Annoying words, and Words You Hate

[Oregonaut]

Oh yes, that is definitely a *could* and not a *should* use situation.

[Iulus Cofield]

Um... RSVP does stand for a verb phrase. How would you prefer people use it?

I've always heard RSVP stands for "répondez s'il vous plaît," meanings "respond please," or according to wiki, literally "respond if it pleases you." I get annoyed when people say something like "I RSVP'd for your wedding," not when a wedding invitation says something like, "I'm getting married on X day, RSVP."

I dunno, my eye twitches when people use initials to mean something than what they stand for.

[gmalivuk]

Okay, but that's more specific than just using it as a verb. Something like, "RSVP by March 31," is also using it as a verb, in a way perfectly consistent with the direct translation.

[Iulus Cofield]

Yes, as I tried to clarify before, I should have clearly explained what I meant in a precise way the first time using precise word choice, clearly.

[drghost]

In Spanish, the letter J has the sound of an "H" in English.
I hate seeing comments anywhere on the internet that say "Jajajaja."
I imagine it's someone saying yes repeatedly in German.
Ugh.

[Amie]

I think I hate the word "marriage". I'm not quite sure why... It's just annoying when I hear myself say it in my head... especially when it's said slowly... ma-rri-age... Ew ew ew. I was even confused about the number of syllables the word has... and I need to resist the urge to pronounce it in the way it is written, each time >.<

[gmalivuk]

I hate seeing comments anywhere on the internet that say "Jajajaja."
I imagine it's someone saying yes repeatedly in German.

Meanwhile, Spanish speakers probably can't help but think you're laughing at them every time you say yes in German.

[historyofkiwi]

I hate seeing comments anywhere on the internet that say "Jajajaja."
I imagine it's someone saying yes repeatedly in German.

Meanwhile, Spanish speakers probably can't help but think you're laughing at them every time you say yes in German.

And Germans think the Spanish are incredibly easy to please...

[Iulus Cofield]

I think I hate the word "marriage". I'm not quite sure why... It's just annoying when I hear myself say it in my head... especially when it's said slowly... ma-rri-age... Ew ew ew. I was even confused about the number of syllables the word has... and I need to resist the urge to pronounce it in the way it is written, each time >.<

Perhaps you should switch to "conjugate."

"Sweetheart, will you conjugate me?"

[chridd]

"Sweetheart, will you conjugate me?"

"I me, you me, he/she/it mes, we me, they me; in the past they med; I am now meing"?

[Amie]

I think I hate the word "marriage". I'm not quite sure why... It's just annoying when I hear myself say it in my head... especially when it's said slowly... ma-rri-age... Ew ew ew. I was even confused about the number of syllables the word has... and I need to resist the urge to pronounce it in the way it is written, each time >.<

Perhaps you should switch to "conjugate."

"Sweetheart, will you conjugate me?"

"Sweetheart, will you agree to sign a piece of paper so we can have awesome tax benefits?"

[The Scyphozoa]

I think I hate the word "marriage". I'm not quite sure why... It's just annoying when I hear myself say it in my head... especially when it's said slowly... ma-rri-age... Ew ew ew. I was even confused about the number of syllables the word has... and I need to resist the urge to pronounce it in the way it is written, each time >.<

That reminds me... I hate the sound of the word "wife". If I were ever to have a girlfriend, I don't think I'd want to marry her because I hate that word.

[animeHrmIne]

I think I hate the word "marriage". I'm not quite sure why... It's just annoying when I hear myself say it in my head... especially when it's said slowly... ma-rri-age... Ew ew ew. I was even confused about the number of syllables the word has... and I need to resist the urge to pronounce it in the way it is written, each time >.<

That reminds me... I hate the sound of the word "wife". If I were ever to have a girlfriend, I don't think I'd want to marry her because I hate that word.

You could always use "partner" or "SO".

Personally, I hate the word "spouse". It sounds clinical and almost hateful to my ears.

