dang haven't you ever had a nun?

I would pronounce "meijer" as "my-er", since I grew up in Michigan where there are lots of Dutch folks, and a whole chain of stores known as "Meijer Thrifty Acres".....they were doing the Wal-Mart thing years before Sam!

don't you mean the mispronounciation of "aluminium"?

No I mean it's spelled "aluminum"

as well as the word "thier" (spelling)

I love this kind of esoterica ! Nice thread Joe !

An English teacher in highschool imparted to us this mnemonic for "their":

Break the word mentally into "the" and "heir", i.e., "the heir". Why the proper spelling of "heir" would be easier, I''''ve no idea. It works well for me because I know it shouldn''''t match the German and Dutch word "hier" (trans. "here", German "heer", Dutch: "eer").

One deal that drives me wacky, however, is this "a" and "an" difference between US and UK (perraps AU too ?). I hear Brits say, e.g., "I am AN human being". What auditory dissonance to the apparently "ugly" American !!!

I think the rule in US is that "AN" is used when the "pronunskiation" of the word sounds like a vowel and "A" is used when the word is "consonantal" at the beginning, regardless of spelling.

Of course, there''''s "skedule" vs. "shedule", which I think of as merely a dialectic difference.

Oh ! #52: I have it from my Flemish wife that the correct Dutch pronunciation of "meijer" is "may-er", not "my-er". Those Michigan Dutchmen are, of course more authentic than any the Pennsylvania "Dutchmen" who speak Low German.


[Message Edited]

I hear Brits say, e.g., "I am AN human being".

I don't hear them say that and I'm literally surrounded by the pesky blighters

mainly cos I live there...

"I am NOT an animal....."....

you know, i don't know about the rest of you people but i don't exactly post messages on the internet in the fashion that i'm writing a thesis i rarely pawn over them for grammer, i NEVER check for spelling, and i use a loose sentance structure because i want my posts to read as if i am speaking, not as if i am trying to be a literal genius. so sue me.

the use of commas has always been debated for proper usage. when listing multiple items in a sentance i use a structure similar to mathematics.. a/b(c*d) is A divided by whatever the sum of C and D is not A divided by B multiplied by C then D.

'green and red, blue and white' to me is green and red paired together, then blue and white paired together. 'red, blue, yellow, and gold' is how i list multiple items belonging together but some people leave out the last comma before the and, which to me pairs yellow and gold together and should thus be incorrect. i received extra points for a similar discussion in a college literature class.

you can't go back and tell edgar allen poe he's a bad poet because he strayed from 'traditional' literary means. language is one of the few ways people can truely express themselves. so i'll leave out my 's in its and not capitalize god. and i won't challange the way anyone else speaks. pike off

you can't go back and tell edgar allen poe he's a bad poet because he strayed from 'traditional' literary means.

No....mainly cos he's dead...

@ Jafo!!!!

Just imagine what our world would be like if we had to follow every single rule in every sinlge language!!!! Talk about up a creek w/o a paddle!!!

Just imagine what our world would be like if we had to follow every single rule in every sinlge language!!!! Talk about up a creek w/o a paddle!!!

talk to any russian over the age of.. what, 30?

just realized i typo'd.. my example was a/b(C*D) that is the sum of c multiplied by d, that sum multiplied by b, then that total divided from a.

my example was a/b(C*D) that is the sum of c multiplied by d, that sum multiplied by b, then that total divided from a.

Actually, that is incorrect. The standard arithmetic order of operations is:

1. Calculations must be done from left to right.

2. Calculations in brackets (parenthesis) are done first. When you have more than one set of brackets, do the inner brackets first.

3. Exponents (or radicals) must be done next.

4. Multiply and divide in the order the operations occur.

5. Add and subtract in the order the operations occur.


In your example, if a=24, b=2, C=3, and D=4, then

the expression a/b(C*D)=24/2(3*4)=24/2(12)=12(12)=144

when following the order of operations correctly.

Your description would result in the following expression and result:

a/[b(C*D)]=24/[2(3*4)]=24/[2(12)]=24/[24]=1.






[Message Edited]

#55

Well, I lived there 3 months once, but that didn't influence my comment.

Anyways, it was my mistake.
I think I actually heard what I quoted in #54 on a Monty Python's Flying Circus episode and the guy pronounced human as "hoo-man".

What I really should have said was "I see people write ..."

A quick web search would probably lead you to conclude that Americans are more confused about it than are the Brits.

Anyways, it still chaps my a55. >

ok.....

So no one thinks the word 'lady' looks like a woman? or at least can related to a shape?

A shape doesn't come to mind when you read the word 'lady'???


BIULDING!!!!!!

A shape doesn't come to mind when you read the word 'lady'???

Sorry, but I have never once thought of a shape when seeing the word lady. Now when seeing an actual LADY, now that's a different story...

It's only a fleshwound!!!!!

Oh no!!!!!!! strains of Tom Jones has infiltrated my brain and now I have to smile prettily and say "wha' sah whatevah do ya'll mayan????"

'scuse me 'gain

you guys are funnier 'n ...um......shrubbery!!!!

ni!

So is #63 the actual equation to figure out the flight velocity of a coconut laden swallow?

And thanks fo the Tom Jones lime...now I have "It's not that unsual" stuck in my head.

Tom Jones ? Oh, yeah, that Welsh feller...

I swear, the more I look at word "lady", I can't see a dang thing but I keep hearing this whiny nasal voice of Bob Dylan's in my head now, "leh leddy leh, leh agross mah big brazz bed..."

Very good, the IJ in dutch is the same as the Y in english. I think I would pronounce it as Myer tought

63 - yeah i was trying to put into words the order in which you would calculate the equation without listing them verbally in the wrong order but mathematically in the right order... right? right. hehe

ew whiney nasally ewwwwwwwwww *smickity smick

there hunny and your face looks better too



mathematically speaking....uh ah one and a two and a....

tangled up in blue!!!

Okay, now it's Tom Jones' song, but Bob Dillon is singing it!!!! AARRRGG!!!!!

Back to the subject, sort of, if you think building is wierd, how about the word Purple.... NOW that is a strange word, sounds and looks funny to me!!

I read this somewhere:
A teacher was explaining how a double negative, when spoken, always gives a positive. 'This,' he said, 'is true in every language accross the world. However, there is no example in any culture where a double positive gives a negative!' Looking proud, the teacher sits down, and there's a short silence, followed by a sarcastic voice: 'Yeah, right.'

'Yeah, right.'

Styl Skinner:

Very good, the IJ in dutch is the same as the Y in english. I think I would pronounce it as Myer tought

If you''re American, I wouldn''t blame you.

But I thought you were Dutch. If you are Dutch, doesn''t (in "proper" Dutch) the E in front of the IJ make the difference to pronounce it as in (english) hay, bay, play, say ??

Of course, if you speak one of the gazillions of Dutch or Flemish dialects, all bets are off !

Just curious...
[Message Edited]

Hi Style Skinner! Thanks for the vote of confidence on "Meijer"....I was going by hearing their tv ads and how everyone in Michigan says it!

That's not to say that us Michiganders were actually pronouncing it right! I get teased alot by how I say the the word "drawer", as in a desk and also the word "lilac"....of course, I also say "pop" for a soft drink, as I think a "soda" has to do with ice cream! So, we could be wrong!

Blessings to you!