Language Barriers?
Languages have always fascinated me. Even from my earliest memories I remember questioning why we call dogs, dogs, or chairs, chairs. It has just never made sense to me. I also do not understand how there can be different meanings for the same words. Why didn't we just think of a seperate word, I mean it would not have been hard. I also hate it when people try to explain words using their Latin, or Greek, etc roots, because those roots were made up once upon a time just like every other word on the planet. Just a few minutes ago, I realized I have always spelled the word dilemma, dilemna. I swear someone taught me to spell it like that, however the automated dictionary did not recognize it. I soon found out I am not alone.
As a result of a remark made by someone on another forum, I did a search on dilemma vs. dilemna and was surprised to discover how many people were actually TAUGHT to spell d-i-l-e-m-n-a
www.alphadictionary.com * Alpha Agora Language Discussion Board - View topic - Dilemma/dilemna
I am also continually amazed at how people can say the same word completely different. I don't understand how one word can be said so many ways, with techniqually no right answer. Accents are also a very odd phenomena to me. Why did people start talking differently anways? Take the word tour for example. I have always pronounced in tore, and have gotten in arguments many a time about the correct way to pronounce it. I was disappointed to find that the online Merriam Webster dictionary pronunciation went against my belief,
1tour Listen to the pronunciation of 1tour Listen to the pronunciation of 1tour
tour - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
however I was not too discouraged. I mean, what makes the person who made this online dictionary any more credible than my kindergarten teacher?
