Some of you like me, did not like a word because of its meaning. While others hated a word because it is annoying. Some of you said that a certain word was your favorite simply because it sounded cool. That kind of got me thinking. Maybe half the reason that we despise a word is simply because of the way it sounds. Kind of like taste buds. We all have different taste buds, I hate cheese. Yes, I know you probably think I'm crazy. But I kind of think the way a word sounds either repels or intrigues us.
Like our varying tastebuds our brains vary and therefore love or hate certain things. This following example may sound crazy but it is the honest truth. ......
I speak spanish. For those of you who don't know you can pretty much add the ending "-ita" or "-ito" to any word. Adding either ending to a word (-ita if its a feminine word and -ito if its masculine) indicates affection to the word and can make it less harsh. Dog is "perro" but you can say "perrito" to add more affection. My point to this spanish lesson is that I ABSOLUTELY HATE/LOATHE/DESPISE when a spanish speaker adds these endings. It makes me want to puke and makes me want to punch something. I can't stand the way it sounds, i literally cringe whenever I hear my mother use them. It used to make me cry when I was little! I know this example is kinda psychotic but do any of you have words that you literally cannot stand because the sound of it gets under your skin?!
This is so true. People use that all the time where I'm from. You can literally add it to ANYTHING you want. It was weird trying to think of my least favorite word. I hate writing so I pretty much dislike all of the words. But it made me realize how many words there are. I feel like there is a word to express anything you could ever think of. If you make up your own word, its still a valid word. A word is letters put together that mean something. So I feel if you put letter together to make your own word, it's still a valid word. If you create a word how do you go about getting it put in the dictionary? Who approves these words? They HAVE to put your word in it because someone can't tell you that your word isn't a word even if you made it. I’m starting to confuse my self now. -_-
ReplyDeletehahaha i thought the -ita, -ito example was awesome! I know exactly what you mean, i hate when people use them at the end of everything when theyre speaking spanish. I personally dont dislike any specific word because of the way it sounds. Some words just dont sound too appealing though! I guess you're right, everyone has different "taste buds" when it comes to words.
ReplyDeleteI guess some people have a lot of pet peeves with certain words. I know I get mad when certain words are said. Or actually how things said. "Oh cool" and "OMG" (spelled or not) get me very annoyed. I want to hear new words. But sadly, I find it hard to use a "higher vocabulary" in my essays and talking to others. I want to be able to use English properly so that our teacher doesn't get mad at me.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that the sound of certain words repel us. The word, c***, also disgusts me. The word just sounds foul and repulsive when it rolls off the tongue. Another word that I cannot stand the sound of is vomit. The word vomit grosses me out and gives a sick feeling to my stomach. It also brings up a horrible visual in my brain every time I think about it. But these are just my personal "taste buds" towards words. I'm sure everyone else has a different set of them.
ReplyDeleteLol at the "ita and ito." I'm spanish too and my aunts always do it! Even to my name...Heather. It's now "Heathersita" like what? no...Anyways, yeah one thing I can't stand is when one word becomes the new thing to say and everyone starts to say it, aka gnarlly. I can NOT stand when people say that...I haven't heard it much anymore but not too long ago this was the cool thing to say. Gnarlly is NOT gnarlly!! Another thing I really can't stand is when men refer to you as "sweety" or "hun" I am NOT your "sweety" and it sounds so creeper of them to say that.
ReplyDeleteI took four years of spanish and I never knew you could add those endings to any spanish word. Well I know to never do that lol. A word that I really hate is "peeve." So when people say "pet peeve" I get annoyed. Is there any other word that we can use to express things that annoy us? I also hate the word c***. I think it's the worst insult that you could ever say to a girl. I didn't realize how powerful of a word it was until I used it once because I thought it was just like the word b****. After the other girl got quiet I realized that word was different from all the others. I haven't used that word since.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, words are like tastebuds. Some words do not appeal to you while some make you feel sick. There are definitely some words that get under my skin, though i cannot recall any at this time. It hard for me to do so since I do not dispose words and so therefore they do to come to me easily. However, if I stumble upon them while writing the word(s) can really irritate me and I will probably scroll through the thesaurus untill I find a word to replace it. However, one word that I did not think of in class that really gives me the creeps is the word vein. Oddly enough I am fine with blood but if some one says vein, I tense up. The word and it's function just does not sit well with me and as I am sitting here writing about it I feel really uncomfortable and so I will stop here. To conclude, I totally agree with you that we all have certain tastebuds and preferences for words and because of this we either crave them or spit them out.
