This one is simple folks, and it’s a big one that just gets under my skin . . . learn how to freakin’ talk! Do you want to leave your potential client wondering if you finished grade-school? Then ignore this article, but if you want your client to at least think you’ve read some words at one point in your life, then continue reading.
Remember how much crap George W. Bush got for saying new-cue-lar when he was pronouncing the word “Nuclear?” Love Bush or hate him . . . think he’s smart or not . . . saying new-cue-lar sounds unedumacated. So for the record, below is a list of common phrases or words that I hear mispronounced almost every day of my life. Please read the list carefully and fix it if you’ve got a problem!
Ok . . . the first one is perfect if you really want to sound like a complete moron . . . There is NO FREAKIN’ “X” IN THE WORD “ESPECIALLY!” Stop saying “Expecially!” Seriously . . . just quit it. You sound like an idiot.
Idiot fake word number 2: THERE IS NO “B” IN THE WORD “SUPPOSEDLY!” Again . . . just quit it. Stop saying “Supposebly” before I kick your cat.
Number 3: The word is “Etcetera” and it’s abbreviated thusly: etc. It is NOT “Exetra!” Man for Pete’s sake, just look at the word on paper. It’s not hard to pronounce.
The next four are a little different, but just as annoying.
Please, never ever say “That’s how come.” For example, “It’s cold outside; that’s how come I put on my jacket!” My blood is freakin’ boiling right now just at the thought of hearing someone say what I just wrote! The phrase that you are looking for is “That’s Why!” Stop saying “That’s How Come!”
Oh . . . and another thing . . . what the heck is “sorta speak.” I believe the phrase you are looking for is “So to speak.” Look it up.
Next on the ranting agenda . . . Nooooooooooooo . . . it’s not “For Say.” It’s “Per Se!” It’s Latin for “By Itself.” Look it up, and use it correctly
Last but certainly not least . . . the correct phrase is “Vice Versa” (also of Latin origin) Not “Vice-a-Versa.”
I think I feel better. Remember this, folks; this column is meant to do one thing . . . make you more marketable. A big fat chunk of that is how you are perceived by your clientele. If you are perceived as an idiot because you talk like one, then guess what . . . you are an idiot; even if you’re not . . . you are, because perception is reality. Your mission, should you choose to accept it – and you will if you want more gigs – is to stop sounding uneducated and learn the English (or whatever your native language is) language properly.
For further info on commonly misused phrases, check out this site: Common Mispronounced Words.
Until Next Month . . .
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Thank you. I am so glad to see that I am not the only one driven crazy by the way people speak these days. As a police dispatcher here are a couple that I hear all the time: When someone steals something, it was ‘stolen’ not ‘stolden’. The grassy area between the lanes on a divided highway is a ‘median’ not a ‘medium’. A slightly different issue I have is people using big words when small words would work just as well. For example; there is no need to refer to someone as ‘a gentleman’ when ‘a man’ will work, gentleman has a specific meaning, it is not a generic term to identify someone as male. Here is one for you young people out there, stop overusing the word ‘Really?’ I hear it said over and over, if you can not put together a coherent sentence, do not speak. Wow, I think I feel better too! Thanks Jeff.
Irregardless, I think you’re over-exaggerating.
@OZ – Glad I could help.
@Jeff – Too funny. Thanks for playing.
Just considering “How come?” – I hate it too, but surely it’s a contraction of “How did that come about?” “That’s how come” = “That’s how it has come about.”
My pet hate is preachers who say (and write) “brethern” and “bretheren.” I can only conclude that they have never read the Bible. If they had, they’d have seen the correct spelling and given it some thought. I’m surprised they don’t address their flocks as “brethern and cistern.”
At least those who pronounce “albeit” as if it were German have read enough to find the word.
@Stephen – Good one. So many of these exist, that if I started listing them all, my head would explode.
Orientated
Yep “orientated” is another one . . . drives me crazy.