Words

[digitS']

The origins of words are a good place to start the mental wheels turning – etymology.

I mispronounce words, commonly. That is common to hard of hearing people. Looking at the word "harbinger," i realized that it doesn't have 3 "r's!" Har-bringer is not correct. Perhaps "arriving before" is a definition rather than bringing something, eh ? Well, "harbor" is a related word ..? Okay, getting farther into the weeds: the harbinger  prepares a place for what follows. Okay, fine .

But here's something more! The "n" is unetymological. What the hay!? You see, the "n" was inserted several centuries after the word came into use. Harbinger.

Wait, there's more! That ding-dang n was also inserted into messenger and passenger. Message. Passage. We'll, if some folks decided to toss in an n — maybe I should be okay looking around for those Har-bringers of Spring here in a few months .

Stev e

 

[SPedigrees]

I mispronounce words, commonly. That is common to hard of hearing people. Looking at the word "harbinger," i realized that it doesn't have 3 "r's!" Har-bringer is not correct. P

I've called breakfast "breakfrast" all my life without realizing it until I noticed my sister using the same mispronunciation. That extra 'r' is almost unnoticeable to bystanders, and it must surely have come from our midwestern/upper peninsula near ancestors. Surrounded by those of Norwegian ancestry, while not sharing that ancestry, was enough to impart a lot of extra 'r's. Humans are great mimics. And yes, I add an extra 'r' to harbinger too. You were probably hearing correctly when you added in that extra digit.

 

[flowerbug]

i used to work with someone who said Wriskonsin (yes it was in the UP of MI over on the western side).