Perhaps your naval would have been more interesting. :) I still find the topic of eggcorns fascinating and fun. http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/ Carol--quickly using up my allotted posts. (I vote for three anyway.)
Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Chair, Department of Psychology St. Ambrose University Davenport, Iowa 52803 phone: 563-333-6482 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: beth benoit [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 11:42 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] Stephen Pinker champions "nuc-u-lar"??? Sorry, Rick, I don't agree. I think where you were raised and how people spoke around you doesn't give you a blank check to mispronounce words. My mother, for example, always pronounced ego "A-go." (Sounds like the waffles...) BUT once I learned a little more, I quickly revised my own pronunciation. It may not be a link to intelligence, but I defend it as at least linked to learning and education. My mother was educated, but always scornful of people's interest in psychology as being a result of their being only interested "in themselves and studying their own navels." (Obviously, I went into psychology anyhow, though I never found my own navel of particular interest.) Beth Benoit -----Original Message----- From: Rick Froman [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 12:26 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] Stephen Pinker champions "nuc-u-lar"??? Might it be culturally insensitive, at best, and fill-in-the-blank, at worst, in many situations to link intelligence with pronunciation of any particular word? Has it really come to that on a professional list? I would say how you pronounce something is tied almost entirely to where you were raised and how people spoke around you. In some cases, as a person's environment changes, their pronunciation may also change. Some politicians are even able to change the pronunciation of a word depending on who they are around and to whom they may be appealing. For a very interesting linguistic analysis of why this particular pronunciation is common, see: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Transwiki:Nucular. You might want to hurry because the entry is "marked for deletion". Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Box 3055 x7295 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://tinyurl.com/DrFroman Proverbs 14:15 "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
