What are your favorite Camino misspellings on the forum?

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Not all who wander are lost.

Regarding that ... welcome back.

 

[chinacat]

Thanks, everyone, for the multiple chuckles

Yes, It’s lovely to see you back on the forum … you seem positively jubilant!

 

[trecile]

After seeing it several times today, I'm adding Orrison to my list. It's Orisson. One R, two Ss. Or is that S's???

Refuge Orisson

www.refuge-orisson.com

 

[dougfitz]

Or is that S's???

No, Ss would be fine - it is the plural. S's would indicate the S possessed something! The possessive apostrophe might not be the most incorrectly used punctuation mark, but ...

 

[C clearly]

Or is that S's???

No, Ss would be fine - it is the plural. S's would indicate the S possessed something!

I beg to differ. The lower case would be a confusing "ss". I have consulted trusty Mr. Fowler, who writes, regarding the non-possessive 's:

"it may occasionally be used before a plural s as a device for avoiding confusion, but this should not be extended beyond what is necessary for that purpose. We may reasonably write dot your i's and cross your t's, but there is no need for an apostrophe in but me no buts or one million whys, or for the one we sometimes see in such plurals as M.P.s, A.D.C.s, N.C.O.s, the 1920s, etc.."

I had to stop and ponder over "but me no buts".

 

[trecile]

I had to stop and ponder over "but me no buts"

What is it supposed to mean?

 

[Kirkie]

What is it supposed to mean?

I think the apostrophe needs to be put in the stocks.

 

[Kathor1]

What is it supposed to mean?

I didn’t understand it but now I do:

X me no Xs - Wikiquote

en.wikiquote.org

and
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/but_me_no_buts

But me no buts - offer me no objections. A quote that may come in useful in future online discussions.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

But me no buts - offer me no objections. A quote that may come in useful in future online discussions.

Later to be followed with a post saying "Damn autocorrect!"

 

[David Tallan]

No, Ss would be fine - it is the plural. S's would indicate the S possessed something! The possessive apostrophe might not be the most incorrectly used punctuation mark, but ...

Or it could be Ses. When something ends is s we generally precede the plural s with an e, like kisses.

 

[dougfitz]

I beg to differ. The lower case would be a confusing "ss". I have consulted trusty Mr. Fowler, who writes, regarding the non-possessive 's:

Which was not the form in question, but I will accede to the wisdom of Mr Fowler. Although his 'A Dictionary of Modern English Usage' is now far from modern as we approach the centenary of its first publication. It makes me wonder if you are really deferring to one of the lexicographers responsible for the later editions, who seem to have lost their identities in our veneration of the original author.

 

[C clearly]

his 'A Dictionary of Modern English Usage' is now far from modern as we approach the centenary of its first publication

Oh, I definitely admit that it is even older than I am, but I quite enjoy reading his (well, Sir Ernest Gowers's) perspective, and presenting it whenever I feel like a good grammar debate.

if you are really deferring to one of the lexicographers responsible for the later editions

I have the Second Edition, published in 1965 but with corrections to 1978. I would love to get my hands on a first edition.

 

[dick bird]

I had to stop and ponder over "but me no buts".

“But Me No Buts”: Allusion, Intertextuality, and Other Things Corpora Can't See

In the history of literature in English, there are instances of several catchphrases that caught on within the literary establishment and were used profusely over specific periods. The case in point here is slightly different, for it refers to a

www.academia.edu

All you could ever possibly want to know about ¨but me no buts¨ and probably a whole lot more.

My personal rule is ´if you don´t know why you are using an apostrophe, you probably don´t need an apostrophe´. For every apostrophe that is wrongly omitted, there must be hundreds put in where they don´t belong. I am with Kirkie on this one.

 

[VNwalking]

Besides apostrophe catastrophes, my personal bête noire is the misuse of there/their/they're. Just today I saw it 3 times, and wondered if people are just lazy, or are we collectively verging on illiteracy?

 

[C clearly]

Besides apostrophe catastrophes, my personal bête noire is the misuse of there/their/they're. Just today I saw it 3 times, and wondered if people are just lazy, or are we collectively verging on illiteracy?

None of the above. That is the way English has always existed - as a dynamic uncontrollable but fascinating beast.

 

[VNwalking]

That is the way English has always existed - as a dynamic uncontrollable but fascinating beast.

