Sounding Like a Native Speaker - The English Pronunciation Reduction of -ing

I figured I'd make this post since I couldn't find much information about it on the internet.  Native speakers often take liberties when it comes to pronunciation. Often words or letters may be reduced for the sake of fluency and rhythm.  Recently, I spoke to a class about how Americans frequently reduce the -ing sound in the continuous form.

Example: 

I'm walking to the park. 

When spoken with the natural flow of native fluency, it becomes: 

I'm walkin' to the park.  

The -g gets dropped at the end of the verb.  Therefore, walking sounds like walkin'.  This is how many American native speakers pronounce verbs in the continuous form.  However, it's important to note this rule doesn't really apply in the case of gerunds, when nouns look like verbs with the -ing ending.

Example: 

Walking is fun.

In this sense, the full word is pronounced and not reduced.   

An English nuance in Namibia - NOW NOW NOW

There many English nuances in Namibia.  Many fall within the realm of Namlish, a portmanteau that describes the amalgamation of language and country.  Some nuances are extremely subtle, while others...not so much.  Perhaps my favorite English word in Namibia was the word now.  It's used in a form of tautology to express a varying degrees of time.  Sound strange?  Well, here's how it's used.

When someone says now, they really means later.  If the person says now now, then they mean very soon.  But if a person were to say now now now, that that really means right now.

This form of Namlish was commonplace throughout the country.  Often I'd have fun with it, especially in the classroom.  If I wanted the students do something right away, I'd repeat now about a dozen times.      

Do U English?

English     noun

-    The West Germanic language of England, now widely used in many linguistic varieties throughout the world.

How does one define something as all-encompassing as English?  The language defines so much of the world we live in today.  It’s how we communicate, how we understand, and the way we do business.  English has gone viral around the world, and it doesn’t even have a YouTube video.  The world speaks English, reads English, writes English, and studies English.  It has touched just about every square inch of this planet that the human race has inhabited.  Yet how can we begin to define the scope of something without knowing how it’s used?

English can be used as a noun; there’s no doubt about it.  I just did it.  How about as an adjective?  Can we use the English language as an adjective?  Done!  Supposedly, it can be used as a transitive verb if followed by an object, such as if you’re going to translate something.  I’ve never heard this before but let’s try it.  He’s going to English Don Quixote.  To me, it just doesn’t sound right.  And I imagine grammarians hate this argument – it doesn’t sound right!  But why shouldn’t our ears be guidelines to linguistic acceptability?  I for one would like to hear English used as an intransitive verb.  Let’s give it some action.  We were Englishing at the restaurant, when we overheard the people behind us Spanishing.  I kind of like it!  And why can’t we play English?  We can speak it, write it, read it, and listen to it.  I’d much rather play English than do any of those other things.  I think it would also make a great adverb.  If only something could look, sound, or feel Englishy.  Like many things in this world, English has rules.  Rules should be followed, but quite often they are broken.

The beauty of the English language is that it's adaptable.  The more people who try to learn English, especially as their second language, the greater the variance we see in the way it's both spoken and written.  Today, English the most widely-used second language in the world.  According to estimates by the British Council, about 750 million people speak English as a foreign language.  It's also believed that over a billion people are currently learning English worldwide.  Countries and empires will not conquer the world, bu the English language just might.

Can We Use THEY As A Singular Pronoun In English?

The English language is a monster.  Many believe it contains more words than any other language in the world, although this argument is unlikely to ever be proven.  Yet how can such a complex language like English lack basic coherence?  How can English have close to a million words and not one of those words address gender-neutral singular pronoun.  One of my biggest gripes with English is the universal acceptance of a gender neutral singular pronoun.

I, along with many other people, frequently use the pronoun they as singular.  Let me give you an example.  If someone has an idea for a gender-neutral singular pronoun, they should speak up.  In this example, the subject someone and the verb to have show singular agreement.  In the main clause, the subject someone is referenced again, but this time using the "plural" pronoun they.  Whether or not this is okay has been an ongoing debate. 

