Expressions

[lillibet]

I really enjoy it when I say something and my interlocutor comments that while they know the word or expression from their reading, they've never heard anyone use it in conversation.

Comments

[lyonesse]

*grin* i like that too, but then i worry whether i am pronouncing it correctly ;)

[lillibet]

I rarely worry about that, but it's not unusual for the conversation to go:

Me: unusual word
Them: Is that really how that's pronounced? I've never heard it spoken and always assumed it was said a different way.
Me: I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone say it, either. Let's look it up.
Them: According to the OED, either is correct, but they give mine/yours top billing.
Us: Cool!

I still think dour should rhyme with flour.

[firstfrost]

I still think dour should rhyme with flour.

Wait, it *doesn't*?

(Hmm. My on-line Webster gives the flour-rhyming pronunciation first billing, in contrast to the OED. So this may be one of those words in transition.)

[lillibet]

Don't even look at the OED's opinion on "archetypal". It's frightening.

[joyeous]

Yes. Like the word "interlocutor!"

[lillibet]

One time I meant to say "interlocutor" and instead said "cirumlocutor" which amused dpolicar no end, for its accidentally accurate description.

[fanw]

That happens to me a lot. Glad to hear there are other literary people out there!

[lillibet]

There was an interesting essay floating around a while ago about a woman (I forget if she was a social psychologist, or what, but her field was something relevant) who picked her sister up at a con and was fascinated by how different people's body language and other conversational behavior were. One of the things she noticed was that we correct each other's pronunciation much more often than in mainstream circles. Her theory was that we tend to pull so much of our vocabulary from written sources that the correction isn't seen as criticism so much as helpful information.

[ayelle]

I have to remind myself that my students *don't* necessarily view pronunciation-correction that way before I correct theirs. As their teacher it's still permissible coming from me, but I have to try to frame it tactfully.

[jim_p]

It is always a pleasure to conduct loquacious intercourse with you, my dear :)

[gale_storm]

Wow, that sounds like a fantastic usage of the dictionary and interlocutors and such! (Wish I had more reason to use them myself...)