I just saw this. It's a bit off topic, but an amusing example of your reply:

Pobblebonk! Tatterdemalion! It’s Guardian readers’ word of the year | First Dog on the Moon

We received more than 600 suggestions – incroyable!

www.theguardian.com

 

[Kirkie]

Besides apostrophe catastrophes, my personal bête noire is the misuse of there/their/they're. Just today I saw it 3 times, and wondered if people are just lazy, or are we collectively verging on illiteracy?

Some may be lazy, some may not have had breakfast before the class in primary school, some just don't think it is important. Others don't know, and English being a mongrel language, who knows when the wrong version will attain standing?
Howzat for a response?
Howzat... my secondary school English teacher would be growling.
His punishment for whatever misdemeanour was the following: write 100 times: The dodo bird is not extinct. I am the last living member of the species.
ps- your link to the word of the year is wonderful!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Or it could be Ses. When something ends is s we generally precede the plural s with an e, like kisses.

OED has : S's, SS., and Esses.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I just saw this. It's a bit off topic, but an amusing example of your reply:

Pobblebonk! Tatterdemalion! It’s Guardian readers’ word of the year | First Dog on the Moon

We received more than 600 suggestions – incroyable!

www.theguardian.com

I'll add piffle, and contrafibularity to this list.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Howzat... my secondary school English teacher would be growling.

Kirkie, did she growl when you used oliphant?

 

[Kirkie]

Kirkie, did she growl when you used oliphant?

She was a he person!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Besides apostrophe catastrophes, my personal bête noire is the misuse of there/their/they're. Just today I saw it 3 times, and wondered if people are just lazy, or are we collectively verging on illiteracy?

I never had a problem with this until retirement and then something happened. I'm not sure what that could be but I've got a theory. Anyway, I usually correct the misspelling before two to too many people see it.

Although in speech I mostly use "try and [do something]" instead of "try to [do something]" I am really irked when I see "try and" in print.

 

[WGroleau]

For as long as my post might last, here is another peeve, more about grammar than spelling.
I first became aware of the flying apostrophe in the late 60s of the last century. I left my native land and landed in a nearby jurisdiction where soup's, tea's and sandwiche's were advertised with (what was then innocent) gay abandon.

For what it’s worth, in Dutch plurals either end with en or ’s and possessives with just s

 

[chinacat]

Besides apostrophe catastrophes, my personal bête noire is the misuse of there/their/they're. Just today I saw it 3 times, and wondered if people are just lazy, or are we collectively verging on illiteracy?

Love your ‘apostrophe catastrophes’!

I’m hoping the very widespread misuse of there/their/they’re is caused by autocarrot, which, as you can see, I ignore.

 

[ginniek]

I have many, since I've been speaking Spanish for a long time, but the thing that really drives me kind of crazy is putting the tilde over the "n" in Camino, instead of just leaving it as it is. Meanwhile, I have still not figured out to add the tilde on this web site. Oh well.

 

[trecile]

I have many, since I've been speaking Spanish for a long time, but the thing that really drives me kind of crazy is putting the tilde over the "n" in Camino, instead of just leaving it as it is.

Well, in Galician it is spelled Camiño. And in Portuguese it's Caminho, with "nh" making sounding like "ñ."
So hopefully, that's one less thing to annoy you.

 

[Icacos]

Well, in Galician it is spelled Camiño. And in Portuguese it's Caminho, with "nh" making sounding like "ñ."

Thank you so much for this. I’m not familiar with Portuguese at all but when I’ve seen it written, or when I’ve come across Portuguese names, I’ve always wondered what was the purpose of all those superfluous “h’s.”

 

[JabbaPapa]

Well, in Galician it is spelled Camiño.

I've come across the same spelling in Western Castilla y León.

 

[ginniek]

Well, in Galician it is spelled Camiño. And in Portuguese it's Caminho, with "nh" making sounding like "ñ."
So hopefully, that's one less thing to annoy you.

Sorry for annoying YOU. I was NOT referring to people who speak Portuguese and/or Galician. Instead I was referencing those who do not even to bother to check sources they may even literally have in hand.

 

[trecile]

Sorry for annoying YOU. I was NOT referring to people who speak Portuguese and/or Galician. Instead I was referencing those who do not even to bother to check sources they may even literally have in hand.

