foil- idge”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148.md?page=7)