use of "them" in place of "him/her"

[stratusfearrr]

I'm foreign born and came to America early enough to where english is totally dominant as the language I know best. I have to say that because it's such a mosaic of different influences and languages, many words follow no phonetic rules. I'm a good speller and pronounce most newly encountered words correctly but it can be quite bothersome at times and especially to people like my parents:duh:.

Most languages are thankfully phonetic like german and serbo-croation

Like Colonel, pronounced kernal-what gives?:nono:

Oviously how we emphasize a word also changes the sound completely like epitome sometimes mistakenly pronounced epi-tome to people who might have heard the word but have not seen it spelled.

Funny thing is i read that as epi-tome, and then three words later i went "OOPS!" hahaha

Gotta love the english language.

 

[arachnar]

:grinyes: See! I always think epi-tome even though I know otherwise, same thing with conscience, I think con-science, it's that first impression thing when I first saw the words.

 

[stratusfearrr]

this is off topic but really cool. If you change the letters around in a word, but they are all there, and the last and first are in the right spot, you can read it. For example:


The sonw out hree in snnuy cailnrofia is cusanig qiute a fsus.


Im not sure if that is a long enough passage, but its really cool!

 

[Amphiprion]

That's one of the lovely facets of how our brains work. We mostly see parts of a word and fill in available information. That is how we can read more efficiently, at least with practice. It is also how you misread words. It's cool what our brains can do.

 

[jpappy789]

You mean like the ever popular "I don't know, can you?" When someone asks if he can go to the bathroom-LOL.

Exactly. But I will admit I thought that was the funniest thing the first time I heard it as a child...one of those things that just got old, FAST.

or would that be quickly? lol

 

[1wizz]

I realy have just reed all of this thread. criky how edgedumacational.
Thanks