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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Heaven: Poking fun at the (linguistically) handicapped
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mrs whibley
Shipmate
# 4798
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Posted
aj
effluent = filthy rich
mrs whibley
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I long for a faith that is gloriously treacherous - Mike Yaconelli
Posts: 942 | From: North Lincolnshire | Registered: Aug 2003
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Newman's Own
Shipmate
# 420
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Posted
I naturally have my pedantic streak (and know I am in good company here), but it irks me when people who do not know how to pronounce a word (or who cannot accept that some words have various pronunciations) are always correcting others. I remember one such soul who used to correct my Italian (for example, if I were referring to operas), though she did not even speak the language.
I find this especially amusing when those of us who are multi-lingual (as a former musicologist, naturally I am one of them) give a foreign words its proper pronunciation, and someone in the category I just mentioned 'corrects' us by pronouncing it as it is spelled in English.
A few months ago, I received a lengthy e-mail from a student in, IIRC, California (whom I did not know in the least.) She had read essays on my Internet site, and wanted to advise me that words were misspelled and what the 'correct' spellings were. I'm sure she had no idea of the laughs I got from that one - her definition of 'correct' was 'American.'
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Cheers,
Elizabeth
“History as Revelation is seldom very revealing, and histories of holiness are full of holes.” - Dermot Quinn
Posts: 6740 | From: Library or pub | Registered: Jun 2001
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melliethepooh
Shipmate
# 8762
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Posted
Since the line has been crossed into foreign pronunciation of words: The town of San Jose, near my Grandparent's out in Illinois, is always pronounced phonetically. Cairo becomes kay-ro, like the corn syrup. And Buena Vista, not too far from home, is more like byoona vesta.
Then there was the time in the Mexican restaurant when everybody was trying to figure out what on earth "hey-yo" was. The word was jell-o.
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Amorya
Ship's tame galoot
# 2652
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Newman's Own:
I naturally have my pedantic streak (and know I am in good company here), but it irks me when people who do not know how to pronounce a word (or who cannot accept that some words have various pronunciations) are always correcting others. I remember one such soul who used to correct my Italian (for example, if I were referring to operas), though she did not even speak the language.
I have problems with pronouncing Taizé.
There are three pronunciations: the English one (tay-zay), the French one (tuh-zay), and the European one (teh-zay).
I learned the English pronunciation originally.
People at uni keep correcting me to the European one. I just find it odd - they know full well that it is neither the way it's pronounced actually at Taizé, or the normal way for a Brit to say it. As far as I can gather, this is because they went to a meeting in Hamburg and picked up on how everyone there said it.
I could handle them trying to get me to use the French pronunciation - that'd be fair enough. But the European one just seems wrong... as far as I know English doesn't tend to use the sound eh (as in egg) at the end of a syllable and leave it hanging, so when anyone pronounces it that way it sounds stilted.
Amorya
Posts: 2383 | From: Coventry | Registered: Apr 2002
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Laura
General nuisance
# 10
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by melliethepooh:
Since the line has been crossed into foreign pronunciation of words: The town of San Jose, near my Grandparent's out in Illinois, is always pronounced phonetically. Cairo becomes kay-ro, like the corn syrup. And Buena Vista, not too far from home, is more like byoona vesta.
I had a great-great-great aunt named "Buena Vista", after the eponymous battle. They called her "Byoo-nee".
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Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence. - Erich Fromm
Posts: 16883 | From: East Coast, USA | Registered: Apr 2001
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melliethepooh
Shipmate
# 8762
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Laura:
I had a great-great-great aunt named "Buena Vista", after the eponymous battle. They called her "Byoo-nee".
You're joking...right? no?
Then that's wonderful...
[ 18. December 2004, 20:51: Message edited by: melliethepooh ]
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"You can't go out right now."
"And yet I'm going. You're thinking of a cult. You can't get up and leave a cult."
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Foolhearty
Shipmate
# 6196
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by melliethepooh:
hugs (or hot chocolate if he's the kind of person who hits people who hug him) for Jajehu
TANGENT
Many, many thanks for hugs, hot chocolate, and/or a good stiff drink. One more final to go on Monday morning, and a mile-high stack of late research papers to mark with grades due in Wednesday noon.
And I'm a her, not a him, but then how could you know?
END TANGENT
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Fear doesn't empty tomorrow of its perils; it empties today of its power.
Posts: 2301 | From: Upper right-hand corner | Registered: May 2004
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Laura
General nuisance
# 10
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by melliethepooh:
quote:
Originally posted by Laura:
I had a great-great-great aunt named "Buena Vista", after the eponymous battle. They called her "Byoo-nee".
You're joking...right? no?
Then that's wonderful...
Not joking. I inherited the baby chair that Aunt Buena ("Byoonee") gave my great Auntie when she was a little girl (who lived to 107)
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Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence. - Erich Fromm
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Sine Nomine*
Ship's backstabbing bastard
# 3631
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Posted
I'm suffering extreme cognitive dissonance seeing melliethepooh's posts next to Ultra's old avatar.
