Observational Commentary

50 mispronounced words that make you look like an ass

2008-12-03T05:48:00.000-08:00

1. aegis - The ae in this word is pronounced /ee/. Say EE-JIS/, not /ay-jis/. In mythology the “aegis” is associated especially with the goddess Athene. It is her shield with the Gorgon’s head on it.

2. anyway - The problem with this word is not so much pronunciation as the addition of an unnecessary sound. Don’t add an s to make it “anyways.” The word is ANYWAY.

3. archipelago - Because the word is from Greek, the ch is pronounced with a /k/ sound. Say /AR-KI-PEL-A-GO/, not /arch-i-pel-a-go/.

4. arctic - Note the C after the R. Say /ARK-TIK/, not /ar-tik/.

5. accessory - the first C has a “hard” sound. Say /AK-SESS-OR-Y/, not /ass-ess-or-y/.

6. ask - The S comes before the K. Say /ASK/ not /aks/.

7. asterisk - Notice the second S. Say /AS-TER-ISK/, not /as-ter-ik/.

8. athlete - The word has two syllables, not three. Say /ATH-LETE/, not /ath-uh-lete/.

9. barbed wire- Notice the AR in the first syllable. Say /BARBD/, not /bob/.

10. cache - The word is of French origin, but it does not end with an accented syllable. A cache is a hiding place or something that is being hidden: a cache of supplies; a cache of money; a cache of drugs. Say /KASH/, not /ka-shay/.

11. candidate - Notice the first d. Say /KAN-DI-DATE/, not /kan-i-date/.

12. cavalry - This word refers to troops that fight on horseback. Say /KAV-UL-RY/, not /kal-vuh-ry/. NOTE: Calvary refers the place where Jesus was crucified and IS pronounced /kal-vuh-ry/.)

13. chaos - The spelling ch can represent three different sounds in English: /tch/ as in church, /k/ as in Christmas, and /sh/ as in chef. The first sound is heard in words of English origin and is the most common. The second sound of ch, /k/, is heard in words of Greek origin. The third and least common of the three ch sounds is heard in words adopted from modern French. Chaos is a Greek word. Say /KAY-OS/, not /tchay-os/.

14. clothes - Notice the TH spelling and sound. Say /KLOTHZ/, not /kloz/.

15. daïs - A daïs is a raised platform. The pronunciation fault is to reverse the vowel sounds. The word is often misspelled as well as mispronounced. Say /DAY-IS/ not /dī-is/.

16. dilate - The word has two syllables, not three. Say /DI-LATE/, not /di-a-late/.

17. drowned - This is the past participle form of the verb drown. Notice that there is no D on drown. Don’t add one when using the word in its past form. Say /DROWND/, not /drown-ded/.

18. et cetera - This Latin term is often mispronounced and its abbreviation is frequently misspelled. Say /ET CET-ER-A/, not /ex cet-er-a/. For the abbreviation, write ETC., not ect.

19. February - Just about everyone I know drops the first r in February. The spelling calls for /FEB-ROO-AR-Y/, not /feb-u-ar-y/.

20. foliage - The word has three syllables. Say /FO-LI-UJ/, not /fol-uj/.

21. forte - English has two words spelled this way. One comes from Italian and the other from French. The Italian word, a musical term meaning “loud,” is pronounced with two syllables: /FOR-TAY/. The French word, an adjective meaning “strength” or “strong point,” is pronounced with one syllable: /FORT/.

22. Halloween - The word for the holiday Americans celebrate with such enthusiasm on October 31 derives from “Hallowed Evening,” meaning “evening that has been made holy.” The word “hallow” comes from Old English halig, meaning “holy.” Notice the a in the first syllable and say /HAL-O-WEEN/, not /hol-lo-ween/.

23. height - The word ends in a /T/ sound, not a /TH/ sound. Say /HITE/, not /hith/.

24. heinous - People unfamiliar with the TV show Law and Order: S.V.U. may not know that heinous has two syllables. (The show begins with this sentence: “In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.”) Say /HAY-NUS/, not /heen-i-us/.

25. hierarchy - The word has four syllables. Say /HI -ER-AR-KY,/ not /hi-ar-ky/.

26. Illinois - As with Arkansas, the final “s” in Illinois is not pronounced. Say /IL-I-NOY/ (and /Ar-kan-saw/, not /il-li-noiz/ or /ar-kan-sas/). NOTE: Some unknowledgeable folks may still be trying to pronounce Arkansas as if it had something to do with Kansas. The pronunciation /ar-kan-zuz/ is waaay off base.

