I’m rather unfussy as writers go. You’ll see my less-than-perfectly punctuated, grammatically liberal writing in my posts (I try to save all the analness for my paying jobs, plus there’s that “by ear” factor I’m quite fond of). And you won’t find me tsk-tsking over someone else’s casual writing.
But I have my limits — and I’m tired of cringing. Allow me to put on my writer’s hat (or, more appropriately, writer’s ear) for just a moment.
Say it with me:
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voilà (vwa-lah) — not “wala”
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verbiage (verb-ee-ej) — 3 syllables with an “e” sound in the middle; not “verbage” (as if there was a “nounage”)Damn, I was wrong about this one. All you people keep on saying “verbij” if you’re OK with it only being the second (and clearly more obnoxious) dictionary pronunciation… -
masonry (may-sun-ree) — 3 syllables, not “masonary” with 4
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realtor (real-ter) — 2 syllables, not “real-a-ter” with 3 (REALTOR® in all caps is a registered trademark, but that’s beside the point)
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nuclear (nuke-lee-er) — not “nuke-u-ler” (I know, I know, this one has been done to death)
That’s it, I’m done (for now). Just my small bit to clean up spoken English — 5 words at a time. If you have a pet word peeve, let me know, and I’ll cover it next time.
Now yinz all get back to work annat.
If writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk,
then adhasdh asdglaseuyt[bn[ pasdlgkhasdfasdf.
~ Lemony Snicket
Writing by Ear 