#FridayFive: Mispronunciations of Gagne November 30th, 2018 @ 7:15 am PST
How hard is it to say my name?
We Still Shall Strive January 20th, 2016 @ 7:50 pm PST
We shall strive for perfection. We shall not achieve it immediately — but we still shall strive. We may make mistakes — but they must never be mistakes which result from faintness of heart or abandonment of moral principle. I remember that my old schoolmaster, Dr. Peabody, said, in days that seemed to us then […]
In the Arena April 23rd, 2015 @ 7:28 am PDT
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who […]
Whether or Not August 10th, 2008 @ 1:32 am PDT
The words or not never follow the word whether. That’s it. That’s the rule. Whether implies or not. You don’t ever need to say both of them. The words or not should never be spoken. (They should certainly never be written.) Whether implies “or not”. Get it?
Gay Marriage June 12th, 2008 @ 9:38 am PDT
There was a story this morning about gay marriage on LA’s 89.3 KPCC. I was infinitely more offended by the fact that reporter Kelly Wilkinson pronounced the word “rural” as “rurl” and the word “unfamiliar” as “unfermiliar” than I was about any part of the gay rights argument.
Not That Furmaliar February 11th, 2008 @ 6:43 am PST
To the political analyst who discussed Obama’s campaign this morning on NPR: I’m sorry to say that you lost whatever shred of credibility you had the moment you said that something was furmaliar. Nothing is furmaliar. Lots and lots of things are familiar. There is no r in the middle of that word. It’s not […]
Grammar Matters (Still) February 15th, 2007 @ 7:37 pm PST
Recently I saw a commercial for Sylvan Learning Centers. This is a company that is selling products to help your children do well in school. The ad showed a teenage girl gabbing on the telephone. The voice-over said, “Sally sure can talk fast. We can help her read fast,” or something like that. Apparently grammar […]
How to Pronounce the Word Height March 18th, 2002 @ 12:42 pm PST
I want you to stop what you’re doing. I want you to look at the word below. I want you to speak it aloud. height How did it sound? Say it again. Did it rhyme with “right”? It should have. Say it again. Did it rhyme with “byte”? It should have. Say it again. Aloud, […]
Day! October 8th, 2001 @ 11:05 am PDT
The female anchor on the local NBC affiliate continues to pronounce Taliban as tal-EE-ban – with the ‘tal’ sounding like ‘pal’. The male anchor pronounces it the way everyone else does. I don’t understand this. There’s a guy in my office named Ed. If I came to work every day and called him Eed, I […]
vocab July 2nd, 2001 @ 10:09 am PDT
Not words: acrost, irregardless, nucular, supposably, nother, alot, alright Not verbs: interface, input, impact, itch