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Evensnog
Shipmate
# 8017
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Posted
I have a favorite auntie, who loves using her slow cooker, but she can never manage to pronounce crock pot. Somehow, she always drops the r. . .
Posts: 507 | From: Silicon Valley | Registered: Jul 2004
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Esmeralda
Ship's token UK Mennonite
# 582
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Posted
When we were getting quotes for new windows, one double glazing salesman assured me that the two panes had 'decadent crystals' between them (he meant 'dessicant'). We didn't buy from him...
And I'm absolutely sure that I heard the late David Watson say of Jesus, 'The common people heard him badly'. Case of 'blessed are the cheesemakers?'
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I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand.
http://reversedstandard.wordpress.com/
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
What I hate is seeing a wealthy car collector or someone else who should know better describig something as 'very unique'. Aaaaaaaaaargh! It's either unique or it's not! Unique is a word that wants no modification.
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
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Gill H
Shipmate
# 68
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Posted
Then there are all the (probably apocryphal) audio-typist stories. Like 'triennial balance sheet' which ended up as 'try any old balance sheet'. Or 'Sir Michael Spears' for 'cervical smears'.
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*sigh* We can’t all be Alan Cresswell.
- Lyda Rose
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Ann
Curious
# 94
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Posted
I remember one summer holiday in my childhood when a great-aunt regaled us with stories of her neighbour's son learning the frugal horn. I'm glad to say none of us showed her up by correcting her, but it was a near run thing.
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Ann
Posts: 3271 | From: IO 91 PI | Registered: May 2001
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The Lad Himself
Accidental stowaway
# 2073
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Posted
I keep coming across people, some friends and some journalists, who write "draw" when they mean "drawer". As in, "I found it in the back of a draw."
Now, I don't know whether or not some cockamamie new wave dictionary has decided that the "draw" version is acceptable. But if it has, it's wrong. The word is "drawer". "DRAWER"!
I also know an English teacher who agrees with the rest of the cosmos that the word "amn't" is unacceptable, but is no more able to provide a decent explanation for why that should be so than the rest of the cosmos. Perhaps someone here could explain it. "I amn't going to go there." What's the problem? Am I bound by some insane rule to merge the "I" into the "a" of "am"? It may be an ugly word but it's perfectly logical.
Anyway even if there is a reason it's wrong. Because I'm right.
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new blog: crazywise.org
Posts: 2302 | From: Southport, UK | Registered: Dec 2001
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Matt Black
Shipmate
# 2210
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gill H:
Then there are all the (probably apocryphal) audio-typist stories. Like 'triennial balance sheet' which ended up as 'try any old balance sheet'. Or 'Sir Michael Spears' for 'cervical smears'.
Or the blooper of one of my ex-secretarys: after a case in front of the magistrates, I had dictated "Mr Learned Stipendiary..." which came out in print as "Mr Bernard Striped-Henry..."; goodness knows where she got that from
Matt
[ 20. December 2004, 11:52: Message edited by: Matt Black ]
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"Protestant and Reformed, according to the Tradition of the ancient Catholic Church" - + John Cosin (1594-1672)
Posts: 14304 | From: Hampshire, UK | Registered: Jan 2002
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melliethepooh
Shipmate
# 8762
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by The Lad Himself:
I also know an English teacher who agrees with the rest of the cosmos that the word "amn't" is unacceptable, but is no more able to provide a decent explanation for why that should be so than the rest of the cosmos. Perhaps someone here could explain it. "I amn't going to go there." What's the problem? Am I bound by some insane rule to merge the "I" into the "a" of "am"? It may be an ugly word but it's perfectly logical.
Ha ha ha ha, who said language is logical? The answer is the same for any question about the idiocy of grammar: It's just the way it is, crap dang it all! It's an idiom!
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"You can't go out right now."
"And yet I'm going. You're thinking of a cult. You can't get up and leave a cult."
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gill H:
Then there are all the (probably apocryphal) audio-typist stories. Like 'triennial balance sheet' which ended up as 'try any old balance sheet'. Or 'Sir Michael Spears' for 'cervical smears'.
Might have a germ of truth in them...
When I was working in a university Humanities Center, we hosted a conference and decided later to issue a proceedings. I was compiling and editing the papers. We had a student assistant at the time who started transcribing the talks (of those speakers who spoke from notes & couldn't provide their paper). The theme was "The Humanities and Civic Engagement," and one speaker was talking about Horace Mann's pioneer work in the public schools. The student assistant transcribed it as "the horsemen" who founded the public schools... ![[Killing me]](graemlins/killingme.gif)
Unfortunately, there was a Distinguished Professor who submitted his paper with a very ambiguously worded sentence (due to grammatical error). I emailed him two versions of the sentence, which had different meanings but could each be construed as a correction of his grammar. He wrote back, "I prefer to leave it alone and let the reader figure it out." Of course, I then picked which one I thought reflected his meaning, since poor grammar in print reflects badly on the editor more than on the writer! (What would some professors do if people stopped holding their hands? ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif) )
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I reserve the right to change my mind.
My article on the Virgin of Vladimir
Posts: 7773 | From: Detroit | Registered: Feb 2004
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
Oops, missed the edit window.
