Be Impeccable: Commonly Misused Phrases That Will Make You Sound Ignorant

nicklebleu said:
The other funny thing in English is the plural of foreign words - eg virus: pl. viruses, not virii (wrong Latin declination anyway).
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That's because this standardized, diplomatic and scientific "thing" that we know as English, is nothing other than a mishmash of tongues, that those learned in the past would have been forced to be thoroughly fluent with. We moderns, however, benefit not from such erudition. In fact, Mary Shelley might be more apt to identify this thing, as nothing other than a stale, stitched, and life-less creature, akin to Frankenstein's creation.

I'm reminded of Uncleftish Beholding, an attempt of literary purity in denoting atomic theory, without the borrowed dross. Funnily enough, this sort of linguistic flavor of English, is called Anglish. Lol ... if you wonder why English is so strange, well there you go.
 
Chu said:
The attachment doesn't open for me, @nicklebleu.
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I’ll try again …

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One of the most annoying mispronunciations I hear people say is aks (said arks) in place of ask. So I asked AI why.
I presumed, (may be correctly because it’s generally bogan style Aussies that I’ve heard say it that way) that it was a general intelligence thing but it appears not so.

Here’s what AI said. I was surprised.

- Aussies may say "aks" instead of "ask" due to a linguistic process called metathesis, where sounds switch places in a word, and its roots in older forms of English. This pronunciation has been present in English for over a thousand years, originating from Old English where both "ascian" and "acsian" existed. The "s" and "k" sounds have swapped places many times throughout the history of English, and both "ask" and "aks" (or "ax") have been used in various dialects.

Historical context
  • Old English roots:
    The word "ask" existed in Old English as both ascian and acsian. As early as the 8th century, variations with the sounds swapped appeared in manuscripts.

  • Middle English usage:
    Geoffrey Chaucer, the 14th-century English poet, used "ax" in his writings, indicating that the metathesized version was common at the time.

  • Coverdale Bible:
    The 1535 Coverdale Bible even included the phrase, "Axe and it shall be given you" (Matthew 7:7), showing that the "ax" pronunciation was once considered formal enough for print.

  • Regional variation:
    While "ask" eventually became the standard form in some regions, "ask" was originally the northern dialect's pronunciation, and "ax" was common in the south and midlands of England.
Modern-day pronunciation
  • Dialectal variation:
    The pronunciation of "ask" as "aks" is a form of linguistic variation that is found in various dialects today, not just in Australia. It is an example of how languages evolve.

  • Not a mistake:
    Rather than being a sign of ignorance, saying "aks" is a product of a long history of English pronunciation, according to linguistic evidence.
 
T.C. said:
The American use of “then” instead of “than” is the one that gets me the most.

“more then that…”

🤦‍♂️
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Yes, for me as a native German it is beyond my comprehension - a pain in my brain.


SevenFeathers said:
Maybe it is just due to a regional accent? Southern perhaps?
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No, you can find this error in hundreds of e-books from everywhere.

On a similar level, in my perception, is the inability of so many people to make a plural without using an apostrophe.
 
Arwenn said:
Alternative ways of saying someone is lacking intelligence:
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Some more from Deep Seek (AI) on the light side with a wink:
  • His compass points to a different true north.
  • He's a permanent resident of his own private Idaho.
  • She's not on the same page; she's not even in the same library.
  • He's got a wonderfully imaginative relationship with the facts.
  • He has an alternative interpretation of cause and effect.
  • She possesses a unique, almost artistic, approach to logic.
  • His internal narrative is... richly embellished.
  • She colors outside the lines, and then insists the lines were never there to begin with.
  • His elevator doesn't just skip floors; it goes to entirely different buildings.
  • If his train of thought were a real train, it would be powered by squirrels and running on marshmallow tracks.
  • He's not just marching to the beat of his own drum; he's in a completely different parade.
  • Her grasp on reality is as firm as a wet bar of soap.
My favorite is "not even in the same library". :-)
 
broken.english said:
No, you can find this error in hundreds of e-books from everywhere.
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That is just completely wrong! Then and than are two completely different words. Bad writing AND bad editing in those books.

broken.english said:
On a similar level, in my perception, is the inability of so many people to make a plural without using an apostrophe.
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I see that all the time and hate it. I want to take a marker around with me and correct signs with that problem.
 
Fluffy said:
One of the most annoying mispronunciations I hear people say is aks (said arks) in place of ask. So I asked AI why.
I presumed, (may be correctly because it’s generally bogan style Aussies that I’ve heard say it that way) that it was a general intelligence thing but it appears not so.

Here’s what AI said. I was surprised.

- Aussies may say "aks" instead of "ask" due to a linguistic process called metathesis, where sounds switch places in a word, and its roots in older forms of English. This pronunciation has been present in English for over a thousand years, originating from Old English where both "ascian" and "acsian" existed. The "s" and "k" sounds have swapped places many times throughout the history of English, and both "ask" and "aks" (or "ax") have been used in various dialects.

Historical context
  • Old English roots:
    The word "ask" existed in Old English as both ascian and acsian. As early as the 8th century, variations with the sounds swapped appeared in manuscripts.

  • Middle English usage:
    Geoffrey Chaucer, the 14th-century English poet, used "ax" in his writings, indicating that the metathesized version was common at the time.

  • Coverdale Bible:
    The 1535 Coverdale Bible even included the phrase, "Axe and it shall be given you" (Matthew 7:7), showing that the "ax" pronunciation was once considered formal enough for print.

  • Regional variation:
    While "ask" eventually became the standard form in some regions, "ask" was originally the northern dialect's pronunciation, and "ax" was common in the south and midlands of England.
Modern-day pronunciation
  • Dialectal variation:
    The pronunciation of "ask" as "aks" is a form of linguistic variation that is found in various dialects today, not just in Australia. It is an example of how languages evolve.

  • Not a mistake:
    Rather than being a sign of ignorance, saying "aks" is a product of a long history of English pronunciation, according to linguistic evidence.
Click to expand...
So people have been mispronouncing English words for a long time. Chaucer was being edgy back then.
 
Interesting topic! I’ve seen versions of this idea before — that certain English word pairs like “good morning” and “good mourning” sound the same, or that phrases can be split into smaller words (“weekend” → “weak end”) which some people read as hidden meanings. It definitely makes you think about language in a different way.
For me personally, it reminds me of playing with puns and homophones when I was learning English. I used to notice similarities between sounds all the time — sometimes they were just funny coincidences, sometimes they helped me remember vocabulary. I don’t think every resemblance has deeper mystical meaning, but it is true that language can be playful and contain patterns that make you curious about how and why we use words the way we do.
So while I’m not convinced that English is full of intentional “spells,” I do think exploring these patterns can be an interesting way to get more engaged with the language, especially if it makes you pause and reflect on pronunciation and meaning.
 
Those darn misplaced apostrophes!! Today on my morning walk, I noticed someone had put up a little sign by their gate, with the family name on it. Let's call them, "Smith". The sign said "The Smith's" instead of "The Smiths". It was a pretty little wood sign.
 
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