An instructor from the School of Journalism might say that the coordinate he or she is grammatically correct when referencing gender-neutral pronouns.  If someone has an idea for a gender-neutral singular pronoun, he or she should speak up.  Or, some deem it acceptable for the author of an article or body of work to use their own gender to represent a gender-neutral singular pronoun.  If someone has an idea for a gender-neutral singular pronoun, he should speak up.  But of course this is not considered politically correct and some my find it offensive.  So what's the solution?

Even though the singular they is commonly used in English, many people still consider it to be grammatically incorrect.  There are actually a lot of people out there care about debunking the use of they as singular pronoun.  Google lately came under fire when the company altered the Google+ social network.  In Google+ people are allowed to hide their gender, which prompts the use of they and their when updates are listed.  Google's product manager even had to address the grammar issue in a video outlining the new privacy feature.  Dennis Baron, a well-known grammarian and professor of English and Linguistics at the University of Chicago, has done extensive research into the lack of a gender neutral pronoun.  He has cited numerous examples throughout history of attempts to coin a pronoun to replace the cumbersome coordinate he or she.  Some suggested alternatives include:  thon, his-her, le, ne, and ip.  All attempts have failed, probably because these words sound foreign.  Perhaps someday linguists, grammarians, and the general public will agree on a gender-neutral singular pronoun.  But until that day, I'm just going to stick with they.  It just sounds right!  Besides, the singular they already has its own Wikipedia page. :)  Singular they - Wikipedia Page.

Other arguments for the singular pronoun THEY

• http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2012/01/05/dogma-and-evidence/
• http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/magazine/26FOB-onlanguage-t.html?_r=0

Borrow vs. Lend (Can you borrow me some advice?)

The verbs borrow and lend are often confused by English learners all over the world.  There are myriad of reasons for this.  One reason is that the verbs have a similar meaning, but are used in opposite directions. Borrow means "to take," while lend means "to give."   In order to distinguish which to use, one trick is to try substituting "take" for borrow and "give" for lend.  

Another reason for such confusion is because sometimes in a learners native language there may be only one word to signify both meanings.  For example, in Spanish the verb prestar is commonly used to indicate meanings of borrow and lend, although the true meaning of prestar is closer to lend.  When I lived in Namibia, the native language in my area was called Kwanyama.  In Kwanyama there is one word which signifies the English meaning of borrow/help/lend - kwafelenge.  This caused much trouble for the learners, as they'd sometimes ask me, "Sir, can you help me a pencil?"  However, more often than not they'd confuse borrow and lend as the the story below illustrates...       

“Mr. Wes, can you please borrow me $2?” asked a boy in grade 12 as I was walking home.  He was standing with a group of friends, each smiling to see how I’d react to this boy's request.  Getting asked for money was something I’d grown accustomed to in rural Namibia, and from time to time I’d get asked by some of the kids at school.  Interestingly enough, no matter where I went, everyone would always ask for $2.  Not $1, $3, or $4 - $2 seemed to be the standardized panhandling amount.  I had a longstanding precedence never to give learners money.  However, the education was free.  And if they asked me like this, I’d always correct them.

“You mean to say lend,” I told the boy.  “Borrow means to take something.  Lend means to give something.  So what should the question be?” I asked.

“Mr. Wes, can you lend me $2?” the boy appropriately corrected himself.  I told him good job and patted him on the shoulder.  He looked proud, and probably thought I may actually give him the money.  However, the lesson was not over.

“Now you realize,” I continued, “that in either case, the intention is that you’re going to return the money.  In this case, you plan to pay me back the $2.”

“Ouh, sir, but you are very rich!” the boy protested, and some of the others laughed.

“Nevertheless, if you ask me to lend you $2, then it means you plan to pay me back.  Now do you want to pay me back?”

“Of course not,” the boy said with a smile. 

“Okay, then what should you ask me?” 

The boy contemplated this for a moment.  I think he thought I was trying to trick him.  He looked to his peers for some assistance.  Finally, one of the boys said, “Have…use have.”

The boy turned to me again and asked, “Sir, can I have $2?”

Now we were getting somewhere.  I’m not sure if this little lend/borrow exercise would actually stick, but it was a common mistake that continuously needed to be addressed.  Of course, in the end, all the boy would have was an explanation.  But then again, most would agree that education is priceless.

What the hell is a portmanteau?

