Gareth S. Young - - 1000 Trillion Suns

Inigo Montoya (The Princess Bride) Inigo Montoya is not wrong. As a writer, I think it's important to stretch my use of language as much as possible. Embrace new words, but keep the prose readable and clear. Except, the speed at which language is changing makes this a far more difficult proposition. We're all aware of words like IRREGARDLESS , a weird mutation because it's actually a longer word than the one it's been battling against: REGARDLESS . Nothing wrong with regardless. It's a perfectly good word. Irregardless just appeared and now it can be found in dictionaries. We also have LITERALLY which now literally means exactly what it means AND exactly the opposite of what it means. Which makes it literally, but not figuratively, pointless. Then there's NONPLUSSED which means the opposite of how it's often used...and like literally is now pretty much interchangeable for both meanings. I'm nonplussed by this whole situation...

In America, despite my manly good looks, keen mind, and effervescent sense of humor... ...the first thing people normally notice about me is how I talk. Nowadays, my accent has been corrupted by the use of American words, the need to slow down to be understood, and the subtle assimilation of residency. Here in America, I still sound Scottish enough to raise questions about where I come from. To people in the UK, I sound American. One thing people pick up on is my pronunciation of certain words, particularly those with the double t in the middle:  Butter - Buh-uhr. This is due to Scots using a Glottal Stop when pronouncing those words. A glottal stop is a complete or partial closure of the glottis (vocal folds) creating a sound which is used instead of the actual sound of the letter. So in butter, instead of the hard "t" sound I use a glottal stop. Americans also use glottal stops, but you just don't notice it. Don't think too hard about it...just say: Ca...