The Official Henry Higgins Thread

[Brentwood]

Does that mean I can't get away with saying Patrick Roy as "Roy", even if I admit I'm saying it wrong on purpose?   

For non-hockey folks, it's pronounced Wah.  But, he's an Av, and I'm a Wings girl so I enjoy saying it wrong. 

FWIW, I also enjoy making up my own words.  But, I try to only use them with family or close friends who know I know the difference between real words and made-up ones. 

I do the same thing with Brett Favre - I pronounce it FAHV-ray on purpose.

[goblue2539]

I do the same thing with Brett Favre - I pronounce it FAHV-ray on purpose.

I bet you loved the last part of "There's Something About Mary" then.   I love how Ben Stiller butchers that name.

[Brentwood]

I do the same thing with Brett Favre - I pronounce it FAHV-ray on purpose.

I bet you loved the last part of "There's Something About Mary" then.   I love how Ben Stiller butchers that name.

I didn't see it.

[JeanFromBNA]

Misuse of apostrophes!!!!!!! I could write a book about that particular peeve of mine.

Yes!  When did apostrophes begin to mean, "Look out! Here comes an s!"?

Now, I have to wipe off my keyboard . . . 

[DottyG]

Pear-is instead of Pa-ris, etc.

Maybe it's not coming across in print the way you're hearing what you're trying to say in your mind.  But, how else would you say Paris, but Pear-is?  Is there an accent somewhere that's not coming across in print or something?  I'm confused.

[goblue2539]

I bet you loved the last part of "There's Something About Mary" then.   I love how Ben Stiller butchers that name.

I didn't see it.
[/quote]

Well, Mary (Cameron Diaz) is dating Brett Favre, and Ben Stiller's character tries to explain something about him and it comes out "Farvvvvvarrravvvvra!"  Or something kind of like that.  Then he tries to pronounce it about 3 more times. 

[kisu]

Pear-is instead of Pa-ris, etc.

Maybe it's not coming across in print the way you're hearing what you're trying to say in your mind.  But, how else would you say Paris, but Pear-is?  Is there an accent somewhere that's not coming across in print or something?  I'm confused.

Oops, that didn't look like I wanted it to. I just wanted to comment on how English speakers often emphasize the first syllable of a foreign word so much that the word becomes unrecognizable to the untrained ear.

[HogwartsAlum]

I do the same thing with Brett Favre - I pronounce it FAHV-ray on purpose.

I bet you loved the last part of "There's Something About Mary" then.   I love how Ben Stiller butchers that name.

I haven't seen that yet either.   Lots of times when I see someone's name in print (and I've never heard of him/her) and I have no idea how to pronounce the name, I just guess.  I'm sure I've butchered a few myself!   

[Scritzy]

It was a cold read. And as long as he worked for us, he never said CLOW-rox again.

Sometimes I wonder what he's doing now. He was really, um, out there.

[TangyBBQ]

Can I go again?   Eddie Izzard just reminded me of an important one.
"The word herb. You say erb, and we say herb, cuz there's an h in it"

Ok I'm done.

[Gigi]

We just got a brochure in the mail describing the improvements that have been made in our city.  It seems the city fathers (or at least the guy who wrote the copy) are very pleased with the improved views after undergrounding the utility lines at one of the large intersections. The view is definitely better since they ran the lines underground, but undergrounding?

I am also disturbed by "I should of, could of, would of.  No, dear, it's should have, could have, would have.

[Venus193]

Should of; Should have, etc.

Absolutely!

[Athos_000]

I know it's been said, but I absolutely HATE the word "pacific" used for "specific".  It is like nails on a chalkboard to me.

The owner of the company I work for does this and it drives me up the wall. Every time I hear him say it I have to fight back the urge to correct him - how does he get new clients when he can't even speak properly?? I want to pull him aside and say "Hey boss, do you know why everyone in the country think people from this area are uneducated rednecks? BECAUSE THEY SOUND LIKE YOU!    ack! sorry rant over!

pacific? ocean?

[Blurgle]

Another one of mine is "different than."  The correct usage is "different from."

When I see this in business documents I almost go postal.

Actually, both are correct, although the difference between them varies from country to country. In the US, the following rules apply:

http://www.bartleby.com/64/C003/098.html

Outside the US, "different than" is more accepted, and the disdain for "different from" is often thought to be a solely American trait.

[Venus193]

[harrumps quietly]

I have to say that I'm notoriously old-fashioned when it comes to grammar.