A portmanteau is word many people probably don't know of.  Yet, we use portmanteaus all the time in our daily conversations.  A portmanteau has two different meanings.

1 
:  a large suitcase

2
:  a word whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more distinct forms

List of some of common portmanteaus

Smog - smoke and fog

Brunch - breakfast and lunch

Spanglish - Spanish and English

Cheeseburger - cheese and hamburger

Bromance - brother and romance

Moobs - men and boobs

Cineplex - cinema and complex

Motel - motor and hotel

Sexting - sex and texting

Mexicali - Mexico and California

Spork - spoon and fork

Romcom - Romantic and Comedy

If you can think of any other portmanteaus, feel free to leave them in the comments below. :)

Among vs. Amongst

Among all the words in the English language, some have variances.  Among can also be used as amongst, although it's usage varies amongst English speaking countries.  Among is commonly used in American English, while amongst is sometimes used in British, Australian, or Canadian English.  However, among is the universally accepted frontrunner.

Among, as well as amongst, are prepositions.  Among means in or through the midst of, amongst several other meanings.  Among also means:  

1 - surrounded by <hidden among the trees>

 

2 - in company or association with <living among artists>

 

3 - by or through the aggregate of <discontent among the poor>

 

4 - in the number or class of <wittiest among poets> <among other things she was president of her college class>

 

5 - in shares to each of <divided among the heirs>

 

6a - through the reciprocal acts of <quarrel among themselves>

6b - through the joint action of <made a fortune among themselves>

So should we use among or amongst?  Keep in mind, among is more frequently used and accepted than amongst.  Among other things, remember who your audience is.  However, if you choose to use amongst, there may be discontent amongst some grammarians.  Yet the most important rule of thumb is to be consistent.  Among and amongst, although interchangeable, do not appear agreeable when dually used in books, articles, or even blog posts such as this one. 

A Little Girl Without A "With"

A former colleague of mine in South Korea wrote...

I was observed the other day in class.  I thought it was going to suck, but it was pretty good.  For much of the week my class of elementary school students had been talking about restaurant vocabulary, expressions, and terminology.

I asked a little girl, “What do you do with your family?”

“I eat out my family.”  She promptly responded.

I couldn’t help it.  I just started laughing.  I even had to walk out of the room in order to compose myself.  Oh with, how your absence brightened my day.

10 New Words that are OFFICIALLY English

Every year, month, even day it seems like words are being added to the English language.  The 3rd Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary should be released around 2037 and contain over 900,000 entries.  Here are 10 new words that can now be found as part of the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, two of the leading English authorities.

1. Tweet (n):  a post made on the Twitter online message service.


2. Social Media (n):  forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content.


3. Bromance (n):  a close nonsexual friendship between men.


4. Cougar (n):  a middle-aged woman seeking a romantic relationship with a younger man


5. Frankenfood (n):  genetically modified food.


6. Doughnut hole (n):  a small ball-shaped doughnut:it’s 9.30 on a wintry Saturday morning, and we’re sipping coffee and eating doughnut holes.


7. Locavore (n):  a person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food.


8. Bibimbap (n):  a Korean dish consisting of rice topped with sautéed vegetables, chilli paste, and beef or other meat, sometimes with the addition of a raw or fried egg.


9. Red velvet cake (n): a rich chocolate-flavored sponge cake with a distinctive reddish color, typically with layers of butter-cream or cream cheese icing.


10. Crowdsourcing (n):  the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community.

Little Kids Trying to Learn English

This is a short clip from a Kindergarten class practicing their English at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH).  On this day the kids were going over fruits and they were very animated. 

Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos is home for abandoned, orphaned, and other at-risk children who live in conditions of poverty.  Currently, there are nine different homes throughout Latin America.  For more information about NPH check out http://www.nph.org/.

Hemingway's Best Work

The story goes that in the 1920's, colleagues of Ernest Hemingway bet him that he couldn't write a complete story - with a beginning, middle, and end - in just six words.  Hemingway surprised everyone by turning out what he later considered to be his greatest work.

For sale: baby shoes, never used.