27. interpret - The word has three syllables. Don’t add one! Say /IN-TER-PRET/, not /in-ter-pre-tate/.

28. incident - Something that happens is an “incident.” Don’t say “incidence” when you mean a specific event. There IS a word “incidence,” but it has a different meaning.

29. “irregardless” - See the real word, regardless.

30. jewelry - The word has three syllables. Say /JEW-EL-RY/, not /jew-el-er-y/. The pronunciation /jew-ry/ is common but not correct, as it removes one syllable from the word.

31. library - Notice where the R comes in the word. Say /LI-BRAR-Y/, not /li-ber-ry/.

32. medieval - The word has four syllables. The first E may be pronounced either short [med] or long [meed]. Say /MED-EE-EEVAL/ or /MEE-DEE-EEVAL/, not /meed-eval/.

33. miniature - The word has four syllables. Say /MIN-I-A-TURE/, not /min-a-ture/.

34. Mischievous - This is the adjective form of mischief whose meaning is “calamity” or “harm.” Mischievous is now associated with harmless fun so that the expression “malicious mischief” has been coined as another term for vandalism. Mischievous has three syllables with the accent on the first syllable: /MIS-CHI-VUS/. Don’t say /mis-chee-vee-us/.

35. niche - The word is from the French and, though many words of French origin have been anglicized in standard usage, this is one that cries out to retain a long “i” sound and a /SH/ sound for the che. Say /NEESH/, not /nitch/.

36. orient - This word has three syllables. As a verb it means to place something in its proper position in relation to something else. It comes from a word meaning “east” and originally meant positioning something in relation to the east. Now it is used with a more general meaning. Say /OR-I-ENT/, not /or-i-en-tate/.

37. old-fashioned - This adjective is formed from a past-participle: “fashioned.” Don’t leave off the ED. Say /OLD-FASHIOND/, not /old-fashion/.

38. picture - There’s a K sound in picture. Don’t confuse picture with pitcher. Say /PIK-TURE/, not /pitch-er/. Pitcher is a different word. A pitcher is a serving vessel with a handle.

39. precipitation - This is a noun that refers to rain or snow, or anything else that normally falls from the sky. As with prescription (below), the prefix is PRE-. Say /PRE-CIP-I-TA-TION/, not /per-cip–i-ta-tion/.

40. prescription - Note the prefix PRE- in this word. Say /PRE-SCRIP-TION/, not /per- scrip-tion/ or /pro-scrip-tion/.

41. preventive - The word has three syllables. A common fault is to add a syllable. Say PRE-VEN-TIVE/, not /pre-ven-ta-tive.

42. pronunciation - This word is a noun. It comes from the verb pronounce, BUT it is not pronounced like the verb. Say /PRO-NUN-CI-A-TION/, not /pro-nounce-i-a-tion/.

43. prostate - This word for a male gland is often mispronounced. There is an adjective prostrate which means to be stretched out facedown on the ground. When speaking of the gland, however, say /PROS-TATE/, not /pros-trate/.

44. Realtor - The word has three syllables. Say /RE-AL-TOR/, not /re-a-la-tor/.

45. regardless - The word has three syllables. Please don’t add an IR to make it into the abomination “irregardless”.

46. sherbet - The word has only one r in it. Say /SHER-BET/ not /sher-bert/.

47. spayed - This is a one-syllable word, the past participle form of the verb to spay, meaning to remove the ovaries from an animal. Like the verb drown (above) the verb spay does not have a D in its infinitive form. Don’t add one to the past participle. Say /SPADE/, not /spay-ded/.

48. ticklish - The word has two syllables. Say /TIK-LISH/, not /tik-i-lish/.

49. tract - Religious evangelists often hand out long printed statements of belief called “tracts.” That’s one kind of “tract.” Houses are built on “tracts.” Then there’s the word “track.” Athletes run on “tracks.” Animals leave “tracks.” Don’t say /TRAKT/ when you mean /TRAK/, and vice-versa.

50. vehicle - Although there is an H in the word, to pronounce it is to sound hicky. Say /VEE-IKL/, not /vee-Hikl/.

51. wintry - Here’s another weather word often mispronounced, even by the weather person. The word has two syllables. Say /WIN-TRY/, not /win-ter-y/.

Grandma Got run over by a reindeer, right after santa hit a spaceship

2008-12-01T05:43:00.001-08:00

I hope Santa has Workmans Comp insurance.

Angelfish Fry

2008-11-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

The angelfish fry have started swimming on their own today. I have counted eleven swimmers so far. They are difficult to see and they are fast. They should really be developing in the next few days if they make it.

