Jots & Tittles: Tomorrow Is Wensday

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If an incorrect pronunciation of a word such as 'ask' can be changed to 'aks' simply by repeated usage by a portion of the population, then why have we not officially changed the spelling of the word Wednesday, which everyone pronounces as Wensday?

Don't know why that bothers me so much.

But it does.

The LA Times Op Ed page says:

Few things stick out more in black American speech than the pronunciation of "ask" as "ax." And when I say that it "sticks out," I'm being polite.

Attitudes about Ebonics have evolved somewhat as hip hop has become America's favorite music. Even the strictest grammarian would have to agree that Kanye West's "Gold Digger" in standard English wouldn't be worth hearing. And Americans from Jesse Pinkman in "Breaking Bad" to Key and Peele get that it's OK to speak "hood" when you're among friends.

But "ax" is a special case. It's often the first thing even black people bring up as an example of bad grammar. Garrard McClendon, a black professor and talk show host, has titled a book "Aks or Ask: The African American Guide to Better English."

More...

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Did You Know . . .?

Eight percent of people have an extra rib.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1914 HMS (formerly RMS) Oceanic, sister ship of RMS Titanic, sank off Scotland.

Oceanic departed Southampton to patrol the waters from the North Scottish mainland to the Faroes, in particular around Shetland. She ran aground and was wrecked off the island of Foula there on September 8, 1914.

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WORD FOR TODAY

arrogate
verb
to take without justification
(The king arrogated the right to order executions to himself exclusively.)
synonyms: take, claim, appropriate, seize.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Jonathan Taylor Thomas

(born September 8, 1981)

Jonathan Taylor Thomas is an American actor, voice actor, former child star, and teen idol. He is known for his roles as the middle child Randy Taylor in the ABC TV series Home Improvement, and as the voice of the young Simba in the Disney film The Lion King.

Bernard "Bernie" Sanders

(born September 8, 1941)

Bernie Sanders is an American politician who currently serves as the junior United States Senator from Vermont. He is a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Austin Russell (Chumlee)

(born September 8, 1982)

Chumlee is an American reality television personality, known as a cast member on the History Channel television show Pawn Stars, which depicts the daily business at the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas where Russell works as an employee.

Heather Anne Thomas

(born September 8, 1957)