Discussion Forum
This is a forum to discuss the gray areas of the English language for which you would not find answers easily in dictionaries or other reference books.
Do You Have a Question?
Latest Posts : Misc
I thought you could put /s/ on a copy of a signed letter to indicate the original had been signed. Right or wrong?
Can anyone tell me why the second ‘a’ in Canada and Canadian is pronounced differently?
I’m English/British and I and from England/Britain.
Surely it should either be Can-a-da & Can-a-dian or Can-ay-da & Can-ay-dian...
My guess is it has something to do with the French influence, but I would love to know for sure.
Here in the UK our language has been heavily influenced over the years, including by the French and it has always interested where these things start or change.
I was in empty space in an elevator one day when it occurred to me that it’s actually “pains-taking”, the taking of pains to do something thoroughly. I’d never thought about it before.
But it’s too hard to pronounce “painz-taking”, because the “z” sound must be voiced; whereas the unvoiced “s” combines easily with the “t” to make “-staking”, so that’s what we say. That’s my theory, but BrE might be different. Is it?
Why does the Western media have so many different spellings for some Arabic terms?
eg:
1. hezbollah hesbollah hizbullah hizbollah hisbollah
2. ayatollah ayatullah
I’m having a custom item made to indicate when our home was established. The year will be the year my husband and I were married and started our family. My issue is I’m not sure how our name should appear. Here is the text.
The (LAST NAME)
Est. 2008
Our last name is Myers. Please help! I’m not sure if it should be possessive (ownership of the home/family) or plural (for the people).
At the clinic I was directed to the “subwait area” and left to ponder my fate. I did wonder whether this should be sub-wait and how fully portable “sub” has become as a preposition and/or prefix, when attached to a Germanic-rooted word. What other words are there where “sub” is used as an English word, apart from phrases like “sub judice” and “sub” as a short form of “substitute” eg in sport “he was subbed off”?
Can you please comment on a trend that I have noticed recently. More and more people seem to be pronouncing words that contain the letters “str” as if they were written “shtr”. Strong sounds like shtrong, strange sounds like shtrange, and so on. I have noticed even my favorite NPR journalists mispronouncing these words. I first noticed this pronunciation in one of Michelle Obama’s early speeches. I’d appreciate any insight that you might have.
I have always believed, probably in common with most Scots, that the pronunciation of “gill” varies depending on whether one is referring to the organ of respiration in fishes and other water-breathing animals ( /ɡɪl/ ), or a measure of liquid (/dʒɪl/ ), or even one of the many other variations of the word. I was therefore somewhat surprised recently when watching an episode of QI to hear the erstwhile Stephen Fry and his guests use /ɡɪl/ for both the fishy organ and the liquid measure..
Does anyone know if there are rules governing the pronunciation of “a”? It’s either “AYE” or “UH”, depending on the word following. My preference is dictated by how it sounds and how it flows off the tongue, but I have never been able to establish if actual rules exist.
Americans and Australians tend to use “AYE” all the time and sometime it just sounds ridiculous, like...”Aye man driving aye car stopped at aye traffic light”
What diacritic would I use over the word YANA to accent the first a as an “ah” (short o) sound. It is pronounced Yahna. Thanks!
Latest Comments
Social vs Societal
- MarvinD
- May 10, 2022, 8:42pm
I am an essay writer and often write papers in the social sciences. During my practice, I came to the conclusion that it is better not to use the word societal because many teachers do not like it. Some of the feedback on my work https://edusson.com/buy-persuasive-essay also confirms this. Since I have always strived to give students only high-quality essays, I try to look for synonyms that teachers do not perceive as unnecessary pathos.
Could I use both a colon and semicolon in a sentence?
- MarvinD
- May 10, 2022, 8:35pm
I don't think there is any reason why you can't use both in one sentence, but in this particular case I would probably go for two sentences as your second clause is quite long. https://google.com
Could I use both a colon and semicolon in a sentence?
- MarvinD
- May 10, 2022, 8:34pm
I don't think there is any reason why you can't use both in one sentence, but in this particular case I would probably go for two sentences as your second clause is quite long. google
Social vs Societal
- MarvinD
- May 10, 2022, 8:32pm
Most likely, the professor does not like grandiloquent expressions and therefore reacts to the word "societal" in this way.
“If I had studied, I would have a good grade.”
- gregadamson
- May 10, 2022, 2:45pm
Much appreciated! Great news all! I need to encourage you to focus in on the online https://www.edugeeksclub.com/term-paper/ - I am an understudy and I as frequently as conceivable go to them for help. They have genuine specialists who make papers and any made work on time without copyright infringement utilizing confirmed sources
“If I had studied, I would have a good grade.”
- Gasinse
- May 9, 2022, 4:20pm
Writing a high-quality written work is no longer a challenge. For instance, I had to search for quite some time. I urge that you study over and learn everything there is to know about essay writing service . They provide the best level of service, which is why I am entirely delighted. If you are confronted with this issue in your student life, it is best to seek advice from professionals.
“If I had studied, I would have a good grade.”
- Gasinse
- May 9, 2022, 4:20pm
Writing a high-quality written work is no longer a challenge. For instance, I had to search for quite some time. I urge that you study over and learn everything there is to know about essay writing service . They provide the best level of service, which is why I am entirely delighted. If you are confronted with this issue in your student life, it is best to seek advice from professionals.
“It is I” vs. “It is me”
- Brooke01
- May 9, 2022, 8:56am
I think the right way of understanding this problem is somewhat similar to the French usage of "tonic pronouns" after "c'est" (it is) or after prepositions. Some of the French tonic pronoun forms are different from the normal subject form (moi/je) but not all (elle/elle). When we say "it's me" or "it's her" in English what we're doing is using the "tonic" form. At least that's how I explain to myself. No need to think that the impossibly pedantic "it is I" is the correct form.
My opinion is that after a text is sent, it can be referred to as a thing, A text that was sent in the past is a message, in the past if we wrote a letter, which is a message in written form we don't say " I lettered Him" therefor a text becomes a thing, so it becomes a noun.
Pronunciation: aunt
I live in Michigan. Most say 'ant' here, but most black people I know say 'awnt.' My friend from Maine also says 'awnt.'