[chridd]

You could always use "partner" or "SO".

but partner seems too general (it can refer to other things besides specifically romantic partners), and so is a fairly common English word, one that could conceivably be typed in all-caps for emphasis (and thus I tend to misread SO as so).

[Amie]

I think I hate the word "marriage". I'm not quite sure why... It's just annoying when I hear myself say it in my head... especially when it's said slowly... ma-rri-age... Ew ew ew. I was even confused about the number of syllables the word has... and I need to resist the urge to pronounce it in the way it is written, each time >.<

That reminds me... I hate the sound of the word "wife". If I were ever to have a girlfriend, I don't think I'd want to marry her because I hate that word.

I have always said "man" instead of boyfriend. "This here, is my man XKHKG!" I think I'll stick to that if I ever marry.

[Keand64]

I hate it when people say 'octopi' when they're trying to sound intelligent, because it's wrong. I also hate it in general when people use big words (usually incorrectly) to make themselves sound smarter.

I know I use big words that I like the sound of (like magnanimous and intervocalic) just because I like the sound of them, which ends up with me doing things like using 'goed' and 'magnanimous' in the same sentence (I tend to stumble over my words and speak badly in general, but in a more sensible manner than just laziness). But I digress..

I tend to hate words with g's, f's, d's and (and other consonants at the beginning of the alphabet), and like words with r's s's m's and l's (and other consonants at the end of the alphabet). I also dislike the a (in cat) sound (with the exception of the phoneme (?) 'mag', and possibly others that I can't remember right now.

Also, I can associate 'burgle' with 'thief', just because it's such a silly-sounding word. I mean, seriously, burgle

[kernelpanic]

I hate it when people say 'octopi' when they're trying to sound intelligent, because it's wrong. I also hate it in general when people use big words (usually incorrectly) to make themselves sound smarter.

Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly. It shows that long words make you look less intelligent (possibly because you seem less fluent). And, it won an Ig Nobel Prize in Literature.

[Keand64]

That looks really interesting. I'll have to check it out later (rushing right now).

EDIT: skimmed through it, and it is somewhat surprising that more complexity makes you look less intelligent.

[Iulus Cofield]

I think it is probably because most students go through a phase of thinking "long words" will make their paper seem more impressive, so that they recognized the excerpts presented as being equally fluffy.

[SlyReaper]

I'm pretty sure "octopi" is actually a valid plural form of octopus. Octopuses and octopodes are also correct and sound less pretentious however.

[Iulus Cofield]

"Octopi" is valid in the sense that people use it regularly. It's just kind of bizarre since it's not Latin and it uses a Latin nominative plural. Why not use the accusative plural ending when appropriate too? Why not say "octopum" when it's in the object position? Why is it pronounced [i] and not [i:]? The arbitrariness of pseudo-Latin pluralization in English baffles me. More because it seems to reflect people adopting a foreign inflection that they clearly don't fully understand than anything else.

A friend of mine insists on saying "colossi." I told him that it's Greek and so the correct non-English pluralization would be "colossoi." He told me he didn't care and kept using the Latin ending.

[Oregonaut]

I call multiple octopus, octokitties.

I call multiple collosal things, humungoids.

I don't always try for correct speech with such things, because English allows for us to get creative.

[Iulus Cofield]

I call multiple octopus, octokitties.

I think I am going to pretend I do this next time an octopi/octopodes discussion happens IRL.

[gmalivuk]

Why is it pronounced [i] and not [i:]?

The only difference between those two sounds is how long you hold them. Like the difference between happy and pee. Neither of which is the sound I've heard people pronounce octopi.

[Iulus Cofield]

What vowel do you hear? I've heard [i] almost exclusively, but I think I heard on TV somewhere [aj].

Edit: I remember now. Rome Total War uses [aj] exclusively and also incorrectly uses /ii/ as the nominative plural for Brutus and Scipio.
Also, I'm well aware of the difference between [i] and [i:], Gmalivuk :p

[aycb]

A friend of mine insists on saying "colossi." I told him that it's Greek and so the correct non-English pluralization would be "colossoi." He told me he didn't care and kept using the Latin ending.

