Language pet peeves

[ditto1958]

I had the dubious pleasure of growing up with an English teacher in our home- my mom. While it is fortunate that I somehow avoided becoming a language snob, one result of my upbringing that I am, from time to time, confronted with language pet peeves that sometimes really annoy me.

So, to get some of this off my chest, here are a few that currently annoy me:

1. The one I see most often these days is misuse of the word jealous. When someone else gets a really nice gun, and I don't have one like it, I am not jealous of that person. I am envious. If, however, someone else is flirting with my girlfriend at the dance, and I'm afraid she will choose him over me, I am jealous.

2. Mispronunciation of "nuclear." Despite what our former president George W. would have us believe, it's NEW-clear, and not NEW-kya-lar. This one really puzzles me, as you can look at the word all day and never see more than two syllables in it.

3. "Waiting on" something to happen. I'm not sure why this has become prevalent, but it's incorrect. At a restaurant, waiters and waitresses do wait on tables. Meanwhile, their customers wait for their food to arrive.

There. I feel better now. Feel free to add some that may annoy you.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

Down South, we are always "waiting on", lol.

"Are you ready to go ? Yeah, I'm waitin' on ya" !!

Funny as I've been saying "NEW-kya-lar" all my life, lol.

Probably the one that "peeves" me the most is when I here someone say "Youse Guys". Especially to Females.

[Sir Henry]

English really bothers me. But if I only said it bothers me would that mean it bothers me less?

[tractortad]

Hate to disagree with an English teacher (and a mom), but I think nuclear is pronounced nu-cle-ar... similar to nu-cle-us.

[RanchRoper]

I don't no nothin' bout this stuff.

[Les]

A lot of folks in the USA never learned to speak English proper like wot it should be spoke. If it comes to that, a lot of people over here in the UK didn't, either.

I shudder every day at the way the language in this country (UK) is being destroyed by bad spelling, poor punctuation, and a total inability to string a sentence together without using txt speak or bad language. There are children leaving school who have English as their first language, but they will probably never be able to get a job because few, if any, will ever be able to compose a CV, and if they do manage that then they will never get past the first interview.

Until the education system actually realizes that the pupils are there to be educated, and are not just there to be looked after for 8 hours a day, then I can't see the situation changing any time soon.

As a bonus of being on a couple of US forums, I am learning how to spell USA English as opposed to UK English.

I think George Bernard Shaw summed this up when he said: 'The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language'.

[PT7]

Tractortad is correct, and correctly corrected the English teacher:

nu·cle·ar
[ˈn(y)o͞oklēər]

To hear it pronounced, use this link. Top example in this search page; click on the little speaker:
https://www.bing.com/search?q=how+to+pr ... US&PC=LCTS

Hate to disagree with an English teacher (and a mom), but I think nuclear is pronounced nu-cle-ar... similar to nu-cle-us.

[PT7]

Great quote by G.B. Shaw.....spot on, Les!

A lot of folks in the USA never learned to speak English proper like wot it should be spoke. If it comes to that, a lot of people over here in the UK didn't, either.

I shudder every day at the way the language in this country (UK) is being destroyed by bad spelling, poor punctuation, and a total inability to string a sentence together without using txt speak or bad language. There are children leaving school who have English as their first language, but they will probably never be able to get a job because few, if any, will ever be able to compose a CV, and if they do manage that then they will never get past the first interview.

Until the education system actually realizes that the pupils are there to be educated, and are not just there to be looked after for 8 hours a day, then I can't see the situation changing any time soon.

As a bonus of being on a couple of US forums, I am learning how to spell USA English as opposed to UK English.

I think George Bernard Shaw summed this up when he said: 'The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language'.

[Dennis H]

George Bernard Shaw, now there's an evil character. My latest is people not pronouncing t's. Say important without pronouncing the t's. Drives me nuts!


https://youtu.be/hQvsf2MUKRQ

[rhill]

I dont care no how what youse guys say, I be speakin perfect 'Merican, jus lissen to how this here sentence be put together, it be gooder n anythang any one on this here interweb cin spell.

[ditto1958]

I dont care no how what youse guys say, I be speakin perfect 'Merican, jus lissen to how this here sentence be put together, it be gooder n anythang any one on this here interweb cin spell.

Do tell, rhill, do tell.

[ssonb]

I think someone need to get a hobby, like shootn Henry rifles ???? Sometimes we children need to grow past what our parents inflicted on us.

[DWD445]

Being from Ohio and father growing up in NC, mom's parents from KY, I'm used to a little drawl. Used to go to Chrysler training in PA,
what's up with color being pronounced keller and what's a yooins ??