Monday

14,15. I Could Care Less.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people use the phrase, "I could care less" when trying to amplify just how little they care about something. If they wanted to say that they didn't really care, then what they should be saying is "I couldn't care less." For example, if I was rambling about how excited I was to have bought a new dress and my disinterested boyfriend said "I could care less," then I could thank him for taking such an interest in my wardrobe.

I've read a few articles about this pet peeve of mine, and a common argument against it would be that it follows the form of the phrase, "I could give a damn." No, no it doesn't. This is not the same thing. These two phrases ("I could give a damn" and "I could care less") are implying two different things. To say you could give a damn means you don't give a damn, but you could, whereas saying you could care less means you do care, but you couldn't. I feel that "I could give a damn" and "I couldn't care less" are much more similar in their meanings than "I could give a damn" vs "I could care less."

I am by no means a grammar expert but the correct use of the phrase just makes a lot more sense to me. I complain about this all the time, but my friends couldn't care less. However, about this misunderstanding of the phrase, I could care less.

Wednesday

12,13. "ghoti"

I just got out of my Fundamentals of Grammar class, in which we discussed how grammar really isn’t being taught in schools. We brought up the fact that these days, young kids aren’t too good at spelling because of their dependency on “text speak” (which I fully intend to blog about later). This led to the concept that English as a language does not spell things very phonetically, despite what it may claim. My professor brought up the old but always great example of:

Ghoti.

She wrote this word on the board and asked us to say it. Only a handful of students knew what the word supposedly was.

Fish.

The “gh” was taken from words like “enough” or "tough," whereas the “o” in the middle was taken from the word “women.” And the ending “ti” was based off of the popular “tio” spelling that somehow makes the “sh” sound ("nation," and "education"). Most of the kids rolled their eyes and groaned, saying that "ghoti" was stupid and far-fetched. It may be, but it definitely proves a point.

Anyway, I thought this was a wicked cool example of how bonkers the English language is.

8,9,10,11. Southern Accent and "Pop versus Soda"

Yesterday in class we realized that a few students (one young man in particular) had slight Canadian accents despite having grown up in Cleveland. This made me think about where I was born and lived the first half of my life—Greenville, North Carolina. I specifically reminisced over the accent that I had—an adorable and slightly thick southern accent. However, when I moved I was instantly made fun of for my way of speaking. Not only did everyone imitate my accent, but they also made fun of my use of the word “y’all.” Being the new kid was bad enough, but being the new kid who “sounded funny” was so much worse.

So, of course, I set to work right away. I practiced removing my accent. Every day I forced myself to say words the way my classmates did, and I would record myself in my spare time in order to hear what I sounded like. In no time I was able to speak without my accent without any effort, and eventually I flat out removed it.

Now I wish I had my accent back. To me there is nothing more charming than an accent, and being older and wiser I appreciate individuality and standing out from the crowd. Of course there are still some words I pronounce differently (for example, I say ‘pin’ and ‘pen’ the same way—something I am made fun of for to this day!), but I think I sound about as “Ohio” as I possibly can.

I also started thinking about some southern slang (when I googled a list of southern slang, I learned that it is called "Y'allbonics"). There is the big one that everyone thinks of when the south is talked about, and that is the word "y'all." Y'all is a contraction of the words 'you' and 'all.' As unintelligent and "hicky" as it sounds, I'm a huge fan of "y'all." Some people detest the use of the word just like they detest "ain't." Maybe it's because I was raised on the use of 'y'all' but I don't think it sounds as stupid and unintelligent as people like to make it seem.

Another thing I thought of was "Pop versus soda," and what regions of the US use which term. When I was little and we would go through the drive-thru, I would always order a Happy Meal and a coke. To me, every soda/pop was called coke. I thought this was just childhood ignorance, but after searching for "Pop versus Soda," I found several websites discussing the debate, and found that calling all soda 'coke' was in fact a southern thing. I found the following map:

North Carolina (where I'm from), seems to use all three terms, but mostly says "coke." However, I was interested to see that "soda" wasn't as popular as I thought, and is used in multiple parts of the US, whereas the other two words seem to be heavily concentrated in one big area.

sources:
www.popvssoda.com

Tuesday

4,5,6,7. King's Speech

Last night, my boyfriend and I had date night. We decided to go see a movie since it had been a while. My pick was The King’s Speech, considering that was a movie I have been wanting to see for quite some time. In case you are unfamiliar with the plot of the movie, it follows the story of “Bertie,” the man who would become King George VI. Bertie suffered from a stammer, which proved to be a terrible crutch in his “profession.” Bertie’s wife hired Lionel Logue, an unofficial speech therapist who would use somewhat controversial methods to cure the king of his stutter.  

