"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" writes:

>"PENMART01" wrote:
>>
>> I can assure you, Stan, that when folks don't differentiate
>>between "lose" and 'loose" it has nothing to do their spelling
>ability, it's ignorance regarding *definition* amongst homophones...
>>and no, Stan, I'm not saying you're ***.
>>
>> M-W
>>
>> ho·mo·phone
>>
>> noun
>> Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary
>> Date: 1843
>> 1 : one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or
>> derivation or spelling (as the words to, too, and two).
>>
>
>In my dialect of English, they're not even homophones since I pronounce the
>/s/ of "lose" as [z] and "loose" as [s] The advise/advice mix-up is another
>very common spelling problem that irritates me. They aren't even pronounced
>the same way (as practise/practice is) so why do people think the words are
>interchangeable? (Poor reasoning, I know, but it's mine :-)).


Pronunciations differ by region/ethnicity, etc., whereas many sets of words are
pronounced so similarly as to be considered homophonic... one of the most often
used material of punsters. Dictionary pronunciations are rough standards, not
to be considered empirical. Even siblings pronounce the same words
differently, same as their syntax differs, but over time those who converse
regularly do not notice minor verbalization differences amongst themselves, and
in fact those who spend time conversing regularly adopt each others speech
patterns and pronunciations, whereas eventually both take on a new way of
speaking with each other. Pronunciation is as individualized as finger prints,
which is how voice recognition technology evolved. Folks don't swap "advice"
with "advise" because of inabilty to spell correctly, it's because they are
ignorant of the definition/usage... often the same person uses both words
indiscriminately with apparently no rhyme or reason for doing so, other than
their ignorance. Of coursse herre where therer is olny a keybooarde oone must
guve grreat weihgt to typoess .




---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

"PENMART01" > wrote in message
...
>
> Pronunciations differ by region/ethnicity, etc., whereas many sets of
words are
> pronounced so similarly as to be considered homophonic... one of the most
often
> used material of punsters.

When I was in junior high, there was a joke in a joke book about an African
American (in those days, "black") man getting a vasectomy. The punchline
was that he wanted to be "impotent." I didn't understand why it was funny,
probably because I knew very few African Americans who would pronounce
"important" and "impotent" the same way. People in the US, however, would
probaby have gotten the joke much more quickly than I (I was probably in my
20's before I finally understood :-)).

<snip>
>but over time those who converse
> regularly do not notice minor verbalization differences amongst
themselves, and
> in fact those who spend time conversing regularly adopt each others speech
> patterns and pronunciations, whereas eventually both take on a new way of
> speaking with each other.
<smip>

True, true...my pronunciation of most words is more similar to my parents'
pronunciation than standard Canadian pronunciation. In fact, many Americans
assume I'm American because of the way I talk (I do have Canadian raising
but it's slight in comparison to most Canadians).

Right now I'm hoping the Northern Cities Vowel Shift thing that is spreading
across the US doesn't make it's way to Canada. It probably annoys me as
much as my pronunciation of "tomorrow" annoys my American friends :-).

rona

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