Grammar Quirks: Angie Kim on Dipthongs and Onomatopoeia

Grammar Girl: What’s your favorite word and why?

Angie Kim: "Diphthong." I moved to the US from Korea in middle school, and I couldn’t speak English at first. The Korean language doesn’t have an “f” sound or a “th” sound, and it was impossible for me to say that word, which was a unit in English. When I attempted to say it, it came out sounding like “dee-puh-tong,” which made the other kids laugh and make fun of me. (Middle-school kids are not kind.) I remember one day, maybe a year after immigrating, when I could say finally say the word. I remember being so happy that I said it over and over again, like a chant. Diphthong, diphthong, diphthong. It makes me smile every time I hear that word (which, sadly, is not that often).

GG: What’s a word you dislike (either because it’s overused or misused) and why?

AK: "Irregardless." One of my best friends and my husband like to use this word, and it drives me crazy. It takes a lot of self-restraint for me not to shout, “It’s ‘regardless,’ not ‘irregardless’!!!!!” (And yes, I know that a lexicographer for Merriam-Webster claims that it is a word that’s slightly different from "regardless." But, as he warned, “It’s not part of standard English and so . . . if you use 'irregardless,' people will think you’re uneducated.”)

GG: What word will you always misspell?

AK: "Onomatopoeia." Yup, I did it again. Typing it now, I saw the red squiggly line and clicked to correct the misspelling. Also, last month, posting about all my paperback events that were canceled, I had to look up 'canceled' vs. 'cancelled' (both are fine), 'canceling' vs. 'cancelling '(both fine, although I’m seeing the red squiggly line under ‘cancelling’ for some reason—hmmmm), and 'cancelation' (wrong!) vs. 'cancellation.'

GG: What word (or semblance of a word) would you like to see added to the dictionary? Why?

AK: I love this question! There are so many words I’d love to see added to the dictionary, mostly because I play this game by the New...

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