You didn't annoy me. I was just trying to find an explanation for you.
I get it about not bothering to check the sources that they have in hand, or literally right on the screen that they are typing on. The word "camino" is all over the forum, yet I still see people write "comino." And there are two common ways of spelling my first name, and I can't tell you how many people respond to an email that I've sent where I've signed off with my name, only to misspell my name in their response!

 

[Icacos]

Although in speech I mostly use "try and [do something]" instead of "try to [do something]" I am really irked when I see "try and" in print.

That irks me when I hear it and see it. Another one that irks me is “very unique” and “very original.” I remember being taught that “unique” cannot be quantified. I think “original” is the same.

Oh, and the one that I hear so frequently, “going forward.” As in “What are your plans going forward?” Who makes plans going backwards?

 

[lalaone]

That irks me when I hear it and see it. Another one that irks me is “very unique” and “very original.” I remember being taught that “unique” cannot be quantified. I think “original” is the same.

Oh, and the one that I hear so frequently, “going forward.” As in “What are your plans going forward?” Who makes plans going backwards?

You're right, those would never fly.

An editor I really liked had a problem with "under" and "over," instead of "less than" and "more than."

Such as "X politician is polling under Y percent / X politician is polling over Y percent." We always had to do "less than" or "more than" - otherwise, it was obviously nonsensical and intended for horses - sounds weird, lol, but his grammar was always spot on

 

[JabbaPapa]

Although in speech I mostly use "try and [do something]" instead of "try to [do something]" I am really irked when I see "try and" in print.

OED :

b.16.b Followed by and and a co-ordinated verb (instead of to with inf.) expressing the action attempted.

1686 J. S[ergeant] Hist. Monast. Convent 9 They try and express their love to God by their thankfulness to him. 1802 H. Martin Helen of Glenross II. 143 Frances retired, to try and procure a little rest. 1819, 1878 [see and B. 10]. 1855 in Coleridge Mem. Keble (1869) II. 425, I have something to write to you on that matter, which I shall try and put on another piece of paper. 1883 L. Oliphant Altiora Peto I. 251 He had good reason to think that Sark was likely to try and back out.

c.16.c Const. with preposition. try for, to attempt to obtain or find (an object), or to reach (a place). try at, to make an attempt upon, endeavour to get at; to attempt to do or accomplish.

---

See "and" :

10.B.II.10 Connecting two verbs the latter of which would logically be in the infinitive, esp. after go, come, send, try; familiarly and dialectally after various others.

---

FWIW, the grammar and the rhetoric of prepositions and conjunctions before an Infinitive form is quite complex, drawing as it does from the Declensions and Cases of former states of the languages in question, despite the Infinitive forms being invariable.

There are many instances where "try and <Infinitive>" or "try and <etc.>" would be perfectly correct ; which does not mean of course that it would always be so !!

 

[chinacat]

That irks me when I hear it and see it. Another one that irks me is “very unique” and “very original.” I remember being taught that “unique” cannot be quantified. I think “original” is the same.

Oh, and the one that I hear so frequently, “going forward.” As in “What are your plans going forward?” Who makes plans going backwards?

Dr. Who?

 

[David Tallan]

Dr. Who?

Beat me to it.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

I think that big O looks very lonely sitting all by itself. I admit to being an abuser of that apostrophe. I have BrierlEy's guide books and also have Irish relatives through marriages.

It is an abbreviation for good Ole Cebreiro, like Ole Pedrouzo and the Camino Ole Vidado... There, I solved it for ya!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

It is an abbreviation for good Ole Cebreiro, ...

@Bad Pilgrim, you're bad.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

It is an abbreviation for good Ole Cebreiro, like Ole Pedrouzo and the Camino Ole Vidado... There, I solved it for ya!

I'm not the sharpest tool in the box, but I ain't falling for that!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I'm not the sharpest tool in the box, but I ain't falling for that!

You're awlsome Chris.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

You're awlsome Chris.

Good one, Rick! You're the awl in awesome, and sharp as a tack.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

This thread is so long, and has many twists and turns, so if it's been said already, I apologize...but I always have to pause when deciding to use either "than" or "then" in my sentences. I think I usually choose the correct word, but I often need to think first.
P.S. With 340 posts there is no way it has stayed on the original topic.

