Words you’ve gotten wrong your whole life

[alohadave]

I did also live to my 30s, thinking “Barbra S-t-r-e-i-s-L-a-n-d” with an “L.” (I also filled in the missing “a” in “Barbra” for her, but that was just me spelling Barbara correctly. ;-)

Back when she hit the scene someone published a fluff bio/picture book about Britney Spears. The author managed to misspell her name three different ways in it.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

Conscience/conscious.

English is so frustrating sometimes.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Conscience/conscious.

English is so frustrating sometimes.

You've got to be one to have the other .

 

[jsmiam]

The other factor, is when our misspellings/mispronunciations are better: I propose that my version, “longDitude” is a vast improvement, more descriptive, more consistently pronounceable, over “longitude”. ;-)

 

[Omenainen]

I have loads, but it’s a little different for me because I’m not native. Areola is a word I struggle with constantly because I keep forgetting how to spell it, and if I try google translate, it gives me “nipple yard” from my native language (I keep wanting to start it with ae, and after that even spellcheckers have no idea what I’m trying to say.)

 

[yowser]

I have loads, but it’s a little different for me because I’m not native. Areola is a word I struggle with constantly because I keep forgetting how to spell it, and if I try google translate, it gives me “nipple yard” from my native language (I keep wanting to start it with ae, and after that even spellcheckers have no idea what I’m trying to say.)

I actually really like 'nipple yard.'

 

[Ian_Snow]

I can never consistently spell kindergarten or separate right. And it was only embarrassingly recently that I realized the differences between stationary and stationery.

 

[HordHolm]

I can never consistently spell kindergarten or separate right. And it was only embarrassingly recently that I realized the differences between stationary and stationery.

Stationary and stationery have tripped up many folk....

 

[saintcero]

I am considering adopting “ffect” to replace both affect and effect. I never get them right even when I have just read the definition for each.

 

[lustychimera]

Blond/Blonde

 

[alohadave]

Conscience/conscious.

English is so frustrating sometimes.

For conscience, I remember that it is con and science.

 

[Voboy]

I have very few of these, but ceiling is one of them.

...or is that cieling?

 

[yowser]

'Volume' gives me fits. Over and over again.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Irregardless should always be regardless, I'm not sure if it is a double negative, but it wasn't a word in the dictionary until recently. It's like ain't, just ain't right to use either. Except in writing.

 

[Trionyx]

In order to avoid some of the issues above, all writers should have a copy of this posting to refer to:
https://www.literotica.com/s/a-fucking-english-lesson

 

[jsmiam]

In order to avoid some of the issues above, all writers should have a copy of this posting to refer to:
https://www.literotica.com/s/a-fucking-english-lesson

Very fucking well done! Didn’t secretsexywriter spend a little time in the forums for a while?

(Yes, I could look it up myself. Sometimes it’s fun to try remembering things without looking it up.)
Remembriniscing: the act of reliving the old days without just looking it up online.

 

[Britva415]

I always thought aluminum was "adonized" until I heard someone say it out loud.

 

[Pureotica]

"The only thing that I got has been bothering me my whole life." My spelling of everything is terrible, which makes me dependent on computer corrections. I don't know how I got through college with only a typewriter. Sometimes the spelling is so bad that even the spell checker is confused. "Bureaucracy" is one such word.

Don't feel bad. I have an English degree and I rarely get that one right on the first try. Way too many silent vowels.

FWIW, I'm more embarrassed to confess my English education in a smut forum than I would be to tell my English professors I write smut. Somehow it's the less reputable revelation. lol.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Don't feel bad. I have an English degree and I rarely get that one right on the first try. Way too many silent vowels.

FWIW, I'm more embarrassed to confess my English education in a smut forum than I would be to tell my English professors I write smut. Somehow it's the less reputable revelation. lol.

What have I said once? We don't write smut here; we write erotica.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Stationary and stationery have tripped up many folk....

The trick is to think of envelopes, which starts with letter "e" used in the middle of stationery.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Don't feel bad. I have an English degree and I rarely get that one right on the first try. Way too many silent vowels.

FWIW, I'm more embarrassed to confess my English education in a smut forum than I would be to tell my English professors I write smut. Somehow it's the less reputable revelation. lol.

I've heard that English has the most inconsistent spelling of any European language, but I can't confirm that. Then the Norman invasion (1066) resulted in a lot of words with near duplciate means. "Cream/milk" is the classic one I can think of of. If you can recognize some of the words in a sign written in Spanish, that is likely the Norman influence. (French and Spanish being Latin-based languages.) Anglo-Saxon based words won't show up in Spanish.

Of course, some English words migrated to Spanish much later, and some Spanish ones are virtually part of English now.

 

[Pureotica]

What have I said once? We don't write smut here; we write erotica.

I sometimes use the terms interchangeably. Smut isn't pejorative, just a shorthand for sex writing. I

Erotica is a legitimate artform. Sex serves story, not the other way around. I explore character. They may be engaging in kinky behavior, but I want to know why it matters to them. Quality matters, and I try to produce the best work possible. It takes me forever to reach a story I'm happy with. Even when I'm having fun, or experimenting, I always take writing seriously.

I've heard that English has the most inconsistent spelling of any European language, but I can't confirm that. Then the Norman invasion (1066) resulted in a lot of words with near duplciate means. "Cream/milk" is the classic one I can think of of. If you can recognize some of the words in a sign written in Spanish, that is likely the Norman influence. (French and Spanish being Latin-based languages.) Anglo-Saxon based words won't show up in Spanish.

Of course, some English words migrated to Spanish much later, and some Spanish ones are virtually part of English now.

Old English was a Germanic language, unreadable by modern speakers. Bits of it lingered to modernity, but the core changed under Roman occupation. Then we cobbled a lot of Latin and Romance influences. England got invaded a bunch, then invaded a bunch of other places. England and France swapped kings a few times. It's a real Frankenstein's monster of a language. Our spelling and pronunciation are almost arbitrary. Beautiful in its chaos IMHO. I love it.

 

[onehitwanda]

'Volume' gives me fits. Over and over again.

gague. gauge. EVERY FUCKING TIME.

 

[jsmiam]

I always thought aluminum was "adonized" until I heard someone say it out loud.

Hey, I forgot that one. That happens to be one of the ones I mis-thought too.

I think the key element in what I asked about, revolves around words you read only but never heard pronounced correctly.

But hey… if aluminum were beautified to be handsome and Greek-god-like, would that count as Adonizing it? ;-).

 

[onehitwanda]

You Americans always get Aluminium wrong. It's cute.