One of the exercises that Lionel had the king do was practice his bilabial sounds. During a montage of the different exercises that Bertie was doing, they would cut to Colin Firth shouting out “Puh! Buh! Muh! Puh! Buh! Muh!” 

The whole movie made me think, though. I have always been impatient with those who stutter. I understood that it was something they couldn't help, but I couldn't understand how someone could have such a hard time speaking. I think part of it was that I was frustrated on their behalf. But while watching this movie, I was heartbroken. It was clear how much emotional pain this man was in, especially since he was supposed to be the voice for an entire country.

I became fascinated with the concept with stuttering and wanted to do some research. I came across a very informative site (www.stutteringhelp.org) that was able to provide some answers to my questions.

Stuttering (or stammering) can be defined as "a communication disorder in which the flow of speech is broken by repetitions, prolongations, or abnormal stoppages of sounds and syllables." There can also be unusual movements in the face or body linked with the attempt to speak.

What causes stuttering? According the the website, there are four main factors that are linked with the development of a stutter. Genetics, child development, neurophysiology, and family dynamics can all contribute to a stutter. Around 60% of stutterers have a family member who also has a stutter, and children who have other speech or development issues are more likely to develop a stutter. It is also thought that people with a stammer process speech and language differently than those who do not. In regards to family dynamics, "high expectations and fast-paced lifestyles can contribute to stuttering." Any combination of these factors can lead to a stutter, but it is probable that what started the stutter is not what propelled it. Apparently, there is no link with emotional or psychological problems and stuttering, and it occurs in four times as many males as females.

It just astounds me that different people's brains process language differently, and that it can result in something as frustrating and stressing as a stutter. I can't imagine not being able to use my voice and express myself, because as the message of the movie said, we all have a voice, and we all deserve to be heard.

Source:
http://www.stutteringhelp.org/Default.aspx?tabid=17

1,2,3. "Bad" Words

I would like to start off my blog with an entry about something that has always confused me-- "bad" words. What makes these words bad, and especially, what makes their replacement words any better?

Disclaimer: I do not intend for my following use of "language" to be offensive, crude, or crass. 


Sometimes when I get angry, and I mean REALLY angry, I let a choice word or two slip out of my mouth. And, every time, a nearby parent or family member is quick to scold me. They tell me these words make me seem unintelligent and tasteless. I agree with them to an extent, because I have always felt that swear words held a lot of power and therefore should be used in moderation and with extreme caution. The more a certain type of word is used, the less effective its power.

However, these people that tend to scold me for my language choice are the types of people who use replacement words. For example, instead of saying "damn" or "shit," they say "darn" and "shoot." These words are of course cleaner and more family friendly, and not too disastrous if my little sister repeats it to her friends at school. But, aren't these "safer" words almost the same thing as swear words? Yeah, they're cleaner and not dirty, but when you say "darn it" we all know you're really meaning to say "damn it." When my mom exclaims "Poop!" I know that she is actually shouting "Shit!" To me saying these words aren’t much better, and it seems as though the power that damn and shit hold is just thinly veiled in darn and shoot. What is it that makes these words so squeaky clean? I decided to search for the definitions to some of these words in an effort to answer that question.
According to Merriam-Webster, the word ‘damn’ can be defined as:
1: to condemn to a punishment or fate; especially : to condemn to hell
2a : to condemn vigorously and often irascibly for some real or fancied fault or defect <damned the storm for their delay>b : to condemn as a failure by public criticism
3: to bring ruin on
4: to swear at : curse —often used to express annoyance, disgust, or surprise <damn him, he should have been careful> <I'll be damned>


When I then searched for the word ‘darn,’ I found something interesting.
1: to mend with interlacing stitches
2: to embroider by filling in with long running or interlacing stitches


Underneath that definition, however, I was given a link to the definition of ‘damn.’ So unless someone intends to say “Mend it with interlacing stitches” when they say “darn it,” the meaning of their replacement word is exactly the same as the “bad” word itself.


I realize this is no great philosophical discovery but it is something that has always irked me a little. I never understood what gave “bad” words such power and what made them worse than their more innocent counterparts. I think I’m going to start taking pleasure in acting astonished at my grandmother’s foul language the next time she calls my grandfather “a big poo-poo” for forgetting to take out the trash.

And, with that, I leave you with one of my favorite "replacement moments."


Sources:
www.merriam-webster.com
www.youtube.com