 

[Icacos]

… but I always have to pause when deciding to use either "than" or "then" in my sentences. I think I usually choose the correct word, but I often need to think first.

Then there’s “effect” and “affect” and “advice” and “advise” and if I’m not mistaken “practice” and “practise.” And “counsel” and “council” and “principal” and “principle.” The fun never ends.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Then there’s “effect” and “affect” and “advice” and “advise” and if I’m not mistaken “practice” and “practise.” And “counsel” and “council” and “principal” and “principle.” The fun never ends.

And off the top of my head...capital and capitol, gray and grey, bare and bear, dear and deer...oh dear!

 

[trecile]

And off the top of my head...capital and capitol, gray and grey, bare and bear, dear and deer...oh dear

Except that gray and grey don't have different meanings. Just two different spellings of the same word.

 

[dick bird]

My pet peeve right now is a grammar point. Posters of threads have a habit of writing titles that look like statements but are really questions, e.g. ¨How to find cheap flights to Spain¨ when they mean ¨How do you find cheap flights to Spain?¨ or ¨Walking the Mozarabe in May¨ instead of ¨What´s it like walking the Mozarabe in May?¨ It´s a real pain when you are looking through sub-forums for information. It´s not as if this is a usual spoken form.

 

[chinacat]

“Walking the Mozarabe in May” sounds like a good entry for a search, doesn’t it?

 

[Paladina]

My pet peeve right now is a grammar point. Posters of threads have a habit of writing titles that look like statements but are really questions, e.g. ¨How to find cheap flights to Spain¨ when they mean ¨How do you find cheap flights to Spain?¨ or ¨Walking the Mozarabe in May¨ instead of ¨What´s it like walking the Mozarabe in May?¨ It´s a real pain when you are looking through sub-forums for information. It´s not as if this is a usual spoken form.

The auto-suggestions that appear on screen when you enter the title of your post may have influenced the choice of title. l’d assumed that the suggestions were designed to reduce the number of threads on the same topic.

 

[Kirkie]

Has anyone retained normal pre-tech norms of writing standards? I often squirm when I see that I have begun a sentence with a participle rather than a noun or a pronoun, a subject. The issue is, perhaps, that I am using this form of communication as if it were verbal, face to face - and it is far from that.
Remembering that we have members from a range of first languages, it is really important not to insist on 'correct' usage. The mongrel that is the English language will be the better for it in the long run.
My experience with immigrants, finding their way in English, showed me that it is a bit daft to hang on to old ways... if the idea is made clear, welcome it!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Except that gray and grey don't have different meanings. Just two different spellings of the same word.

Of course I knew it was different than the others, I just chose to add it anyway. I didn't think it really mattered. Aren't we just having a bit of fun?

 

[dick bird]

“Walking the Mozarabe in May” sounds like a good entry for a search, doesn’t it?

I think that is the problem, it is a very good entry for a search. But this is not a search engine, it´s a forum. When I see a thread with that title, I assume that the OP had used that title to show what the thread was about, when in fact this is what they were looking for information about. When you address human beings, you have to indicate clearly whether you are asking them a question or offering information.

 

[chinacat]

@dick bird

The search facility on this forum is important; after all, posters are continually being referred to it by other forum members, particularly the more well-established ones.

I wonder how most new forum members find their way around here …

As soon as one begins reading any particular thread, its relevance to the reader soon becomes obvious.

 

[Bristle Boy]

I think that is the problem, it is a very good entry for a search. But this is not a search engine, it´s a forum. When I see a thread with that title, I assume that the OP had used that title to show what the thread was about, when in fact this is what they were looking for information about. When you address human beings, you have to indicate clearly whether you are asking them a question or offering information.

What you have here is a forum with a search facility. It uses key words to allow the archive of threads containing identical words (or a combination) that help in your search. It does not rely on grammar to achieve this. It is not a search engine but has search facilities and uses the same principle (or should that be be principal? )
As someone prone to the ocassional "faux pas" when it comes to grammar and the occasional spelling mistake I accept my idiosyncrasies with a shrug and self deprecating humour. . We are not perfect and I accept others in equal measure...to err is human...and English is not necessarily the first language.
The day this forum gives,way to those that feel a need to be pedantry, superior and show off as members of the language/syntax/spelling police will be the day it lost its soul and I will bid it a fond "sayonara". Sadly, it is going that way.
It is about being understood and understanding.