How often does that come up?

[gmalivuk]

I think I heard on TV somewhere [aj].

I think I've only ever heard anyone pronounce it that way. Same as with cacti and fungi (usually) and hippopotomi.

[Lazar]

A friend of mine insists on saying "colossi." I told him that it's Greek and so the correct non-English pluralization would be "colossoi." He told me he didn't care and kept using the Latin ending.

Your friend is right. Almost all Greek-derived words in English come through Latin (at least notionally), which is why we have "colossus" (with "colossi") and not "kolossos" (with "kolossoi"); "hippopotamus" and not "hippopotamos"; "septic(a)emia" and not "septikaimia"; "dinosaur" and not "deinosaur", etc. The traditional way to introduce Greek words into English is to use their Latinate form.

But I'll give you that "octopi" is incorrect, because even in Latin the plural would be "octopodes".

[goofy]

even in Latin the plural would be "octopodes".

How do you know?

fwiw the word wasn't borrowed from Greek, it was borrowed from scientific Latin. I don't know if the scientific Latin word even has a plural. Anyway the two most common plurals are octopuses and octopi and usage beats etymology, even wrong etymology.

[Oregonaut]

Octokittens. That's the new plural.

What I'm trying to figure out is why people cannot pronounce "aileron" properly.

[Lazar]

How do you know?

I know because "octopus" was not a second-declension Greek noun, and therefore it would be incorrect to give it a second-declension ending in Latin. When the Romans borrowed third-declension Greek nouns like "octopus", they preserved the Greek plural endings.

fwiw the word wasn't borrowed from Greek, it was borrowed from scientific Latin.

As I said in my previous post, most Greek words in English come through Latin.

I don't know if the scientific Latin word even has a plural.

Of course it does, and I just told you what it is. There is a standard method to determine what the plural of a Greek word is in Latin. It's no more likely to lack a plural form in Latin than to lack one in English.

Anyway the two most common plurals are octopuses and octopi and usage beats etymology, even wrong etymology.

For informal discourse, use whatever you want. But "octopi" is a pretentious hypercorrection which looks really bad to people who know better, so I would advise you not to use it.

[goofy]

Of course it does, and I just told you what it is. There is a standard method to determine what the plural of a Greek word is in Latin. It's no more likely to lack a plural form in Latin than to lack one in English.

The reason I asked is because it was borrowed from modern Latin, and I wanted to know if the modern Latin word had an attested plural. Thanks for your answers tho

[Derek]

A friend of mine insists on saying "colossi." I told him that it's Greek and so the correct non-English pluralization would be "colossoi." He told me he didn't care and kept using the Latin ending.

How often does that come up?

A lot if you're playing Starcraft 2

FTR, I usually say "Colossi".

[rhetorical]

Octokittens. That's the new plural.

What I'm trying to figure out is why people cannot pronounce "aileron" properly.

Ale-er-on?

[kernelpanic]

Octokittens. That's the new plural.

What I'm trying to figure out is why people cannot pronounce "aileron" properly.

Ale-er-on?

I've heard it as aly-er-ON

[SlyReaper]

The only pronunciation I've head is ale-er-on. Don't know what the word actually means though, so I'm off to wikipedia.

[Oregonaut]

/ɛl.rɔ̃/

[gmalivuk]

That's indeed how it's pronounced in French, but like most imported words, there's also the English pronunciation, which is most commonly /ˈeɪlərən/.

[Oregonaut]

That's the other pronounciation I'd accept for it, yeah.

I've heard too many other bastardized pronounciations for it recently, as people were attempting to discuss my paper airplane. Which is what prompted me to post here.

[Ephemeron]

The word 'panini' annoys me slightly. It sounds like someone has just thought "hmm, how can I make this sandwich more sellable?"
Plus I despise the word 'bumfluff'. What could be worse than a word that makes every male preteen feel embarrassed about their facial hair? Yeah, cheers for that.