ReplyDeleteI hate multiple phrases and words that others use. I hate it when people K me during text messages. My friends know how much it pisses me off so whenever we get in fights they always seem to end the conversation with K. Another pet peeve I have is the word like. "I like love it when like she like goes like shopping like with me." When people public speak and say like, It not only makes them look unintelligent. It is also one of the phrases that gets on my nerves the most. There are thousands of phrases and words that get on people's nerves. I think we should work on getting rid of them all together and work on making this world a much happier place.
ReplyDeleteNo I don't cry when certain words are spoken haha but I do cringe when words are spoken a certain WAY. I hate terms of endearment such as "babe, sweetie, love muffin" all of those disgusting, get a room type words need to be boycotted. Or maybe it's because my roommate uses them and she annoys the hell out of me haha. I haven't figured out which one it is yet. But I think what you brought up is very interesting. Taste buds vs words. I can agree to that.
ReplyDeleteFor me it is more of the way people pronounce words. It drives me crazy when people speak like they are uneducated. It makes me so angry when people feel the need to talk like they are from the ghetto. Even if you are, there is no reason you should not speak properly. To be honest I do not know why it bothers me so much.
ReplyDeleteWe all do have our different preferences on certain words. In class I said that I can't stand it when people say "LOL" a million times in one text or message. Yes I get you think something is funny but you don't have to tell me that many times that you're "laughing out loud." I'm a "haha" type of person, no I don't say it a ton of times in one message, but it gets the point across that I think something is funny or just to make the message seem less emotionless. To be honest right now I can't think of any words that make me cringe, but I'm sure if I came across one of them I might realize it.
ReplyDeletei do not know any spanish at all so i cannot comment on that. But i agree with CJ. I hateeeee when people K me. I will stop talking to them and be very irritated. Also i hate the way some girls say words. They intentionally sound stupid for no reason and it drives me nuts! I hate the word adrenaline. I don't know why but i really don't like it. Liking and hating words can be because of how they sound but also because of the meaning or how it has been used around the individual.
ReplyDeleteI like how you compared the different words to taste. We all have our own likes and dislikes. I personally hate when people say literally all the time. It is really annoying. I also hate when people say like to much. I just want them to get to the point and half the time I lose interest in the story because all I'm hearing is like! For the most part I am not that critical about the way people speak. I'm not a grammar police. As long as I understand what you are saying then everything is great!
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha @ all these comments. I really don't have any specific words that I dislike hearing. However, I agree with Alexis and really dislike "ghetto speak." It's really not necessary to speak like you're uneducated just because you think it's cool.
ReplyDeleteI chose nipple as my least favorite word. This isn’t because I have some weird nipple-phobia or anything like that—I have that for feet, not nipples. I really just hate the way the word sounds. I don’t know why but something about it is like nails scraping the sides of a plastic bottle cap (a sounds I find unbearable). There is definitely truth behind what you’re saying here. Also though I think the way these words sound to us isn’t the sound itself so much as the connotation that comes from the sound. We associate this sound with something horrible because it means something horrible. Or maybe people just always have that tone about them when they mention any particular word. Point is would I really hate the word nipple if it meant fruit roll-up? No way Jose. And do you really think you would hate the word c*** if it meant love? Nope. So for that reason I think it’s not so much the sound of the word as the connation that gives the sound its meaning.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this blog. Words are like tastebuds. Some things we hate and others we love. It doesnt matter what our reasoning is for why we feel the way we do either. I also agree with Josh. I absolutely hate ghetto speaking. I dont mind if people use it every once in a while because honestly i use it when i joke around. But when people actually speak like that it annoys me. No one wants to look like an idiot, so dont talk like one. And i also hate cheese, so i dont think you are crazy.
ReplyDeleteWe associate words with their different connotations. As humans, the mental connections we share with certain aspects of society are what keep us individuals. I personally hate wen ppl tlk lyke ThIs n there writing. Like, why intentionally misspell a word? Writing is habit forming, and should people do this on a daily basis, it will indeed impact their grammar. You're not psychotic Priscilla, these different pet-peeves create our individuality, and that's completely normal.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great example you gave. I don't have a word that i absolutely hate because of how it sounds, but one of my best friends does. If she hears the word "phlegm" she absolutely freaks out. Like it scares her so she either will like close her ears or cry if you say it over and over or punch you if your a good friend of hers lol. So needless to say some people just don't like some words so your tastebud analogy was right on.
ReplyDeleteFirst id like to say kudos on the title! Secondly, I definitely agree that we have a predisposition to what types of prose and literature we enjoy. Personally I like fiction that's written with the intention to disgust or repulse the reader. To me I can just receive a greater effect when something is repulsive. It seems to mean more when it freaks you out. What I don't respond well to is stories on race or gender struggles. We have been force fed so much of these stories through out school that they are just stale and repetitive to me. They also just seem predictable and boring; and those are two adjectives that kill a story.
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