Is it purely laziness? Or is it just slang? I don't understand where the confusion between these two words lies...
2007-10-26 08:01:39 · 9 answers · asked by Ehryn 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
AnswerIsMine has the right idea. Note that MOST words that start with "sp" (and maybe, more important, those that start with "speci") are accented on that first syllable (usually the main accent, sometimes a secondary accent). This combination of the sounds /s/ and /p/ and and even another /s/ (the "c') is much harder to articulate when in an UN-accented syllable. (This also accounts for kids' problems with "spaghetti")
It's actually not that uncommon for sounds that are more difficult to articulate being dropped in pronunciation, as well as the reversal of letters.** And there are many cases where the result becomes the STANDARD word (one of the things that accounts for "silent letters").
**The re-ordering of sounds in speech is called metathesis. A few Old English examples that became standard: hros > horse; brid > bird; thrid > third. (The last one explains why the form does not match the order of "three", as you would expect.)
2007-10-27 16:33:25 · answer #1 · answered by bruhaha 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I hear this word messed up all of the time I have to agree with the person that said it's a phonetics thing the three sounds in a row might be slower to catch for some people it doesn't mean they are stupid.
2007-10-26 08:35:03 · answer #2 · answered by !!! 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've never heard of anyone confused between the two words. Maybe it's just you. Some people may have certain accent that isn't very clearly when they pronounce certain words. So when they said Specific, you may think they said Pacific.
2007-10-26 08:15:00 · answer #3 · answered by Self smarter 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is possibly due to lazy diction; but it is also possible that they think it is actually spelled that way. Based upon the language of young people on this site there is an enormous and tragic variation in the quality of education available.
2007-10-26 08:10:04 · answer #4 · answered by picador 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is most typically an articulation error. The (SP) sound is difficult for some to make due to the 3 oral motor actions that are necessary.
2007-10-26 08:12:10 · answer #5 · answered by Answer is Mine... 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some may be doing it do be funny or sound hip, and others don't know any better. The trouble is that it's hard to tell the difference.
2007-10-26 08:54:43 · answer #6 · answered by ConcernedCitizen 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's a carry-over from parents allowing their kids to say "pasghetti" instead of "spaghetti", thinking that it sounds cute!
2007-10-26 08:10:27 · answer #7 · answered by maddog27271 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just plain ignorance.
America's fine educational system at work!
2007-10-26 08:09:32 · answer #8 · answered by crownreserve 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They are stupid.
2007-10-26 08:05:02 · answer #9 · answered by Kabu 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