Am I L-deaf?
Folk! Do YOU pronounce the L in the word, FOLK? I know that dictionaries say “NO, we don’t”. But I think that I often hear an L there. Eh?
6 comments • Posted in Expression
Punctuation
Where do we put question mark, dot, exclamation mark etc. when a sentence ends with a quotation mark? Before or after the closing quotation mark? (”...where?” or “...where”?) or where?!
7 comments • Posted in Expression
Para
What does EXACTLY the prefix “para” mean? I have difficulty translating “para-theatre”.
8 comments • Posted in Expression
“me too”
This question is about the correctness of “me, too” as it relates to formal speech or its likelihood of being torn apart by a grammar fanatic.
Examples:
a: “I want to go to the store.” b: “Me too.”
a: “I have ten fingers.” b: “Me too.”
Is “me, too” gramatiically correct, or should it be something like, “I, too,” “I, also,” or “I do as well?”
3 comments • Posted in Expression
ta-ta & ho-ho
You guys have seen Oliver Stone’s JFK? What do “ta-ta” and “ho-ho” mean in this phrase? “You got the right ta-ta, but the wrong ho-ho”. It’s from the court sequence. I do understand what it means it the sense it is used in the film, just wonder what these two words are coming from.
12 comments • Posted in Expression
Oral vs. Aural
Do you pronounce “oral” and “aural” differently? How then?
10 comments • Posted in Expression
Be-martyred
Can one say “Bemartyred”? I am translating the name of an ancient Mesopotamian myth who is sacrificed for growth and rebirth of nature and in there was ceremny in which he was annually killed or “martyred”. I have once seen the word, “Beknighted” and though it could be made so for martyr as well if it doesn’t already exist.
9 comments • Posted in Expression
G-string
What does the G stand for in “G-string”? (besides covering part of the ass:)
2 comments • Posted in Expression
ir
I have once violated the English language. I made this tittle for one of my photos. Just wonder if it is not totally wrong. The tittle was “Irreddenable blue” and I meant a blue colour that cannot be redden. I had thought to myself that I must use “ir” to twist a word which begins with an R. Could that be OK? Would you forgive me for that?
5 comments • Posted in Expression
Isn’t it odd?
Is it correct to say “odditiness”? I mean like odd, oddity and then “odditiness”.
5 comments • Posted in Expression
What does this mean?: “IF only she were mine”
If your boyfriend leaves a testimonial on the web that says “Oh so beautiful!! If only she were mine :-) ”
Is that mean... I am not his, or wish that I will be his forever. Very confused! Bascially, I am his girlfriend now.
4 comments • Posted in Expression
English schools
I had a talk to Speedwell on finding a good English school in NYC. Then I thought we could discuss this issue broadly, meaning sharing our knowledge on the schools and more importantly on the different method each of us might know. For instance, I’m learning Danish now and I go to a school whose method was taken and adapted from an American method used in Korea to teach the Korean soldiers English. It’s a totally brain-wash method based on military attitude, but it works. It really does. It’s thus, don’t worry what it means, just keep repeating with correct accent and you’ll get it; and you’ll understand what it means later. It must first sound correct! And you should tune-in to be able to hear and understand the very native speakers. Unfortunately Americans don’t teach English in Korea anymore, otherwise I know which school to go to!
7 comments • Posted in Expression
Following the Joe
After the last post, I was thinking where is “Jack ass” coming from. Who’s the “Jack” in this case?
4 comments • Posted in Expression
Who’s this Joe?
I’ve read it here: “and the president (Bush, of course) kind of, as he’s inclined to do, says ‘Nice try, but that isn’t gonna sell Joe Public. That isn’t gonna convince Joe Public,’ says Woodward.” Is “Joe Public” just an indirect reference to the public or this Joe has some more to do with some specific “Joeish” thing?
2 comments • Posted in Expression
114
I just wonder how does one say this phrase: “Let me know the 411″. Do we say “Let me know the four-one-one” or “Let me know the four-hundred-eleven” or what? Note: I know that 411 is information number, just don’t know how one says it.
9 comments • Posted in Expression
S
Which one is correct: “I sent a SMS” or “I sent an SMS”? Do we pronounce the letter S, “ess” or what? I also wonder if it is correct to say “I took an Xray photo” or “... a Xray photo”.
13 comments • Posted in Expression
There is no such a thing as...
I was under the impression that this is wrong, that you do not say, “no such a thing”, that the proper way is “no such thing as.” But, I recently came across a few instances of this used by professional writers with the article ‘a’. Does this mean you could technically have the article?
6 comments • Posted in Expression