Merry Christmas.

 

[André Walker]

English is not my native language, so I couldn't possibly help you with Miss Spellings.
Never heard of the woman...

 

[JabbaPapa]

I often squirm when I see that I have begun a sentence with a participle rather than a noun or a pronoun, a subject.

Thinking that this might annoy you overmuch ?

To at least attempt and reassure, it's from classical Latin Rhetoric and Grammar,

So squirm less and maybe accept there's more to English than in our Philosophy ?

 

[Kirkie]

What you have here is a forum with a search facility. It uses key words to allow the archive of threads containing identical words (or a combination) that help in your search. It does not rely on grammar to achieve this. It is not a search engine but has search facilities and uses the same principle (or should that be be principal? )
As someone prone to the ocassional "faux pas" when it comes to grammar and the occasional spelling mistake I accept my idiosyncrasies with a shrug and self deprecating humour. . We are not perfect and I accept others in equal measure...to err is human...and English is not necessarily the first language.
The day this forum gives,way to those that feel a need to be pedantry, superior and show off as members of the language/syntax/spelling police will be the day it lost its soul and I will bid it a fond "sayonara". Sadly, it is going that way.
It is about being understood and understanding.

Merry Christmas.

Thanks for your post, and my pal the dentist would agree.
(I forget where or when I learned that little trick for spelling help: pal, as in principal, a person. Independent, think of dentist. It works!)
No, this is a temporary diversion, don't be put off by the grammar police!
I see this thread as light hearted, and one of the occasional diversions that keep the threads moving along.
Am I even on the right thread?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

As someone prone to the ocassional "faux pas" when it comes to grammar and the occasional spelling mistake I accept my idiosyncrasies with a shrug and self deprecating humour. . We are not perfect and I accept others in equal measure...to err is human...and English is not necessarily the first language.

I appreciate this...well said.

 

[David Tallan]

It is an abbreviation for good Ole Cebreiro, like Ole Pedrouzo and the Camino Ole Vidado... There, I solved it for ya!

Are you suggesting that the Spanish are cheering these places? Ole!

 

[David Tallan]

Except that gray and grey don't have different meanings. Just two different spellings of the same word.

I think the same could be said for practice and practise.

 

[David Tallan]

Thanks for your post, and my pal the dentist would agree.
(I forget where or when I learned that little trick for spelling help: pal, as in principal, a person. Independent, think of dentist. It works!)
No, this is a temporary diversion, don't be put off by the grammar police!
I see this thread as light hearted, and one of the occasional diversions that keep the threads moving along.
Am I even on the right thread?

These days my principal reason for using the word is as an adjective not a noun. However, I can say I am principled in my usage, as getting it right is a matter of principle.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I think the same could be said for practice and practise.

Yes and no -- yes if that's American (& maybe Canadian ?) vs. British English ; no if that's internal to British English.

So this is a tricky one !!

Though I *think* "Mid-Atlantic English" keeps the distinction ?

 

[Icacos]

Yes and no -- yes if that's American (& maybe Canadian ?) vs. British English ; no if that's internal to British English.

So this is a tricky one !!

Though I *think* "Mid-Atlantic English" keeps the distinction ?

I believe I was taught, under British English - and that was many moons ago - that it’s spelled ‘practice’ as a noun, and ‘practise’ as a verb.

 

[Kirkie]

Even prior to this delightful thread, I realised, (B.E.- British English) that on this forum it is just not the place to get on any high horse about spelling. Firstly, typing can offer what @chinacat cheerfully inserts as autocarrot...in any language.
Outwith the borders of the UK, other English speaking areas in the world have their own adaptations of B.E. and they are equally legitimate. I suddenly remembered a trick session when training as an ESOL teacher long years ago (and if I had known it was a thing when teaching primary school children at the start of my teaching life, what fun we might have had!). I have also learned to look up abbreviations, because many people use them, and while I jump on no high horse, I often have no idea what they mean. Having learned, instead of asking the op, I just use my search engine and it works.
A very quick (duckduckgo) search brought up many options to have fun, but I just offer two here.
Guess what topic my next book purchase will include?

