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No, she is wrong, we don't all talk like that, this is a woman who doesn't want to better herself....let me explain if you will. Bucks County was home to a whole lot of Quakers and German/Dutch folk way back....lots of farms, and people spoke like that, and apparently her parents never corrected her, so it was acceptable....shame, b/c she knows it, and probably does it now for attention?
Also, what really really grinds me, is the young people trying to express themselves, always using, " cuz LIke" she said, "Like" they use Like evey other word as a descriptive and to me it sounds as if the person is illiterate and cannot describe themselves in any other way....same with someone who always swears.
Same could be said of many blacks who do speak proper English.
Actually, there is only one mispronunciation that makes me want to correct perfect strangers: When someone pronounces "picture" as "pitcher."
I'm from Jersey. We have screwed up pronunciations, weird accents all over the place, frequent usage of profanity and horrendous grammar. But "pitcher" instead of "picture" MAKES. ME. NUTS.
That said, I grit my teeth and keep on smiling when it happens. BUT OHMYFREAKINGOD.
"Axe" for "Ask" does it for me. It is the one time everything in me wants to mock them by saying . . . "Sure, axe me anything!" but I don't do it. Hard to refrain, I will admit.
Where I live, "Axe" for "Ask" isn't exclusive to the black community, btw.
You beat me to it. I cringe when I hear that, and unfortunately, I hear it a lot. Similarly, some people put an "x" sound into words like "escape" making it sound like ex-scape. Groan.
A small issue, I know, compared to other threads here, but a common one.
What I refer to is a situation when you are speaking with someone (one-to-one or in a group) who tries to correct your grammar or pronunciation in the middle of the conversation. How do you respond?
IMO I think it's rude to do that in most situations, and my ideal response is to ignore such corrections but they cannot always be ignored.
Most of the times I take it very light. I usually thank that person and say things like; "I didn't know the right pronunciation, thank you, you learn something new everyday"
After all, life's too short to be upset for such type of situations.
I tend to correct my friends, but for strangers, unless it's a city name, I leave it alone. The only time I'd correct a stranger is if they keep saying a word and people are starting to snicker at them or something. I would rather someone correct me, so I don't continue to sound ignorant.
I also admit I judge people by their writing. Use an Oxford comma and I'm in love. I know a lot of very smart people who write poorly or can't spell, but speak just fine. However, good grammar is a turn on for me.
My one story. I have a friend that is the type who, when she corrects you or just talks to you, always comes off like she know best. Irritating. She pronounces salmon as sahl-men. I once told her that was incorrect. Her reply? When I lived in Alaska, that's how they pronounce it. I told her, well, I guess the dictionary an everyone else is wrong then. I cringe when she says that word.
I also don't correct people when I can clearly tell it's due to their accent or culture. I did, however tell my black friend that when he says, "my bad", it makes him sound like an "ignorant black man". He didn't take offense and said later, when he heard his son say it, he realized how bad it sounds.
Lastly, here's an article about the whole "axe" bit. Enjoy. LA Times
I forgot to answer the original question. If someone corrects me, I usually say "thank you". However, how they correct me will determine if I change what was corrected or if I continue to say things incorrectly to see how irritated I can make them. hehe.
Guilty as charged. I used to "correct" my wife when we were in the dating stage of our relationship and I'm glad she ignored my rude behavior.
She let me know later......and she corrected me.
As long as we understand what the speaker is trying to say, leave it alone.
It sounds incredulous and can be demeaning (esp. in a group), and I didn't realize how bad it was until it happened to me.
I correct my wife all the time--but privately. With strangers it would always be out of line.
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