Bloated fish

2008-11-20T05:42:00.000-08:00

last night I decided to give my adult fist a treat of frozen brine shrimp. So, I put one block of frozen shrimp in there. The angelfish ate almost the whole thing, the male ate easily a third of it. I came back a few minutes later to find a couple bloated angelfish with diarrhea. Anyway, I'm not going to feed them today. I'm not sure either of the sharks got any shrimp at all. If I ever do that again I'm putting half a block or less in the tank.

Update about fry

2008-11-19T15:14:00.001-08:00

Still have 11 wigglers alive. I added a filter to the 10 gal tank that I have them in today. The water is much more clear now.

Fish Fry

2008-11-18T06:06:00.000-08:00

Well, most of the remaining eggs hatched last night unexpectedly. The tiny fry barely even have mouths at this point. About 15 are currently living. I had to run out last night and get a 10 gallon aquarium and some brine shrimp etc. I do not have pictures right now because they are too small to be discerned in a photograph.

Eaten eggs

2008-11-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

The male fish ate almost all the eggs. I had to rescue what remains of them. I hope at least some of them hatch.

Angelfish Eggs!

2008-11-15T14:41:00.001-08:00

Yesterday evening we noticed our angelfish acting real odd toward each other. We don't completely understand angelfish behavior yet, I've never had fish to speak of and my wife has never had angelfish. We just decided it was just odd angelfish behavior and ignored it.

This morning I went to feed my fish and noticed this "build up" on the intake on our second filter (which we do not use because it is not necessary). Anyway I had just gotten out of bed and didn't look too closely. I just thought, how odd some sort of weird calcium deposit over night. I guess I'll clean that off later. Notice the vertical black stripes on the angelfish. Well, these stripes are photosensitive and they also display darker during strong emotion. I had noticed today that when I turned on the aquarium light that they stripes did not fade like normal. I also noticed that the larger angelfish was displaying quite a bit of interest in what I assumed was some sort of build up. I figured, well, maybe they will eat it off for me and I won't have to clean it.

Of course, as it turned out, these are angelfish eggs! I will have to take my sharks out and put them in another tank so they do not eat the babies! Does anyone know if the male or the female angelfish takes care of the eggs? The larger angelfish is taking care of the eggs and pretty much keeping the smaller one away from them. Also, does anyone know if angelfish will produce eggs and behave this way if there is only one gender in the tank? I have no idea how to sex an angelfish. The pet store called these "long tailed angelfish" they also said that they are a kind of hybrid of angelfish resulting from keeping many different species of angelfish in the same tank.

Michael Crichton Died Nov 4th

2008-11-13T19:05:00.000-08:00

I'm rather late in posting this. I did not find out until today. He was one of my favorite authors of fiction.
SOURCE: http://www.michaelcrichton.net/
In Memoriam
Michael Crichton

1942 - 2008

Best-selling author Michael Crichton died unexpectedly in Los Angeles Tuesday, November 4, 2008 after a courageous and private battle against cancer.

While the world knew him as a great story teller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us -- and entertained us all while doing so -- his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes. He did this with a wry sense of humor that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget.

Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand.

He will be profoundly missed by those whose lives he touched, but he leaves behind the greatest gifts of a thirst for knowledge, the desire to understand, and the wisdom to use our minds to better our world.

Michael's family respectfully asks for privacy during this difficult time.

A private memorial service is expected, but no further details will be released to the public.

Don't Quit

2008-10-31T09:26:00.001-07:00

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won if he'd stuck it out.
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are -
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

Author Unknown

Moundville Indian festival

2008-10-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

I went with my wife and in-laws to the Moundville, AL Indian festival. Here are the pics:

Moundville 10/4/08

Trip to Gulf Shores

2008-10-06T18:21:00.001-07:00

I went on a trip to Gulf Shores with my wife last month. Here are the pictures:

Gulf Shores 9/12/08 - 9/14-08

Mistakes

2008-08-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

I have learned so much from my mistakes; I think I'm going to make a few more of them!

Wolves

2008-08-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

I haven't called the pet stores yet. In the mean time here is something:

A Motivational Story with Wisdom -
Two Wolves
Cherokee Wisdom .

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Hedgehogs

2008-08-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

Today I've decided to look into the possibility of breeding hedgehogs. I plan on calling pet stores tomorrow to find out if there is a demand for them. I'll post the results of this call-a-thon later.

First post

2008-08-07T18:16:00.001-07:00

I guess I'll jump on the bandwagon and start blogging.