If Yuo’re Albe To Raed Tihs, You Might Have Typoglycemia

Did you ever receive that viral word-scrambled email some time between 2003 and now? If you think you can read any word jumble, read this article first.

www.dictionary.com

https://www.livescience.com/18392-reading-jumbled-words.html

 

[Kirkie]

I believe I was taught, under British English - and that was many moons ago - that it’s spelled ‘practice’ as a noun, and ‘practise’ as a verb.

And I love your correct placing of the apostrophe! Yes, B.E. has that distinction. I see your location, and my sister emigrated there many moons ago. Her vowels have changed to reflect her Canadian location, but as they say somehwehre, you can take X out of Kirkie, but you cannot take Kirkie out of X!
somehwehre - read my previous post to see why I left my typo as is .

 

[Bristle Boy]

And I love your correct placing of the apostrophe! Yes, B.E. has that distinction. I see your location, and my sister emigrated there many moons ago. Her vowels have changed to reflect her Canadian location, but as they say somehwehre, you can take X out of Kirkie, but you 2cannot take Kirkie out of X!
somehwehre - read my previous post to see why I left my typo as is .

I read a similar article some years ago whereby all the vowels were removed from a passage and it was perfectly readable as the brain makes an immediate adjustment.
Love your posts.

 

[David Tallan]

I read a similar article some years ago whereby all the vowels were removed from a passage and it was perfectly readable as the brain makes an immediate adjustment.
Love your posts.

There are a number of languages whose writing systems just include the consonants and expect you to be able to figure out what the vowels are, taking advantage of this.

 

[Bradypus]

There are a number of languages whose writing systems just include the consonants and expect you to be able to figure out what the vowels are, taking advantage of this.

And giving rise to all sorts of arguments about the alternative possible readings! On a similar tack the idea of sentence breaks and punctuation is a fairly modern phenomenon. Deciphering old inscriptions and manuscripts can be a bit of a challenge when you have to insert them yourself

 

[David Tallan]

And giving rise to all sorts of arguments about the alternative possible readings! On a similar tack the idea of sentence breaks and punctuation is a fairly modern phenomenon. Deciphering old inscriptions and manuscripts can be a bit of a challenge when you have to insert them yourself

Sometimes alternate possible readings are a bug and other times they are a feature.

 

[dick bird]

I believe I was taught, under British English - and that was many moons ago - that it’s spelled ‘practice’ as a noun, and ‘practise’ as a verb.

That is correct, but rules follow usage rather than the other way round. ‘Practicing’ etc is becoming more common in the UK and countries like Australia following British spelling rules so you could say it is acceptable especially as there is no change in sound from /s/ to /z/ as there is with advice/advise. Licence/license is a similar example.

 

[chinacat]

That is correct, but rules follow usage rather than the other way round. ‘Practicing’ etc is becoming more common in the UK and countries like Australia following British spelling rules so you could say it is acceptable especially as there is no change in sound from /s/ to /z/ as there is with advice/advise. Licence/license is a similar example.

‘Practice‘ is a noun and ‘practise’ is a verb.
Licence is a noun and license is a verb.

An easy way to remember it is to think of ’advice’ and ‘advise’. it’s more obvious when the two words are pronounced differently.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

In the US, the words 'practice' and 'license' are both noun and verb.

 

[lalaone]

And then there are identical words which mean their opposite, contronyms. License is a great example, meaning both a permission and a violation of rules.

10 Verbs That Are Contronyms

Have you ever encountered a word and learned that it meant the opposite of what you remembered? If so, you may have come…

www.grammarly.com

 

[chinacat]

And then there are identical words which mean their opposite, contronyms. License is a great example, meaning both a permission and a violation of rules.

10 Verbs That Are Contronyms

Have you ever encountered a word and learned that it meant the opposite of what you remembered? If so, you may have come…

www.grammarly.com

My favourite contronym is ‘sanction’

 

[Kirkie]

My favourite contronym is ‘sanction’

You are such a smart cookie... I have not yet had time to discover my favourite, the term is novel to me.

 

[Bristle Boy]

It's ironic when Contronym/Contranym has two different spellings.
It's hard to pick my favourite.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

You are such a smart cookie... I have not yet had time to discover my favourite, the term is novel to me.

The word contronym is new to me.
These twists and turns are interesting...
novel and novel.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

It's ironic when Contronym/Contranym has two different spellings.
It's hard to pick my favourite.

