Well, this is what I get. I started this blog when I was bored at work and then subsequently out of work. Now that I am back to work, in a job I really enjoy, and am teaching riding lessons on a regular basis, I just don't have time for all my blogs anymore.
So, for now, I'm saying goodbye on this blog. I may come back at some point. But I'm going to leave it up so that the references are available to those of us who care about what we're writing and how our written skills are viewed by the public.
Thanks to everyone for their support. May your sentences always be perfectly structured, and may dangling participles, lolspeak, bad spelling, and lack of punctuation never plague you.
~ Andrea
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
SWDYT?
Okay, I have to be honest: I'm a texter. No, I'm not on Twitter, but I am on Facebook. (I don't like MySpace, though--too cluttered and difficult with all the HTML code you have to know.) When I got the upgrade to my phone, I specifically got one with a slide-out keyboard so I wasn't struggling with using the number pad to text. My thumbs are a bit fat for touch screens, though.
I was looking for some unrelated information this afternoon and I ran across this article:
Quick! Tell Us What KUTGW Means
It's a good, honest look at texting. Times are a' changin', and we have to be ready for these kinds of things.
Of course, texting has further murdered our poor language, but I have to admit, it is extremely convenient to be able to "write" in abbreviations, specifically textspeak. Abbreviations I use most often are:
LOL: Lots of laughs or laugh out loud
ROTFFOL: Rolling on the floor full of laughter
ROTFLMAO: Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off
JMO: Just my opinion
JMHO: Just my honest opinion
WTF: What the fuck
WTH: What the hell
OMG: Oh my God
PITA: Pain in the ass
TTFN: Ta ta for now (Tigger's mantra from the Disney Winnie-the-Pooh films)
While our poor language suffers, this is actually one act of attempted murder that fits in my world. *SIGH* I'm sorry. But at least I only use the abbreviations that I am sure I know...note the last sentence of the article. OOPS. (Not an abbreviation--the actual word.)
TTFN!
I was looking for some unrelated information this afternoon and I ran across this article:
Quick! Tell Us What KUTGW Means
It's a good, honest look at texting. Times are a' changin', and we have to be ready for these kinds of things.
Of course, texting has further murdered our poor language, but I have to admit, it is extremely convenient to be able to "write" in abbreviations, specifically textspeak. Abbreviations I use most often are:
LOL: Lots of laughs or laugh out loud
ROTFFOL: Rolling on the floor full of laughter
ROTFLMAO: Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off
JMO: Just my opinion
JMHO: Just my honest opinion
WTF: What the fuck
WTH: What the hell
OMG: Oh my God
PITA: Pain in the ass
TTFN: Ta ta for now (Tigger's mantra from the Disney Winnie-the-Pooh films)
While our poor language suffers, this is actually one act of attempted murder that fits in my world. *SIGH* I'm sorry. But at least I only use the abbreviations that I am sure I know...note the last sentence of the article. OOPS. (Not an abbreviation--the actual word.)
TTFN!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Paul Brians' Common Errors in English
In looking up the word "laundromat" for a transcription, I came across this website gem: Paul Brians' Common Errors in English. NEAT! Should be tons of fun looking up words and seeing what the errors are. I'll have to do a post about it sometime soon. I will add this to the sidebar on this blog for all to enjoy!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Pronunskiation Part 3
Still having problems uploading those pictures. Can't find my memory card for my phone my husband had at his work and gave to me, so I'm trying my best to just run across it and pretend like all is well and not tell him I have lost--ahem, excuse me, accidentally misplaced it.
In the meantime...
Well, now that I am officially a transcriber, I can claim to be an even more amazing grammar guru. You could say I am now a Captain of the Grammar Police.
I was reminded today of a common problem we all run into: mispronunciation of city names, street names, people names, etc. Now understandably, when you're not from the area, it can be extremely hard to pronounce things. But what I REALLY can't stand is when people ARE from the area and they STILL can't pronounce it right.
