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
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!
They pronounce words such as success, luck, but et al with a closed “ooh”: “sook-cess”, “look”, “boot”
Latest Comments
“I’ve got” vs. “I have”
- Marion Fossler
- July 17, 2019, 9:54pm
I have means to possess
( I have a dog )
I got means to obtain
( I got a dog )
PET PEEVE!!
“I’ve got” vs. “I have”
- user108090
- July 17, 2019, 1:58am
I have been told by my British friends that "have got" means the same as "have gotten" which is considered a bit archaic there. But in that usage, they are the past perfect tense of "get".
Social vs Societal
- Mango
- July 16, 2019, 10:29am
I am writing my MA dissertation, which uses social science methods for applied linguistics. I have been writing 'societal change' instead of 'social change' because of the latter's association in my mind with political activism. After reading the above discussion (or most of it - it's nearly lunchtime) I am considering changing it to 'changes in society', thus avoiding any unintended connotations or pomposity.
The following is... vs. Following is...
- AT
- July 13, 2019, 1:40pm
I have a sentence: "The list below describes important activities that a learning team can work together". Could you help me to rewrite this one starting with "Below"? Thank you =)))
Table of Content vs Table of Contents
- GeoFrias
- July 9, 2019, 10:10pm
I determined Table Of Contents was appropriate if my work had a CD, otherwise Table Of Content seemed so obvious.
Emotionality
- user108071
- July 9, 2019, 3:16pm
How about this: emotionality is the mental/psychological faculty that enables us to be more or less emotional and to express our emotions. It is that which is one the same level with rationality and its opposite. It is a rather abstract entity whereas our emotions are the raw material of which our emotional self is built - hatred, fury, rage vs. love, compassion, fear etc. Emotionality is the code/software/system, emotion(s) the content. Is this making sense to anyone but me? I was reluctant using "emotionality" just minutes ago but I now think it has its justification.
Correct preposition following different?
- CoullPert
- July 6, 2019, 1:33pm
Americans tend to use 'different than' on its own, but correctly, the 'than' is the other half of 'more', thus: more different than (something else).
Plural last name ending in “z”
- mnd
- July 2, 2019, 6:44pm
How do I put Depaz on a gift? Should it be love, The Depazes?
LEGOs — Is the Plural form of LEGO incorrect?
- user108058
- July 2, 2019, 6:21am
Yes, it is very wrong.
Past tense of “text”
When someone says "I text you", meaning it was something they did in the past, it makes me think that they are trying so hard not to sound illiterate that they sound, well, illiterate.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the proper form of the past tense of "text" is "texted", and that's what I use. My BFF refuses to say "texted", but I think she sounds ignorant when she says, "I text you last night."
Honestly, I think we are just so hung up on what everybody else thinks about us that we've lost touch with common sense!