it all make you wonder why people, when confronted with a word that is new to them, will not simple ask about it, or go look it up, instead of grabbing it and using it incorrectly.......I would not have been 'sure' of the origins of 'Karistan'...but since Khazakstan is the only country I ever heard of with that 'sound' I would have asked the question differently...Many of the funny example cited above are genuine, honest misunderstandings, but I really worry about the mindset that can continue to use 'surgents' and 'scapulas' and 'Netherlands man' throughout their lives. At some point it is kinder to correct them than to just laugh behind our hands. I DO understand that there are a few who simply cannot comprehend the differences, and those folks should be just humanely tolerated, but so often it is just laziness and an 'I don't care' attitude. The jokes about the mistakes would be MUCH funnier if we were laughing WITH someone who now knows the correct usage and appreciates being gently corrected.