What is wrong with saying supposably?
Chandler freaks out after finding a lot of similarities between himself and a kind of annoying bitter lonely Mr. Heckles, who just passed away.
Chandler: What if I never find somebody? Or worse, what if I found her... but I dumped her because she pronounces it, "supposably"?
My dictionary translates "supposably" just fine. So it is a correct word to use. What is the problem with it for Chandler then?
As commented below, supposedly is an incorrect way to say supposably, something what kids or people of a lower than Chandler class would do.
BUT.
My recent googling begs to differ. There is a word supposedly in a dictionary. The trouble is, that both supposably and supposedly are translated as one and the same word to my language. So I went on and dug deeper. And I found that Americans use
- supposably when they are talking of something they are told to be true, but they are themselves pretty sure IT IS true.
- supposedly when they are talking of something they are told to be true, but they are themselves are pretty sure IT ISN'T true.
If we use a sentence Joey is trying to see what word fits this is the meaning we are getting.
- Did they go to the zoo?
- Supposably.
Here the person answering the zoo question by supposably would mean, yes I think they went to the zoo.
Let's see what happens when we change the answer to supposedly.
- Did they go to the zoo?
- Supposedly.
Here the person answering the zoo question by supposedly would mean, yeah, they said they were going to the zoo, but I don't believe it.
So when you use supposably, you have this trusting air about you. But when you use supposedly, you are doubting the information big time.
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I also would love to hear your take on this joke,
Katia
according to the comments here http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=5z0Gitlj9bM
ReplyDeleteSupposably is acceptable in American English but not in British English. The adverb “supposedly” means reputed or believed to be the case; purportedly.
The adverb “supposably” should be used only in the context of capable of being supposed, and this adverb is valid only in American English.
Here we go! I guess that is it. Chandler just wanted his girlfriend speaking perfect English).
While it may be easily understood, "supposably" is considered to be a mispronunciation used by children or the uneducated. The base word is "suppose." It becomes "supposed," as in "They were supposed to go to the zoo." To make this an adverb, add the suffix "-ly" to form "supposedly." As in "They supposedly went to the zoo." It is common for young children to mispronounce it "supposably." Educated Americans should not use this form, as it is incorrect. It also implies a class difference between Joey and Chandler.
ReplyDeleteYes, Chandler is showing that he is a bit of a snob. It's funny that the misuse of one word would annoy him so much that it would overshadow all of the woman's good qualities. It's also funny that his good friend Joey cannot tell the difference. It points out how different these friends are.
That is a beautiful explanaition, Rick! Thank you
Deleteit's a mix of suppose and possibily
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ReplyDeleteI am a foreigner who is obsessed with friends and I just paused the episoded to find out what is wrong with supposably lol. Thank you, Rick!
ReplyDelete