THE POWER OF WORDS

Is it just me or do others find it annoying when people mispronounce certain words or letters? I realize that sometimes it's just a regional thing, sometimes a region as small as 50 miles or less.  But there is a tendency in this area not to pronounce "T".  Really, it appears in the word, it is written in the word but people just don't pronounce it. 

Living in the Lansing Michigan area, we are inundated with advertisements and news about Michigan State University.  Now I love MSU, I went there, my daughter graduated from there, much of my higher education money went there and I am a diehard fan.  That being said when did we start being referred to as "Spar'ans".  I kid you not. A sweet little boy I know is referred to as "Kea'on".  Love him but I have a heck of a time when I try to say his name so rather than insult I just refer to him as their sweet little boy.  But the words in question are SPARTAN and KEATON.  I am probably the freak insisting on pronouncing words the way they are written so I take my grammar beatings in good spirits. But I just can't be a Spar'an no matter how hard I try. 

And every time I hear that commercial promoting an emergency injection product for severe allergic reactions and the young man says "I just cou'n breathe" it drives me crazy! What happened to the "d and the "l" and the "t" for that matter. Are we just lazy or do we really just not know any better.  Heck I love a sweet southern accent and the way they pronounce some words in one long syllable, but I think their habit of dropping the ending is merely weather-related.  Such as, "Wha's happeninnnnnnn"  That's cool.  It's hot and sticky and people are economizing by not talking too much or too long.  Perfectly logical.

And then there is the weird pronunciation of that mundane word WASH.  In what world does one say WaRsh?  Apparently this one.  Warsh your clothes, drive on Warshington Avenue named after the famous lst President Geor Warshington.  (SPELL CHECK is going crazy by the way). And it is a ROOF not a word that describes a dog barking.

I don't mind having a Midwestern accent, which according to my travels is the equivalent of no accent. I also base that on the fact that most newscasters sound like me, unless of course, it is the local weather person.  They sound exactly like their hometown which also indicates that is probably the only part of the newscast locals really care to listen.  Who can blame them?  I'd much rather talk about the weather than the rest of what passes for news these days myself.

So warsh your ruff and hang your Spar'an flag out Lansing-it's football season!!