Favourite/favorite; the same meaning with two different spellings.
My favorite is favorite because it has one less letter...saves time with one less keystroke.

 

[Bradypus]

Favourite/favorite; the same meaning with two different spellings.

Lots of examples of that sort of thing. Usually US versus British spellings. As a Brit I have sometimes been very annoyed when someone has pointed out my illiteracy and "corrected" my spelling to the US standard version....

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Lots of examples of that sort of thing. Usually US versus British spellings.

Yes, many examples of ou vs u, but here is an exception...we share the spelling of humorous as it is never spelled humourous by either.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Why do Americans spell 'Mediocre' like the British?
[and not as 'Mediocer'.]

 

[Bradypus]

Yes, many examples of ou vs u, but here is an exception...we share the spelling of humorous as it is never spelled humourous by either.

Just the tip of the iceberg! And then there are all the differences in vocabulary. Especially the 'false friends' like pants, rubber, suspenders, pavement....

American and British English spelling differences - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I suppose this is why I often hear that English is one of the most difficult languages to learn and master; I still have a ways to go.
These all look far more difficult to me.

 

[Bradypus]

These all look far more difficult to me.

And yet upwards of 1.4 billion people mostly become quite fluent in both reading and writing Chinese ideograms. Or the three different writing systems in use for Japanese. And these days most Chinese people also master the Roman alphabet because it makes using a mobile phone much simpler even in China. At a pinch I can sound out phonetically text written in Greek, Devanagari and Cyrillic though I can only make a vague stab at interpreting the meaning in Russian. It is extraordinary how adaptable humans can be when sufficiently motivated!

 

[chinacat]

I used to use the Greek alphabet in phonetic English to write my diaries. It certainly fooled my mother
(who shouldn’t have been spying on me anyway )

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I used to use the Greek alphabet in phonetic English to write my diaries. It certainly fooled my mother
(who shouldn’t have been spying on me anyway )

But that's a mother's job.

 

[C clearly]

I suppose this is why I often hear that English is one of the most difficult languages to learn and master

I think English is relatively easy to learn to a level of being functional. It is very flexible and forgiving. However, for possible the same reason - quirky spelling, huge vocabulary, and regional variations - it is hard to gain a mastery.

 

[Kirkie]

EDIT:
the following explains why I recognise difference in English usage, but I do not blame anyone for not being the same as me

I used to have a super little book, a BBC publication, that I used when I began teaching adult women who had left school early to find work and bring home a wage. I gave it to a young literacy teacher, but sometimes I miss having it to read for fun. One of the women in my first group told me a story that led me to tell her that whatever else there might be at the pearly gates, there would not be a spelling test... her expectation that all the "collar and tie" people knew how to spell everything caused confusion when a bank clerk asked her how to spell her surname...That is addressed, I think, in the second last paragraph of the article I quote when I began to hunt for the spelling rules book. I will keep looking.

But, even if we believe there is a correct way to use apostrophes, perhaps we should be a little less quick to judge slip ups. "Language is so tied up in power and class," says Matthews, "and if you can't follow [certain] rules, then you are disadvantaged." By contrast, those in a position of power, such as the companies who choose to drop the apostrophes in their company names, are allowed to change the rules at will.

Have we murdered the apostrophe?

Last year, the Apostrophe Protection Society was disbanded, having supposedly failed in its mission. But what is the correct use of the grammatical mark anyway, asks Helene Schumacher.

www.bbc.com

 

[Icacos]

Yesterday I saw a sign in a restaurant. It read, “We are close Monday’s.” I know English is not the proprietors’ first language.

 

[Kirkie]

Oh dear I have gone down a rabbit hole!
Looking for my textbook, I came across this series. I have just watched the first episode. If it passes, then enjoy, but if it is deemed unnecessary to the English language base of the forum, so be it!

 

[WGroleau]

And off the top of my head...capital and capitol, gray and grey, bare and bear, dear and deer...oh dear!

When I was a technical writer, I got in an argument with a colleague about some word. When I looked it up, my response became a poster on the wall: "Well, I'll be; it's been wrong so long that it made the dictionary."

 

[chinacat]

Oh dear I have gone down a rabbit hole!
Looking for my textbook, I came across this series. I have just watched the first episode. If it passes, then enjoy, but if it is deemed unnecessary to the English language base of the forum, so be it!

