I love how many posters in this thread have expressed their grammatical and idiomatic dislikes of the english language without verifying the accuracy of their pet-peeves. Yes, I'm sure someone will find an error in what I'm posting as well, but consider these points:
1) irregardless is
not an accepted word. The supposed origin is that it's a hybridization of "regardless" and "irrespective", and though it has appeared in speech and some edited works, it will continue to be mocked as long as it is used. It is
not the same as flammable/inflammable, and most dictionaries I surveyed suggested the word "regardless" instead of "irregardless."
2) the use of "an" before words that begin with "h" is dependent on the sound of the "h" in the following word. If the letter is prounounced as "huh" (like Howard, huckster, and hilarous), the "an" is not necessary; "a" will do.
from:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/esliart.html
Quote:
"A" goes before all words that begin with consonants.
* a cat
* a dog
* a purple onion
* a buffalo
* a big apple
with one exception: Use an before unsounded h.
* an honorable peace
* an honest error
"An" goes before all words that begin with vowels:
* an apricot
* an egg
* an Indian
* an orbit
* an uprising
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OK, now time for my pet peeve, and it's really just a bastardization of an english idiom:
3) The use of the phrase "begs the question". Truthfully, this phrase will soon mean nothing more than "so...", as in a logical statement/question, or "raises the question".
e.g. current usage: "Many children die in school bus crashes every year. Which begs the question, Why do so many children continue to ride the bus?"
this is wrong, wrong, wrong....
"Begging the question" is the answering of a problem using the question as basis for solution, or reverting to circular reasoning.
We know God exists because we can see the perfect order of His Creation, an order which demonstrates supernatural intelligence in its design.
This answer "begs the question".
Listen to your newscaster on the radio/television, and count how many times it is used and misused. I would guess that 99% of the time, it's being used to mean "raises the question."
/end
