I get annoyed when I hear the word "Oriental" to describe someone who is Asian or of Asian descent. I limit my use of that word to rugs. Of course, I'm also not a fan of any of the pejorative words used to describe various groups and minorities. I have one coworker--an otherwise lovely person--who has used a number of such words in my presence, although she's since learned to edit herself in front of me to avoid a comment in return. It's not only offensive but also makes her sound like an idiot.

I also hate that text messaging phrases like "BFF" are starting to enter regular parlance. There's a commercial that plays on just that, with a mother struggling to "speak" to her daughter in "text," that makes light of it. It's a funny commercial, but I think it speaks to a real language barrier that's developing between the old and the young. Apparently, thanks to spell check and text messaging, kids are also having an increasingly hard time with spelling. I can accept that more and more computer and technology-related words are entering our "regular" vocabulary, but at least they're words.

Some misspellings and misuse get on my nerves. advise versus advice; effect versus affect, the word itinerary, recur versus reoccur, and judgment versus judgement (Judgment is the much preferred spelling. I work for a court; trust me on this).

And I hate, hate, hate the phrase "no worries." I have a friend who uses it constantly. I'll say something like, "I'm sorry that I'm just now getting back to you. My cat died yesterday, and I've been really upset." And he'll respond with "no worries." Okay, this is an extreme example, but whatever the context, I always end up feeling like the first and foremost thing that should be on my mind is how my life is affecting him. I hate to break the news to him, but it's not.

I recommend a book by Bill Bryson called "The Mother Tongue." It traces the development of English and provides funny and interesting explanations of the etymology of various words and phrases, especially those that are unique to American English.