{"id":997,"date":"2021-05-13T11:08:17","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T18:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torawriting.com\/sandbox\/?p=997"},"modified":"2021-05-13T11:08:19","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T18:08:19","slug":"english-is-weird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torawriting.com\/sandbox\/english-is-weird\/","title":{"rendered":"Emphasis on the Wrong Syllable, English is Weird or am I Just Saying it Wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever looked at a word, pronounced it in your head, and then not know what everyone else is talking about? You are probably suffering from Emphasis on the Wrong Syllable syndrome (pronounced Em-F\u0101-Siss on the Wrong Sa-Lab-El).<\/p>\n

My best personal example is Appomattox. I walked into US History class one day and that word was on the chalkboard (yes, we had chalkboards in those days). In my head, I said it quite wrong: A-Pot-O-Mox. So, when my teacher started talking about the famed Appomattox (Ap-\u014c-Matt-Ax) Court House where Lee surrendered to Grant, I was a bit confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/td>\nSIDE NOTE: I don\u2019t remember anyone even trying to teach me how to understand\/work with pronunciation break downs (or what it\u2019s even officially called), so you\u2019ll have to deal with my version.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

English is Weird<\/h2>\n

So, that\u2019s an example of just getting a word wrong. However, English is weird. There are words you can get wrong even when you\u2019re getting them right! In fact, \u201cright\u201d is a prime example. If something is correct, it is right<\/strong>. If something is not to the left, it is to the right<\/strong>. You write<\/strong> text. We\u2019ve got three meanings, two spellings, and one pronunciation. All of them are homophones. Right and right are homonyms while right and write is an example of heterographs.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Some examples of English heteronyms – two words with the same spelling but different pronunciations and meanings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then you have the heteronym: one spelling, different pronunciations and meanings. My favorite example is lead. If you lead (long e sound) the pack, you are ahead of everyone else. Or, you have number 82 on the periodical table: lead (not a long e sound). If you want to give yourself fits, check out the Wikipedia page for Heteronym<\/a>. There are lots of examples in English, French, Modern Greek, and Italian. (Yes, Modern Greek.)<\/p>\n

Finally, there\u2019s read. Who thought that spelling the past tense and present tense of a verb the same way but pronouncing them differently was a good idea?!<\/p>\n

Words People Get Wrong<\/h2>\n

I used to have an issue with hear, here, there, and where. Eva in 7th<\/sup> grade English class saved me. You HEAR with your EAR and HERE is part of location words.<\/p>\n

OK, now for the frequently memed words. Here\u2019s a handy reference table:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

to<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Indicates motion or direction<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

too<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Also or more than is needed<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

two<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

there<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Not here<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

their<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Technically, indicates the possession of a group. Informally, indicates the possession of a person of undesignated gender.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

they’re<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

They are.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

your<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Something that belongs to you.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

you’re<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

You are.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

These words can create great annoyance among readers when improperly used. Oddly enough, of all my word foibles, these are not at the top of the list.<\/p>\n

And thus ends our grammar lesson for the day. I\u2019m sorry to Mrs. Zimmerman and Mrs. Fuller who taught me better than I learned.<\/p>\n

-Lorrie Nicoles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever looked at a word, pronounced it in your head, and then not know what everyone else is talking about? You are probably suffering from Emphasis on the Wrong Syllable syndrome (pronounced Em-F\u0101-Siss on the Wrong Sa-Lab-El). My best personal example is Appomattox. I walked into US History class one day and that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[231,267,265,270,269,268],"class_list":["post-997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-usage","category-words","tag-english-is-weird","tag-heterograph","tag-heteronym","tag-homonyms","tag-homophone","tag-pronunciation"],"yoast_head":"\nEmphasis on the Wrong Syllable, English is Weird or am I Just Saying it Wrong?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"English is weird, there are many words that have multiple meanings, multiple pronunciations, and multiple spellings!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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