by dubstepped 35 Replies latest jw friends
TD, true. For a long, long time American spelling and pronunciation were the scourge of the wider English-speaking world - and only latterly have these gained widespread acceptance. And some words are so rarely used, let alone spoken, that it likely doesn't matter that they are mispronounced.
BTW, I am yet to be convinced that a word such as "hyperbole" even appeared in the Watchtower. I had thought the writing in that leaflet was confined to elementary-level reading.
TD - I started a thread a few years back when there were a handful of apologists here. It was kinda sad.....
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/195895/thought-control-simple-test-jws
Haha, excellent thread. I read through a few pages. Poor Alice. For JWs, 2+2=5 if the governing body says so. I heard a quote from some elder that basically said that if the GB told him that the sky was red, then it was red, or something to that effect. I love 1984, such a great book.
DUBSTEPPED:
I remember garbage like that and idiots in the congregation who mispronounced the word in imitation of the stupid brother. Wherever possible (if it was a study article), I raised my hand and included the CORRECT pronunciation of the offending word.
What was really a boo-boo was some person saying “RE-sume” when referring to a “Resume” (for a job). I also heard “Hyper-BOWL” instead of “Hy-per-bo-lee”.
Witnesses are shamefully illiterate and poorly educated...Sometimes I see things like this on this forum (real bloopers) but wouldn’t have the heart to correct anyone. (One common mistake: using “Your” where “You’re” is needed). People should refer to a dictionary before they post anything. Sometimes spell check isn’t loaded with every word known to man.
then there was the ms who gave a talk, something to do Alexander the great saying he organised his men into parallaxes'. He meant phalanx.
All to do with the all encompassing absence of education beyond primary school.
I'm afraid my english has been skewed since 1st grade. I thought the teacher was reading a different story one time, because I could not find the word kernel in the story. After much deliberation, I figured out the word was colonel. So I pronounced as I saw it. Col -o-nel. Where she got the "r" in it - I didn't find out till years later that it was "that" English.
Words are very strange - everyone is pronouncing thermometer wrong. It's really a thermo meter. See, now it makes sense. My sister is the whiz at knowing every rule of saying a word, but I missed that along with the lecture on how to read a clock and the knowing the months of the year.
You say bayou, I say biyou, but the next time I might say it your way.
One of my all-time favorites was when the School Conductor gave a talk on "pro-NOWNC-iation". (now, MAYBE that's the British way, but certainly not in middle-America). He kept repeating the mispronounced word over and over until my brother and I had to get up and walk out because we were about to piss ourselves laughing.
Another time, the WT reader pronounced the word "apropos" as "ah-PROPE-us". Great fun.
And the painful WT study on the courage of Stephen. The poor congregation couldn't figure out if it was "Steev-en" or "stef-un".... one would say it one way, another would contradict. I remember one brother who wouldn't stop changing the way he said it, back and forth, because he wasn't sure. Some regulars quit commenting, or would refuse to say the name, instead saying things like "our courageous brother".
Steve Here's a test for you guys on possibly two of the most mispronounced words: "Indefatigable" and "reparable".
Isn't it irreparable ? ( pronounced, as you say, i-REP-rable)I don't think there is such a word as reparable.
Can you imagine if at my old Cong all the blind followers chose to follow a southern brother that wasn't the best at speaking or reading when giving talks, he pronounced The Hiittites hi-titties
Shirley 😂😂😂😂😂 best one yet
One word which stands out for me is the name describing the language of the Philippines, Tagalog.
Having known a Sister from the Philippines, she educated me on the proper pronunciation of her language, taGAH-lug. (NOT “Tag-a-log”, as most brothers would say from the Platform....)