Here in Arizona, we have some pretty whacked out names. Lots of them are American Indian, while others are Spanish/Mexican words. You know you are truly an Arizona native when you can pronounce saguaro, Ajo, Canyon de Chelly, cholla, Gila monster and ocotillo with ease and fluidity.
However, we also have the following, which I shall promptly complain about.
1. Prescott. This is a small city in northern Arizona. It is famous for it's gigantic rodeo and small-town atmosphere. I'm sure those of us in the GPD can look at this word and see it as "PRES-cot." But this is not how to pronounce it. No no no. It is pronounced "PRES-kit." And yes, native Preskitians will smack you in the face (or at least give you a very scathing look) if you pronounce it wrong.
2. Guadalupe. Guadalupe is not only a street name in the East Valley of Phoenix, it's also a very small town south of Tempe. It's also a Spanish name. However, most people in Arizona DO NOT pronounce it in the native tongue as "WHA-da-loo-peh." They pronounce it "GWHA-da-loo-peh." That's pretty sad, since the town is made up of mostly Spanish and American Indian people who hardly speak English as it is.
3. Casa Grande. Now this seems extremely straight forward. Casa Grande is another small town in the East Valley in Arizona. But is it pronounced as it should be in it's native tongue, "CAH-sah GRAN-day?" NOPE. It's "CA-sa GRAND." I'm not kidding on this. And if you put a bit of a twang in the Casa part, then you're really a native of Arizona.
Of course, I know this is not unique to Arizona. And really, when it's a city or street name, you just never know, especially if it's someone's last name. And we all have a right to be angry when it's not pronounced correct to the local pronunciation. As Data (DAY-tah) on Star Trek: The Next Generation said when Dr. Pulaski kept pronoucing his name wrong:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1tHYx_sr6o
Although I can only imagine the hodgepodge of sounds that come from the French words in Louisiana.
And for your viewing pleasure, this is a mispronunciation by my favorite comedian's sidekick. I've been watching Jeff Dunham, Peanut, and Jose the Jalepeno on a Stick since I was a kid. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3E8a-yNy6w
(Sorry for not using the embedded feature--I'm having trouble with figuring it out. I'm a Captain of the GPD, not the Internet!)
In the meantime...
Well, now that I am officially a transcriber, I can claim to be an even more amazing grammar guru. You could say I am now a Captain of the Grammar Police.
I was reminded today of a common problem we all run into: mispronunciation of city names, street names, people names, etc. Now understandably, when you're not from the area, it can be extremely hard to pronounce things. But what I REALLY can't stand is when people ARE from the area and they STILL can't pronounce it right.
Here in Arizona, we have some pretty whacked out names. Lots of them are American Indian, while others are Spanish/Mexican words. You know you are truly an Arizona native when you can pronounce saguaro, Ajo, Canyon de Chelly, cholla, Gila monster and ocotillo with ease and fluidity.
However, we also have the following, which I shall promptly complain about.
1. Prescott. This is a small city in northern Arizona. It is famous for it's gigantic rodeo and small-town atmosphere. I'm sure those of us in the GPD can look at this word and see it as "PRES-cot." But this is not how to pronounce it. No no no. It is pronounced "PRES-kit." And yes, native Preskitians will smack you in the face (or at least give you a very scathing look) if you pronounce it wrong.
2. Guadalupe. Guadalupe is not only a street name in the East Valley of Phoenix, it's also a very small town south of Tempe. It's also a Spanish name. However, most people in Arizona DO NOT pronounce it in the native tongue as "WHA-da-loo-peh." They pronounce it "GWHA-da-loo-peh." That's pretty sad, since the town is made up of mostly Spanish and American Indian people who hardly speak English as it is.
3. Casa Grande. Now this seems extremely straight forward. Casa Grande is another small town in the East Valley in Arizona. But is it pronounced as it should be in it's native tongue, "CAH-sah GRAN-day?" NOPE. It's "CA-sa GRAND." I'm not kidding on this. And if you put a bit of a twang in the Casa part, then you're really a native of Arizona.