 

10 Fun Factoids about English

1. Only two English words in current use end in "-gry". They are "angry" and "hungry". 


2. The  most common letter in English is "e".


3. There are only 4 English words in common use ending in "-dous": hazardous, horrendous, stupendous, and tremendous.


4. The longest English word without a true vowel (a, e, i, o or u) is "rhythm."


5. The shortest complete sentence in English is the following. "I am."


6. The word "alphabet" comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet: alpha, bēta.


7. The only word in English that ends with the letters "-mt" is "dreamt" (which is a variant spelling of "dreamed") - as well of course as "undreamt" :)


8. The word "triskaidekaphobia" means "fear of Friday the 13th". It also means "superstition about the number thirteen" in general.


9. A sentence that contains all 26 letters of the alphabet is called a "pangram".


10. More English words begin with the letter "s" than with any other letter.

My Favorite English Joke in Korea

There was a car accident on a main road in downtown Seoul.  The driver of a vehicle swerved off the road and crashed into a tree. A foreign tourist, who was passing by on the sidewalk, saw the whole thing and ran over to assist the driver. He opened the door, concerned for the driver’s safety, to see if the man needed immediate medical attention. The foreigner asked the driver, “Sir, how are you?” The driver, badly shaken up, looked over at the foreigner and said, “I’m fine, thank you. And you?”


Why is this joke funny?  Simple...rote learning!  What is rote learning?  Go teach in Korea and you'll find out.

Inappropriate English - Music to My Ears

A long time ago I taught English in Daegu, South Korea.  I remember walking into E-Mart – Korea’s version of Wal-Mart – about two months after I arrived.  As I strolled down the grocery aisles my ears detected something unusual.  When living in a foreign country your ears tend to hone in on familiar sounds.  The music that was playing throughout the store was in English, and perhaps a bit too loud for the backdrop of the milk and cheese section where I currently stood.  In addition, the type of music being played was extremely peculiar. It was the song, Closer, by Nine Inch Nails.

Now I don’t know if you’ve heard the song but the chorus alone is inappropriate enough not to be played throughout a public area frequented by families.  I looked around the store to see if anyone else took notice of the explicit lyrics.  You let me penetrate you.  A mother and son passed by mirthfully, pushing a shopping cart.  I want to f- you like an animal!  An elderly couple ambled over, smiled at me, and grabbed a carton of milk.  It’s your sex I can smell.  A young female E-mart employee bobbed her head to the music as she offered cheese samples to shoppers.  I want to f- you like an animal!  Nobody seemed to care about the songs profane sexual content.  They just didn’t understand.  And Daegu is a conservative area by Korean standards, so I could only imagine E-Mart patrons would have been up in arms if they knew what these lyrics meant.  Yet everyone pleasantly carried on with their shopping as if they may have been listening to the lovable lyrics of Barney and Friends. 

Comprehension of the English language is a challenge for many Koreans.  Not just listening, but reading comprehension as well.  You don’t have to look far to find inappropriate English.  Even on some of the country’s national products.  For example, there’s a food snack in Korea that’s called a Dick Stick.  It’s a cookie stick that’s covered in chocolate.  Of course some may proclaim that it’s just a name.  Why does it have to have perverted connotations?  Truth be told, it doesn’t.  But then again, why choose a name for your product that implies a double entendre?  A Dick Stick would certainly give a whole new meaning to the, ‘melts in your mouth, not in your hand,’ slogan.



Answer to Last Post:

Floccinaucinihilipilification - noun.  the act of describing something as having no value

The LONGEST Word in English

English Fun Facts:

People will debate this issue, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the longest word in the English language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis .  It’s a 45-letter medical term referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust.  I know, I say this word all the time too.  

Perhaps medical terminology is not fair, and we shouldn't count that.  Then the longest word becomes floccinaucinihilipilification.  This everyday, 29-letter word means...GUESS!  I'll post the answer later this week.

What does FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPILIFICATION mean?

The process of cleaning the enamal between teeth.

The act of describing something as having no value.

The installation of the interior baseboard trim of a house..

Passing out unconscious in a public area due to a high level of inebriation.

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The process of cleaning the enamal between teeth.0%

The act of describing something as having no value.0%

The installation of the interior baseboard trim of a house..0%

Passing out unconscious in a public area due to a high level of inebriation.0%

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