I’d forgotten that Melvyn Bragg was ever that young

 

[chinacat]

Oh dear I have gone down a rabbit hole!

My own rabbit hole led here:

Twelve obscure words with delightful meanings

Paul Anthony Jones collects terms that have fallen out of use and resurrects them. We’ve featured 12 of our favourites in a new animation celebrating forgotten phrases.

www.bbc.com

I enjoyed my ‘frowst’ today

 

[henrythedog]

I always look out for accents on Spanish words, to aid with pronunciation.
They’re not always present

I rely on generally knowing how to pronounce words to be able to back-calculate where to put the accents in written Spanish.

 

[Kirkie]

I rely on generally knowing how to pronounce words to be able to back-calculate where to put the accents in written Spanish.

Around 30 years ago when I began to learn Spanish I took my Spanish/English dictionary and wrote a mish mash of a letter to the person in charge of hospitality in the Spanish province of my community. When I had finished, I inserted a random number of tildes along each line. Why not? Ignorance is bliss. Then I learned some more, with two classics teachers in the community in Bilbao who were very patient with me.
I wish I still had a copy of the letter! It was before email.

 

[lalaone]

I just discovered a rabbit hole, too - how laughter is depicted in different languages online. Phonetics, pictograms, text, and creativity all abound. Lol

Take Japanese, for instance. “Warau” is one way to express laughter. Some shortened that to just the first sound of the word, “w.” Others then noticed that “www” looked like blades of grass, leading people to start using the Japanese word for grass (草) to represent laughter. That continual evolution is why, if you want to write about laughing hard in Japanese, you could type 大草原: “giant grass field.”

How different languages laugh online

Laughter is universal, but lol is not.

restofworld.org

 

[Kirkie]

I just discovered a rabbit hole, too - how laughter is depicted in different languages online. Phonetics, pictograms, text, and creativity all abound. Lol

Take Japanese, for instance. “Warau” is one way to express laughter. Some shortened that to just the first sound of the word, “w.” Others then noticed that “www” looked like blades of grass, leading people to start using the Japanese word for grass (草) to represent laughter. That continual evolution is why, if you want to write about laughing hard in Japanese, you could type 大草原: “giant grass field.”

How different languages laugh online

Laughter is universal, but lol is not.

restofworld.org

Thanks for post, which I need to wait to read. I will report back!

 

[Kirkie]

Thanks for post, which I need to wait to read. I will report back!

Well, a very brief glance tells me I will do better to plug in the iron, and smooth out the sheet, pillowcase and duvet cover used by our delightful refugee to the dulcet tones of lyric fm. Some abbreviations confuse me and I say, do I need to know? So, everyone who has spare time to read this: be safe, be well buen camino.

 

[Mendizale]

French : Roncevaux.

Spanish : Roncesvalles.

If it's any consolation, neither are easy to pronounce !!

And let's not even get started on the Basque ...

Much easier, Orreaga. Both in French and Spanish are by far more complicated to spell.

 

[Mendizale]

Curiously Bilboa makes sense in Euskera. Bilbo is Bilbao in that language and the "a" at the end is the article "the". So, Bilboa would be "El Bilbao" .

Dear @Pelegrin, Basque native speaker here, with C2 level by basque government's Habe organisation. Saying Bilboa has not any sense, although you are right saying the -a in euskera is the article, mugatzailea in Basque. It is a case of loan translation or calco lingüístico to say (el Bilbao - Bilboa; el Jose - Josea) but not any sense in Basque. I guess it's an error derived from the term Donosti/Donostia, but in this case there is no relation with the article it is an oral contraction we do of the formal and correct word Donostia.
In place and people names it's not possible to add the -a article. It does in the adjective adjacent to the place name. For example, el gran Bilbao (area metropolitana): Bilbo handiA.

 

[witsendwv]

When I am in Spain, I give my last name as Tayan. That way they are more likely to spell it correctly or recognize it when they see it. It is just something I have learned to accept.

I always use my given name Patricia because Pat sounds like Pot to me when in Spain. (Patti sounds even worse!)

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I always use my given name Patricia because Pat sounds like Pot to me when in Spain. (Patti sounds even worse!)

I cringed every time Peg's name was used on our trip to New Zealand.