Nouns

“Pronounciation”

Common English Blunders, Mispronunciations, Misspellings, Nouns, Verbs

I frequently hear this and occasionally see this.

Problem:
“Pronounciation” is a misspelling and mispronunciation that makes the writer or speaker sound dumb.

Explanation:
“Pronounciation” is an ignorant conversion of the verb “pronounce” into a noun.

For fun, I searched Google for each of the following words (with the quotation marks, to avoid variations) and got about the indicated numbers of matches:

  • “pronunciation” — 20,700,000 matches
  • “pronounciation” — 1,130,000 matches

This tells me that Web authors have written the correct word vs. the incorrect word by a ratio of 18.3-to-1, which is not good, especially given more than a million matches for the incorrect word.

Solution:
“Pronunciation”

“I thought that the ask of me was …”

Devolution toward Simpler, Nouns, Verbs

I heard this in a conference call yesterday.

Problem:
The word “ask” is not a noun, except when capitalized, in which case it means something different.

Explanation:
Except for the capitalized form “Ask” — spelled CAPITAL-A-S-K — which refers in Scandinavian mythology to the first man, who was made from an ash tree by the Scandinavian gods, the word “ask” is a verb, not a noun.

The person who said “I thought that the ask of me was …” was referring to a request that someone had made to him. This gives us the solution.

Unfortunately, I increasingly hear Americans misuse “ask” as a substitute for the noun “request”. I believe that this is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to say the one-syllable “ask” than to say the two-syllable “request”.

Solution:
“I thought that the request to me was …”

“Scull” vs. “Skull”

Misspellings, Nouns, Verbs, Versus

I saw the first word repeatedly while watching telecasts of the 2008 Olympics.

Problem:
Because these two words are homophones, context is required to distinguish them in speech.

Explanation:
A “scull” — spelled S-C-U-L-L — as a noun is an oar, often with a cupped blade, and often mounted on a fulcrum at a small boat’s stern.

It is this S-C word that repeatedly was spoken and displayed in the TV coverage of the 2008 Olympics.

A “skull” — spelled S-K-U-L-L — as a noun is the bones that make up the head of an animal.

Each of these words can also be used as a verb.

The word “scull” — spelled with a “c” — as a verb means to propel by means of one or more sculls.

The word “skull” — spelled with a “k” — as a verb means to strike a blow to the head.

Although some lexicographers believe that both words come from the French word “escuelle”, which means dish, many others believe that “scull” — with a “c” — comes from the Middle English word “sculle” and that “skull” — with a “k” — comes from the Old Norse word “skalli”, which means bald head and also is spelled with a “k”.

Solution:
Think “rowing oar” when you see “scull” with a “c” or when the spoken context implies a reference to rowing. Think “head” when you see “skull” with a “k” or when the spoken context implies a reference to the head.