is it oriented or orientated?

RN-PA, RN · Apr 18, 2003

I posted this on an earlier language/grammar/pronunciation thread posted at allnurses that was fun, too (no time now to do a search)-- Do any of the nurses where you work pronounce "peak and trough" (for Vancomycin or Gentamycin) "peak and TROW" rather than "TROFF"? I haven't heard it where I work now, but at the hospital where I first started out, "trow" for trough was very common.

Gailsimpson · Apr 18, 2003

Sorry everyone, but I am a British nurse and we say orienTAted, its would drive me crazy if anyone said oriented!

liberalrn · Apr 18, 2003

How 'bout oral instead of verbal? Another common misuse. It's a verbal report--not an oral one--oral refers to the oral cavity and all it's contents, verbal refers to the spoken word.....this one is very common and I know I'm swimmin upstream here! Still drives me nuts. How 'bout jist or jest for just...hate that, too! Rather pissy today as a matter of fact!

red606 · Apr 19, 2003

What I hate is those who pronounce O2 sat as O2 Stat

mamabear · Apr 19, 2003

I've heard alert & orientated to all 4 spheres: time, place, person, and situation:D

In Indiana, we say "peek" and "troff";)

LilgirlRN, ADN, RN · Apr 19, 2003

diarrhear?

bungies · Apr 19, 2003

Sorry in advance - getting on my soapbox. :imbar

Better be careful being prescriptive - if you ever study comparative linguistics (which I did for some reason...) you'd learn that:

Oldseimers - actually correct pronunciation of an originally German name

et instead of ate or eaten: not actually incorrect - it's a different pronunciation of ate (still spelt "ate").

Orientated = oriented; slight difference in nuance but both correct in the context

Axed /"arxed" instead of asked: arxed was used throughout England except for a very small group of the population that just happened to be wealthy people living around the London area. When English was standardised (around King James time, I think) the people with the prestige decided that everything they said was right, and everything different was wrong.

That goes for most "right/wrong" arguments, I think. (In language & spelling, anyway...)

Doesn't stop me getting annoyed either.

eclipsenwa · Apr 19, 2003

One business woman I know has horrible pronunciation. One that really annoys me is "caution"............she says "coition"..........sets my teeth on edge.

Hardknox · Apr 19, 2003

For those getting a good laugh at GWB's pronunciation of nuclear and Laura's lack of correcting him may I present from Webster's On-line dictionary:

Main Entry: nu-cle-ar

Pronunciation: 'nü-klE-&r, 'nyü-, ÷-ky&-l&r

Function: adjective

Date: 1846

1 : of, relating to, or constituting a nucleus

2 a : of or relating to the atomic nucleus b : used in or produced by a nuclear reaction (as fission) c (1) : being a weapon whose destructive power derives from an uncontrolled nuclear reaction (2) : of, produced by, or involving nuclear weapons (3) : armed with nuclear weapons d : of, relating to, or powered by nuclear energy

usage Though disapproved of by many, pronunciations ending in \-ky&-l&r\ have been found in widespread use among educated speakers including scientists, lawyers, professors, congressmen, U.S. cabinet members, and at least one U.S. president and one vice president. While most common in the U.S., these pronunciations have also been heard from British and Canadian speakers.

So evidentally his pronunciation is accepted, though not to your liking.

AHarri66, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2003

I cringe when I hear "orientated" and "nu-cu-lar". "O2 stat" gets me, too.

As for "um-bi-LI-cus" (long I), it's the preferred pronunciation in my three dictionaries, with "um-bi-li-CUS" second.

Another one that really gets me rolling is "for free." You don't get anything "for free," it's either "free" or "for nothing." I've even seen print ads with this in it...who proofreads these things???

jadednurse · Apr 22, 2003

How about "cardeeazem" drip instead of "cardizem" drip? Hear that one alot!

huckfinn · Apr 22, 2003

Graph vs. Graft

You can chart statistical information on a GRAPH.

You can GRAFT tissue to your body.