Discussion Spelling/ Language nuances that annoy you.

[Forever Sleep]

British English can be so confusing. Like putting silent letters in things- eg. night. The one that really annoys me though- is whether to use an 's' or 'z' in words. So, stuff like: apologise/ apologize, sympathise/ sympathize. Supposedly, both are acceptable. Using an 's' being the British way to spell it and a 'z', the American. I just wish one was the correct way though. For me, it ends up that both look wrong at times and, I alternate.

Are there certain words you always stumble on? In English or, other languages. Is spelling difficult in other languages?

 

[FadingSnowFake]

British English to me is the norm, but I'm not bothered by American spelling. However, English spelling in general makes little sense.

How the English language would sound if silent letters weren't silent - Michael McIntyre

 

[avalokitesvara]

I enjoy reading old books because the way contemporary people use English grammar distresses me (and I'm guilty of it too out of exposure and laziness). I particularly can't stand basic mistakes such as to/too, their/there/they're. Most annoying is its/it's and misuse of apostrophes in general.

 

[NoPoint2Life]

I read a lot of psychological thrillers. Many are based in the UK and or written by authors from the UK. The Z thing drives me insane. I always wonder what those people have against the letter Z!

 

[Forever Sleep]

British English to me is the norm, but I'm not bothered by American spelling. However, English spelling in general makes little sense.

How the English language would sound if silent letters weren't silent - Michael McIntyre

Amazing! I love Michael McIntyre!

I enjoy reading old books because the way contemporary people use English grammar distresses me (and I'm guilty of it too out of exposure and laziness). I particularly can't stand basic mistakes such as to/too, their/there/they're. Most annoying is its/it's and misuse of apostrophes in general.

I kind of hate apostrophes to be honest... the ones to signify missing letters I can usually get my head around. But, possessive apostrophes- nah. Why are they even there? Talking of 'it's'- when it is used in a possessive form- as in: 'Don't move its tail' say- we don't use it. But we would use: 'Don't move that dog's tail' or: 'Don't move Fido's tail'. It just annoys me!

I read a lot of psychological thrillers. Many are based in the UK and or written by authors from the UK. The Z thing drives me insane. I always wonder what those people have against the letter Z!

Yeah- 'z' tends to look better I think- in a lot of words but, I'm never really sure which I should use. I usually go for an 's' seeing as I'm a brit but, it's dumb. It should be one or the other!

Pronunciation is the other one. I prefer the American pronunciation/ spelling of: 'aluminum'. We say 'aluminium'. 'Zebra' is another one although, same spelling there.

Even there though- it's annoying and confusing. Pronounce becomes pronunciation. Why drop the 'u'? It feels like whoever created all this was f*cking with us! I feel so bad for people learning all this as a second language. It's confusing enough as the first language we learn!

 

[Irisse]

For me it's also the s/z thing like realise/realize and for the longest time I've had issues with the verb "enjoy", where I constantly replaced j and y.

 

[quietwoods]

I before E except after C, but Keith breaks this rule.

The only solution is to eliminate all Keiths

 

[Pluto]