Why Do "Aging" People Start Mispronouncing Words?

[MinnyGranny62]

Do you think that it might be all of the medication that we take to stay healthy. Shame on all of yew fer pikin on us.

 

[Christine]

Well, to answer a few posts:

My mom has had her hearing checked, it's fine. Dad's has some hearing loss.

My mom has a full set of teeth.

My mom takes no medications.

She's healthy as a horse, in fact, better off than me.

She still pronounces all the store names correctly. It's "new" words she fumbles with. It's like new things or odd/unusual sounding places and names throw her (like Uma). My dad is a totally different creature, though. I think he's just a country bumpkin!

 

[Christine]

My grandma called WalMart, WalMart. But KMart was always KMarK. I never understood that. We always gave her a hard time. She had a few others, but I can't remember them right now. She wasn't even that old!

I had a boss who called KMart, KMarK.

My current boss, who is in his 50s, mispronounces stuff all the time but he has been doing it forever so I don't think it is an age thing with him. The other day he was talking about some buildings being torn down. He said that they were "razing" the buildings but it pronounced it with a short a versus a long a (sounded more like "raspberry" than "raise"). He also says "pre-mated" verus "permeated".

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I had a boss who called KMart, KMarK.

My current boss, who is in his 50s, mispronounces stuff all the time but he has been doing it forever so I don't think it is an age thing with him. The other day he was talking about some buildings being torn down. He said that they were "razing" the buildings but it pronounced it with a short a versus a long a (sounded more like "raspberry" than "raise"). He also says "pre-mated" verus "permeated".

This is my stepmother. No kidding, my dad has a little notebook of all the words and phrases she says wrong. Here's a taste:

Hectic- hective
Penicillin- pellicillin
Nintendo- Nuhtinduh
Good deal Lucille- Good deal loose wheel (she really thinks that's what it is)
Pharmacist- Pharmist

 

[Christine]

This is my stepmother. No kidding, my dad has a little notebook of all the words and phrases she says wrong. Here's a taste:

Hectic- hective
Penicillin- pellicillin
Nintendo- Nuhtinduh
Good deal Lucille- Good deal loose wheel (she really thinks that's what it is)
Pharmacist- Pharmist

These are so funny! I really should start jotting these things down, just to talk about them here.

 

[Jennasis]

My mom and my MIL are the same.

MIL:
Chick-fil-A: Chick Flicks
and so many more I can't recall

Dmom:
Dis: Ditz (as in you totally "ditzed" me with that rude comment)


I had a friend in high school who butchered word pronunciations so badly I wanted to scream:
Nicolas Cage: Nicolas Cahj
Vacant: Vagrant (as in, look at the "vagrant" expression on that idiots face)
She mispronounced cities, countries, peoples names...BUT she did actually have a hearing loss so she had an excuse!

 

[Poohs Pal]

My kids have mentioned this to me also . I will be 52 on Sunday so I guess it's about time . I think it's because us OLD people are just checking to see if you YOUNG people are paying attention.
Susan...... PROUD TO BE GETTING OLD...............................

 

[ZuZugal]

Okay, I have some good ones that my MIL and FIL use:

bundit pan for bundt pan
depository for suppository
Walkin An-du-jar for Joaquin Andujar
Pete Rossie for Pete Rose
Wal Mark for Wal Mart
zink for sink
Casa Ga-llardo for Casa Gallardo (pronounce the L's)

I know there are more.....

 

[minnieandme]

My grandmother has taken to adding 's to all store names. I realize that some store names really are this way (like Macy's), but some of her most odd ones were Wal-Mart's, Target's, Ross's, etc. We have no idea why she does it, but if you point it out she gets it right once then immediately goes back to adding 's.

My grandmother does the same thing.

 

[I Love Pluto]

In the age group. I would never think of weird word behaviors! I cannot begin to even try to guess why!!!!!!!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

In the age group. I would never think of weird word behaviors! I cannot begin to even try to guess why!!!!!!!

You're answering a question posted in 2006.

 

[mefordis]

Some of the posters on this thread....blasts from the past!

 

[runwad]

Some of the posters on this thread....blasts from the past!

I was thinking the same thing!!

 

[low-key]

age is undefeated against every human

 

[CPanther95]

Better to mispronounce words than to make up words like "conversate".

 

[Kellykins1218]

Who cares if it's an old thread? It's an interesting & amusing topic. It's not like it pertains to a specific time period.

 

[cijay]

Better to mispronounce words than to make up words like "conversate".

I have a friend who says that. She also says that the queen was coronated.

My mum's best were when she talked about celebrities and said "she looks so young, she must go for buttocks injections." (She knew what she meant but pronounced it like buttocks.) And, we were at the airport and she asked if there was 'whiffy'. You know, whiffy, so you can get a wireless on your computer!

With the spelling on the internet now though, it'll be amazing if they next generation will be able to pronounce "probably" or other words. With all the acronyms, everyone is going to sound like R2 D2 with just grunts and squalks.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Funny, I never notice the original date of a post. If it's interesting and I can contribute to the thread, I do. Like now.

I'm not sure the mispronunciation is an age thing. My MIL has said "zinc" for sink ever since I've known her. My dad called towels "terls" and my mom had such a strong Tidewater accent we used to ask her to say "There's a mouse in the house, get him out" because to us it sounded like "There's a moose in the hoose, get him oot" and we thought that was hilarious.

For those of you genuinely concerned about your parents' aging brains, I'd like to suggest a Nintendo DS with the Brain Age games. I got one from my DDs for Christmas a couple of years ago, and I was kind of jokingly annoyed, but once I played the games, I was hooked! Your scores in the games determine your brain age (some convoluted formula originated by the game developer, a Japanese PhD). The games are challenging, but fun, and I find myself muttering that "I'll beat you yet, number memory game!" (The high score on that one is 25; my personal high is 12 - ugh!) There's also a tutorial for Sudoku if you don't already know how to solve those puzzles. Again, I'm hooked! I'm 68 years old, but my early scores were in the high 70s and low 80s - Not good! I try to play a couple of rounds and do a couple of Sudokus each day,, and I now average in the low 50s, with my personal best being 46 (earned at 2:00 am - I have insomnia). I can't recommend these games too highly; I've asked for two more for Christmas!

Queen Colleen

 

[Jennasis]

Lol, I was about to reply as I was reading the thread and then I stumbled across my own reply from 2006!

 

[Luv2Run]

Zombie thread.