language

I used to believe…

When I was very small I didn't grasp the concept of words and spelling. I used to write all the letters I knew in groups of four or five and ask my mom what the words slept. She would isnist I hadn't spelt anything and I could never understand why.

I used to believe…

When I was younger, I read in this spanish book that two 'l's (as in, como se llama) were pronounced as 'y'. I promptly forgot that this only applied to Spanish, and so for a very long time (up until 3 years ago) I thought that anything with two l's would have to be pronounced y. for example, I was read this book called 'is your mama a llama' by my mom a lot, and I remember saying, "Mom, it's not lama, it's yama!" I also remembering encountering the name Lloyd for the first time. I announced proudly that the person was named Yoyd, (pronounced like yoid) not Loyd.

I used to believe that "shame" is a kind of table because when children were send to stand in the corner (near that particular table) everybody had to say "shame".

I used to believe…

When I was 6 (or maybe 7), and on a country walk with my family, I referred to "that shoop".

Well, several geese, but only one goose, therefore several sheep, but only one shoop.

It was perfectly logical to me at the time, and, come to think about it, I might start a campaign to make my version the correct one...

I used to believe there was some secret reason about why "clothes" wasn't pronounced "cloth-es" and "shoppe" wasn't pronounced "shop-e." I thought that when I grew up, my parents would sit down and explain these secrets (and others) to me.

I used to believe…

Sometimes when my parents were trying to get me out of bed or to get me to do something when I'd just been sitting around, they would say, "Up an' at 'em." For many years I heard this as "Up an' Adam." Adam was my older brother's name, so I thought my parents had made that expression up to tell me I should be more energetic like my brother. I didn't figure out what they were really saying till I was a teenager.

I used to read Highlights magizine and there would be drawing contests. There was a section for the winners and a section for the honorable mentions. For the longest time I thought this said horrible mention and felt embarassed for the kids with the horrible drawings.

I used to believe…

Up until I was in 7th grade I thought you said blesh you when someone sneezed instead of bless you. I still say blesh instead of bless and I doubt I'll ever stop.

I used to believe…

My cousin used to think that putting his thumb up was like giving someone the finger so he always would always put up his thumb when he got mad at someone. Also he used to think the "stuff" in his groin area were called peanuts.

I used to think that when people said 'God Bless You' after someone sneezed, that they were really saying "Gosh! Bleshoe!" thinking that Bleshoe was the word for a sneeze and that people were pointing out the painfully obvious.

I used to believe…

When I was little I found this book in my brother's room. It was called 'My first words in French'.

I was reading it for a while, then I went to my dad to show him the French I could speak. I didn't know why he was laughing.




I was pronouncing them right.

I used to believe…

When I was seven, I confused a row of spectators in a movie theater by asking them if the seat next to them was "bacon." I repeated the question several times, thinking they couldn't hear me, unaware that the word I should have used was "vacant."

I used to believe when my Mom would tell me that Christmas was "just around the corner" that the people on the next block were having Christmas and we had to wait our turn.

I used to believe…

when i was little i believed that you could start swearing when you were 10 but not the big swear words just the little ones like crap , sucks , freak and then when you were a little older you could say words like s*** and b**** and f*** , needless to say i thought i was cool when i turned 10 and i could "cuss"

I used to believe…

My parents told me that my great-grandmother was in the 'historical society'. I thought that they meant 'hysterical society' - and that they sat around all day laughing like maniacs.

I used to believe…

Around age 10 I heard my mother in a verbal fight with my grandmother. She said something about being "aloof and cold", and I thought for years that she had said "a hoof and colt".