Why Does This bother Me So Much?

[dogriver]

I don't understand why this bothers me so very, very much, but it does. I'm seeing, particularly among blind people, a total and utter disregard for the word "an". People just right "a", even if the next sound afterwards is a vowel sound. Every time I read it, it makes me want to yell!

Comments

[arinoch.livejournal.com]

If that's all that's bothering you I dare say you're managing just fine. LOL

[pawpower4me.livejournal.com]

there are some words which are hard to classify though such as herbalist where some people say the H and some people say "erbalist"
so if I write an herbalist
or a herbalist
people are going to read it wrong either way.

Oh dear, whatever shall I do!

*rings my herbalist hands*
In my next life, I am coming back as a truck driver; you say "a truck driver" as a matter of course.
I'm so confused now and am just going to start calling myself "thee herbalist"
or maybe "thee artist formerly known as thee herbalist"

now look what you've gone and done!

[arinoch.livejournal.com]

whatever it is you call yourself and however it is you say it, you've officially been doing it way too much. Damn but that's a confusing comment.

[shazza59.livejournal.com]

Herbalist and all relations to herb is a hard one. I tend to say herb with a silent h, so it would be an herbalist for me. But in this case, it's a matter of pronunciation. where it gets sticky are words like historian or hotel. To me it's a hotel and a historical event since the h in these words is said. For honor,, honest and herb, it would be "an" because the h in these words are not spoken. I've never ever read herb or heard it spoken with the h, so you are an herbalist. I am an honest woman who is trying to deal with a historical language destrruction in a house of an honorable family. *grin*

[pawpower4me.livejournal.com]

but you see, dear Shazza,
I received my herbalist training from a school in the UK where the "h" in "herbalist" is most certainly said.

I say herb with the "H"
I use the UK speech in jaws (when I use windows) and it says the "h" in "herbalist" too.

Does the American version of Jfw say "erbalist?

[shazza59.livejournal.com]

My American accented JFW says herb without the h, but oddly, it says herbalist with the h. Now is that weird or what?

thoughts

[3kitties.livejournal.com]

I don't know how much contact you have with sighted people online via email lists... It happens across the board. I think it is generational. Many things bother me: a, anyways, and many, many others.

[shazza59.livejournal.com]

It's not just amongst blind people, it's everybody. And I agree with you completely and totally. It's not only the word "an" either, the whole usage of language is deteriorating. At least to this old lady it is. To my lovely teen ager, well...

[aurora-nebulosa.livejournal.com]

I guess I haven't noticed it much in writing, though I notice it all the time in the speech of both blind and sighted folks of all classes/colors/religions/etc. in virtually every context (casual or formal) these days and it annoys the stuff out of me. It runs completely counter to linguistic theory...

[toonhead.livejournal.com]

People are gonna talk how they're gonna talk, man. Don't sweat the small stuff.
Seriously, I'm an English major and sometimes the way I see people spelling on the net gets on my nerves, but it's a passing thing. Is it worthy of an LJ entry...see? I did it right there. My biggest prob is with usage of different spellings of words. For some reason, when I want to say the word "r i g ht", I always go for the word "w r i t e" and then I catch myself and fix it. In fact, I did it while writing this very comment. It's just an incorrect usage thing. As someone else said if that's all that's bothering you, I would say that you're doing incredibly well. As for English deteriorating? It may be, but I do my part by at least atempting to write somewhat in telligently.