Who Knew?

Now that I'm coming up for air after filing or extending way too many tax returns, I'm catching up on email, blogging, et cetera. A fellow pseudo-intellectual friend sent me these links to lists of common mispronunciations. Actually, he's a real academician (and he reads my blog) - the "pseudo" part only applies to me.

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/mispron.html

http://www.primermagazine.com/2008/learn/10-words-you-mispronounce-that-make-people-think-youre-an-idiot

I love words. I strive to use them responsibly, but I mess up all the time. I still cringe when I think about mispronouncing "fiefdom" (it's pronounced "feef-dom", not "fife-dom"). I blame this on two things. My vocabulary is better than average because I read a great deal. By the way, did you know there's no such word as "alot"? I learned this in 11th grade English, but I don't comply with it alot. Dr. Middleton was the best teacher I've ever had. She had a PhD and had never married. She was brilliant and extremely eccentric. She was very well-endowed - one time we counted the hooks on the back of her bra. I think they were in the double digits.

She took a dislike to a girl in our class. I'll call her Daphne. Daphne was crazy-smart, but she had no social skills. In retrospect, I think she had Asberger's Syndrome. Dr. M didn't like the fact that Daphne read books during her lectures, rather than sitting in rapt attention like the rest of us. I remember the day that Dr. M transformed into a female Mikhail Barishnakov. She pranced over to Daphne's desk, did a little pirouette, snatched up the book, danced back to her desk, and ceremoniously tossed it into the round metal garbage can. Needless to say, we were taken aback. But Dr. M didn't miss a beat. She launched back into explaining the difference in the styles of Ibsen and Chekhov. Which I still remember. That reminds me - Hedda Gabler is playing at Theater Memphis.

I also remember the bake sale. I guess Daphne was excused from class for it. Dr. M told us not to eat Daph's cookies. That they were surely poisoned. Which triggered a discussion of the final act of Romeo and Juliet.

Back to my original point of this post. I was surprised to learn that my pronunciation of commonly mispronounced words wasn't always correct. But I was also pleased to see the ones I say right, especially because I often hear them mispronounced. "Often" is case in point. No "T". Dr. M taught us that.

I can forgive the occasional mis-pro, but one thing I cannot forgive is the abuse of the word "literally." It makes me crazy. I need to compile a list of this and my other peeves. Of which there are many.

Ok, I just realized that it's Tuesday and that I'm going to have surgery to remove these stupid pins from my hands in the morning. So I should take care of a few odds and ends.

Over and out...