Um...-Michael Erard

#87. Um...: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean- Michael Erard

Whoa. This is a really information-dense book. It's not long, but it's packed with lots of info and things to think about, so it took me a while to get through it.

Um. Uh. Hmm. We all make those vocalized pauses (as they were called in my speech class), but they're frowned upon in public speaking. Why? What are they, exactly? Why do we say them, and what does it mean when we do? These are some of the questions Michael Erard answers. In the beginning of the book, he states that while reading this book, you'll start to notice other people's verbal blunders (and your own!), and that's okay, it's totally normal. And you bet I have! :D

A few quotes that I enjoyed:

The ancient Vedic tradition defines the sound "om" as the primordial sound of the universe. Intriguingly, "um" might be the more accurate manifestation of the universe's indecision. p55

I love that. :D

According to William Levelt, a Dutch speech scientist, "uh" is the only word that's universal across languages. p55

The sounds switch according to the sounds of each language, but there's a form of "uh" in every language. Even signed languages have a form of this word! So cool.

In Britain, they say "uh" but spell it "er," just as they pronounce the "er" of "butter" ("buttah). p55

The above? BLEW. MY. MIND. Here, I've been pronouncing that as it looks, rhyming with FUR all these years. Never ONCE did I like about what it would sound like with a British accent. HOW? HOW DID I NOT THINK ABOUT THAT?!?!??????

There's a little bit of everything in here: psychology, sociology, linguistics, history. You'll learn about Spoonerisms, malapropisms, eggcorns, and Mondegreens (those last two were new ones for me). You'll learn about repairs and anticipation errors. And you'll pay a LOT more attention to how you speak, how others speak, and you'll think twice about how and why you judge the way others speak. Intriguing read!

Words:

solecism- n- a nonstandard or ungrammatical use, as unflammable and they was; a breach of good manners or etiquette; any error, impropriety, or inconsistency.

saturnine- n- sluggish in temperament, gloomy, taciturn; suffering from lead poisoning, as a person; due to absorption of lead as bodily disorders.

metathesis- n- the transposition of letters, syllables, or sounds in a word; (Chemistry) double decomposition.

parapraxis- n- a slip of the tongue or pen, forgetfulness, misplacement of objects or other error thought to reveal unconscious wishes or attitudes.

infelicity- n- the quality or state of being unhappy, unhappiness; misfortune, bad luck; inaptness, inappropriateness, or awkwardness, as of action or expression; something inapt or infelicitious.

insurrection- n- an act or instance of rising in revolt, rebellion, or resistance against civil authority or an established government.

parallax- n- the apparent displacement of an observed object due to a change in the position of the observer; (Astronomy) the apparent angular displacement of a celestial body due to its being observed from the surface instead of from the center of the earth (diurnal parallax or geocentric parallax) or due to its being observed from the earth instead of from the sun (annual parallax or heliocentric parallax); the difference between the view of an object through the picture-taking lens of a camera and the view as seen through a separate viewfinder; an apparent change in the position of cross-hairs as viewed through a telescope when the focusing is imperfect.

dross- n- waste matter, refuse; (Metallurgy) a waste product taken off molten metal during smelting, essentially metallic in character; (British) coal of little value. (Hmm. Both when I copied this definition in my notebook and just now as I typed it out, I started spelling 'essentially' e-s-e. Wonder what that means?!??)

perspicacious- adj- having keen mental perception and understanding; (Archaic) having keen vision.

mutable- adj- liable or subject to change or alteration; given to changing, constantly changing, fickle or inconstant.

shibboleth- n- a peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress, etc. that distinguishes a particular class or set of persons; a slogan, catchword; a common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth.

stentorian- adj- very loud or powerful in sound.

exigency- n- exigent state or character, urgency; (Usually exigencies) the need, demand, or requirement intrinsic to a circumstance that demands prompt action or remedy, emergency.

perorate- v- to speak at length, make a long, usually grandiloquent speech; to bring a speech to a close with a formal conclusion.

dehisce- v- to burst open, as capsules of plants; gape.

abstruse- adj- hard to understand, recondite, esoteric; (Obsolete) secret, hidden.