As far back as I can remember, incorrect grammar usage and pronunciation massacres have been primary pet peeves of mine. While I have never gone so far as to correct an offender publicly, I do admit to sometimes silently wondering why some people who ought to know better–i.e. business people or community leaders–blatantly say certain words wrong.
How can a non-word be used interchangeably for a real one, as in “pacifically” for “specifically?” Why is “fiscal” sometimes mispronounced “physical?” And why, oh why, do some people just make up a completely incorrect substitution of a word, insert it into some type of correspondence or Internet post, as was the case today, and expect others to know what they’re saying? Is the culprit ignorance, laziness, the desire to be cool, or what?
The subjects of my blogs, random as they are, usually are the result of an incident that initiates a cascade of thoughts that build and build inside my head, begging to be set free by way of writing. I know myself well enough to release those thoughts at the earliest opportunity so that they just quit bothering me. It’s probably saved me thousands of dollars in therapy.
Today began innocently enough. An impending winter storm determined that the day would be spent indoors, and since it was Sunday, I decided to bake. I was raised to believe that “(good) food is love,” and with an ice storm bearing down on Kentucky, I couldn’t think of a more lovely thought than comfort food. I decided to try a bacon cheddar bread that would take several hours to make, and today, time was definitely on my side.
While I waited for the dough to rise, I checked Facebook. Someone who was answering a question someone else posed posted, “it’s prolly because…” I’m not sure what was wider when I re-read that: my eyes or my gaping mouth. Really? Was the word “probably” that difficult to type? Hell, I’d even give the person the benefit of the doubt if she had misspelled it as “probly!”
Perhaps it is the fact that I teach English as a second language that makes me keenly sensitive to outright errors such as this. But if being understood is the hallmark of communication, then speaking correctly should be everyone’s aspiration. After all, it takes no more effort to pronounce words correctly than it does to pronounce them incorrectly.
Of course, slang and vernacular language have their place in certain situations, but when applicants almost always outnumber available jobs, being articulate is a definite advantage. And with countries like Japan, Korea and China vigorously encouraging their citizens to learn our native language at all costs, it should be obvious that our own people speak correctly. There’s no good reason not to.