Of course, I know this is not unique to Arizona. And really, when it's a city or street name, you just never know, especially if it's someone's last name. And we all have a right to be angry when it's not pronounced correct to the local pronunciation. As Data (DAY-tah) on Star Trek: The Next Generation said when Dr. Pulaski kept pronoucing his name wrong:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1tHYx_sr6o
Although I can only imagine the hodgepodge of sounds that come from the French words in Louisiana.
And for your viewing pleasure, this is a mispronunciation by my favorite comedian's sidekick. I've been watching Jeff Dunham, Peanut, and Jose the Jalepeno on a Stick since I was a kid. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3E8a-yNy6w
(Sorry for not using the embedded feature--I'm having trouble with figuring it out. I'm a Captain of the GPD, not the Internet!)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Dude, what is wrong with me?
I hereby publicly apologize for the bad grammar in the first sentence of my last post. Using "road" twice like that sounds horrible. What is wrong with me? Oh wait, I know. It's because I tend to write these posts too late at night when I should be going to bed. Like now.
More murder victims to come... I've taken some more pictures and need to figure out how to upload them from my phone that is telling me there's not enough memory to upload the pictures on my phone. *SIGH* Technology: can't live with it; you can't kill it.
More murder victims to come... I've taken some more pictures and need to figure out how to upload them from my phone that is telling me there's not enough memory to upload the pictures on my phone. *SIGH* Technology: can't live with it; you can't kill it.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Apostrophe Catastrophe
Today I was on the road and saw a sign on the side of the road advertising puppies for sale. Since I wasn't driving, I didn't ask the driver to stop so I could take a picture. But I certainly committed it to memory. Here's what the handwritten sign said:
Rott-Pit Puppy's xxx-xxx-xxxx
So I assume that the phone number is the Rott-Pit Puppy's phone number.
The second thing I saw, about 2 minutes later, and I'm not exaggerating that, was a sticker on the back of a Dodge pickup truck.
Rott-Pit Puppy's xxx-xxx-xxxx
So I assume that the phone number is the Rott-Pit Puppy's phone number.
The second thing I saw, about 2 minutes later, and I'm not exaggerating that, was a sticker on the back of a Dodge pickup truck.
Eatin' Chevy's
Shittin' Fords
Shittin' Fords
Now, what's really sad about this is that in "eatin'" and "shittin'", the apostrophes are used correctly.
It's like the world has turned into a first grade classroom, and we need teachers walking along the streets editing signs and posters with a red pen and giving grades.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Medication Mishap
I bought some glucosamine/chondroitin pills for my dog today. Here's the dosage information.
Directions for Use:
One/half (1/2) tablet per 40 lbs of body weight daily.
*SIGH*
One half, people. ONE HALF.
Ah, the misuse of punctuation. Some of my favorites are as follows.
1. That music is from the 1980's. (In this case, the apostrophe makes 1980 possessive. The 1980s do not OWN the music. Although Chaka Kahn owns the night.)
2. Prices start in the 200's. (Aw, isn't that nice? The 200s have a place for us to start some prices!)
3. Hard hat's required in this area. (While someone can argue that the person is wanting to say "Hard hat is required in this area," wouldn't it just make more sense if we just took out the apostrophe?)
Mostly I see these mistakes on signs, especially ones for housing developments. Which leads me to this little article I found on the Tuscaloosa News website: Misspellings on signs becoming the norm.
God's help us.
Directions for Use:
One/half (1/2) tablet per 40 lbs of body weight daily.
*SIGH*
One half, people. ONE HALF.
Ah, the misuse of punctuation. Some of my favorites are as follows.
1. That music is from the 1980's. (In this case, the apostrophe makes 1980 possessive. The 1980s do not OWN the music. Although Chaka Kahn owns the night.)
2. Prices start in the 200's. (Aw, isn't that nice? The 200s have a place for us to start some prices!)
3. Hard hat's required in this area. (While someone can argue that the person is wanting to say "Hard hat is required in this area," wouldn't it just make more sense if we just took out the apostrophe?)
Mostly I see these mistakes on signs, especially ones for housing developments. Which leads me to this little article I found on the Tuscaloosa News website: Misspellings on signs becoming the norm.
God's help us.
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