The English Language, and how the persons misspeak her

There is nothing in the world - not crying babies, Scarlett Johansson or Unchained Melody - that I hate more than the mispronunciation of the word 'mispronunciation'. I've heard it. 'Mispronounce-iation' is a fail of epic proportions. I am no English major, I have some truly appalling spelling, but if you can't even speak your native language properly, you don't deserve to talk.

I know I sound like Henry Higgins, but damn it, Eliza needed those lessons and so do a lot of the people that I encounter in the Great Land of the North (Maine).


I'm not sure why mispronunciation bothers me so much, maybe it's the whole child-of-two-teachers thing, but these are some words, all of which I have heard in the past few weeks, that make me want to beat the people who say them around the head with a ping pong paddle.

• Supposably
• I could care less (less mispronunciation than it is just not thinking about the phrase)
  
• Valentimes (this one literally makes me want to step on kittens)

All of these, actually, were uttered by the same person, an 80 year old woman I was working for. If you have been speaking this language for 80 years, for heaven's sake, do it properly.


*As a completely unrelated aside, to this older woman I worked for who told me that I was a sinner for:

1. my parents being divorced
2. for wearing pants
3. for having tattoos
4. for ever drinking anything stronger than hot chocolate (this includes tea)

I say this: I may have some ink in me, but at least I am tolerant of people with different lifestyles and ideals than me. If heaven is filled with people like you, I don't want to go there.