Mary Schmich, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, innocently wrote about the confusion between "lie" and "lay" in a column last week. She was surprised to receive more than 200 responses from grammar "fussbudgets" (where does that word come from?), and one of her readers brings up a good point. While teachers say that students will be judged by the way they speak and write, what if we speak and write correctly, but others think we are wrong? For that reason, I have purposely mispronunced the word "err." Were I to pronounce it correctly, my colleagues would think I was wrong. Should I pronounce it correctly anyway? When I have correctly pronounced the word "Muslim," people have actually corrected me.
Of all the reader pet peeves listed in her column (sorry, it isn't available yet for posting), the one that I wasn't aware of was the misuse of "reticent." I did not realize that it only means to "remain silent" or "reluctant to speak." For example, you can't be reticent to do something or even to talk about something; one can only be reticent on a topic. I may have used it incorrectly in the past; I am not sure.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,
For example, you can't be reticent to do something or even to talk about something; one can only be reticent on a topic.
There's this new fangled device invented in the last few years called "metaphor". There's this other thing called Irony, which uses words to express something other than their literal meaning. Yes, I pronounce err to rhyme with fur, as I consider pronunciation to be my forte, rhyming with tort. This is right or wrong, you can't metaphorically pronounce something, although you can in the case of a puns, spoonerisms, etc. To say this word only applies in this circumstance is absurd, and ignores the basic facts of human language.
Yes, and there is another new fangled device called sarcasm...
quote:
This is right or wrong, you can't metaphorically pronounce something
Ah...but not all dictionaries agree with you about "err" (which I do realize we've discussed a lot in the past). Click the pronunciation of the first listing here.
Just to clarify, I didn't mean to be sarcastic to you Kalleh, I was annoyed with the readers who were angry about the misuse of reticent, and in general, all of the language mavens.
That's the thing about language, it's always changing. Some of us hold stubborn to old ways, and some of use move on. I tend to go with the old pronunciation, while accepting new meanings. But even the purest language mavens and usage experts make mistakes, because language is fluid. The idea that a newspaper columnist can "fix" the language is laughable, and I always get upset about perscriptivism.
Ah...but not all dictionaries agree with you about "err" (which I do realize we've discussed a lot in the past).
I am reminded of a sketch in The Glums (Take it from Here) in which Eth. (June Whitfield) said to Ron (Dick Bentley):
"How would you feel if you had erred?" To which Ron replied, "If I what Eth.?"
And then Mr Glum (Jimmy Edwards) chipped in, "You 'eard!"
So that's the way I have always pronounced the word.
By the way, it is highly unlikely that anyone who didn't live in the UK in the 1940s and 50s will remember either the show of its personnel - although there was a TV revival in the 1970s which didn't really capture the public's imagination as did the original TIFH. For those who are interested in classic British radio comedy, there is information here: http://www.britishcomedy.org.uk/comedy/tifh.htm
Richard English
Posts: 8038 | Location: Partridge Green, West Sussex, UK
It also sometimes airs, along with such other oldies as The Navy Lark, The Clitheroe Kid, Much Binding In The Marsh, Round The Horne and Beyond Our Ken on BBC Radio 7 which should be accessible to everyone via the internet.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
"When I was in high school," wrote one, "my very proper English teacher left the room so that one of my classmates could share the rule that has clarified the lay/lie dilemma for me ever since: Only inanimate objects get laid."
That's the thing about language, it's always changing. Some of us hold stubborn to old ways, and some of use move on. I tend to go with the old pronunciation, while accepting new meanings.
Oh, I am relieved. I actually wondered if you thought there was only one way to pronounce all words, and with all the British here and everything, well, I just knew you couldn't mean that! Can you imagine the ease of the OEDILF if there were only one way to pronounce all words? Just think...no more accents! No "idear" and "fea-ah" (for "fear"). Life would be so less complicated!