A friend of mine was staying with people in London for a while, and her hostess offered them some "tor-till-as" - pronouncing the "l"s. When the Americans corrected her, "You mean 'tor-tee-yas?" she was puzzled, went and got the bag, pointed to the spelling and said, "No, it says here, 'tor-till-as'."
That's not how you Brits pronounce it, is it? ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
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I reserve the right to change my mind.
My article on the Virgin of Vladimir
Posts: 7773 | From: Detroit | Registered: Feb 2004
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Ann
Curious
# 94
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
Oops, missed the edit window.
A friend of mine was staying with people in London for a while, and her hostess offered them some "tor-till-as" - pronouncing the "l"s. When the Americans corrected her, "You mean 'tor-tee-yas?" she was puzzled, went and got the bag, pointed to the spelling and said, "No, it says here, 'tor-till-as'."
That's not how you Brits pronounce it, is it?
No, but I'd prefer people said Jalopeno Peppers using English Rules rather than authentic Spanish and sprayed the whole deli.
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Ann
Posts: 3271 | From: IO 91 PI | Registered: May 2001
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Gill H
Shipmate
# 68
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Posted
There's a UK sandwich chain called Pret a Manger, which has a branch near my office. A former colleague used to try to show off her knowledge of French by pronouncing it 'Pray' - not realising that you pronounce the t when the next word starts with a vowel.
Hearing 'I'm just off to Pray' was rather bizarre, particularly from this particular colleague.
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*sigh* We can’t all be Alan Cresswell.
- Lyda Rose
Posts: 9313 | From: London | Registered: May 2001
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daronmedway
Shipmate
# 3012
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
A friend of mine was staying with people in London for a while, and her hostess offered them some "tor-till-as" - pronouncing the "l"s. When the Americans corrected her, "You mean 'tor-tee-yas?" she was puzzled, went and got the bag, pointed to the spelling and said, "No, it says here, 'tor-till-as'."
Um, pronounce Edinburgh for me, please. Now, I must admit that a thrill of irritation went through me as I read this post. The very idea of an American correcting an English[wo]man's pronunciation fills me with a horrid combination of revulsion and irritation. ![[Mad]](angryfire.gif)
Posts: 6976 | From: Southampton | Registered: Jul 2002
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Matt Black
Shipmate
# 2210
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gill H:
There's a UK sandwich chain called Pret a Manger, which has a branch near my office. A former colleague used to try to show off her knowledge of French by pronouncing it 'Pray' - not realising that you pronounce the t when the next word starts with a vowel.
Hearing 'I'm just off to Pray' was rather bizarre, particularly from this particular colleague.
A similar error seems to be made frequently with the champers Moet et chandon
Matt
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"Protestant and Reformed, according to the Tradition of the ancient Catholic Church" - + John Cosin (1594-1672)
Posts: 14304 | From: Hampshire, UK | Registered: Jan 2002
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Campbellite
Ut unum sint
# 1202
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Posted
This thread reminded me of an email a friend (?) sent me years ago:
ROOM SERVICE
Be warned, you're going to find yourself talking "funny" for a while after reading this. It was nominated "best email of 1997". A telephonic exchange between a hotel guest and room-service, at a hotel in Asia, which was recorded and published in the Far East Economic Review.....
<snip>
Go here
[Just as a hint - if you get something in an email, it means someone's written it down. If someone's written something down, then it's probably subject to copyright.]
[ 20. December 2004, 17:02: Message edited by: Stoo ]
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I upped mine. Up yours.
Suffering for Jesus since 1966.
WTFWED?
Posts: 12001 | From: between keyboard and chair | Registered: Aug 2001
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RuthW
liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by m.t_tomb:
The very idea of an American correcting an English[wo]man's pronunciation fills me with a horrid combination of revulsion and irritation.
Sure, it was your language first. But there are more of us. And we're louder. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Posts: 24453 | From: La La Land | Registered: Apr 2001
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Belisarius
Lord Bountiful of Admin (Emeritus) Delights
# 32
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by m.t_tomb:
Um, pronounce Edinburgh for me, please.
Tortilla is a Spanish word. What is your point?
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Animals may be Evolution's Icing, but Bacteria are the Cake.
Andrew Knoll
Posts: 8080 | From: New York | Registered: May 2001
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Crotalus
Shipmate
# 4959
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
A similar error seems to be made frequently with the champers Moet et chandon
Yes, but I think in this case the final T is sounded anyway. Moët is one of those names (pitfalls for the unwary) that defy the normal rules of pronunciation.
Posts: 713 | From: near the knacker's yard | Registered: Sep 2003
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melliethepooh
Shipmate
# 8762
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ann:
No, but I'd prefer people said Jalopeno Peppers using English Rules rather than authentic Spanish and sprayed the whole deli.
Seeing as in Spanish you pronounce J as an H...I really wonder how this individual managed to spray anything.
Now say "Saguaro"!
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"You can't go out right now."
"And yet I'm going. You're thinking of a cult. You can't get up and leave a cult."
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KenWritez
Shipmate
# 3238
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Posted
...so yeah, I can see your irritation has a valid basis, much as when you Brits correct us on the pronunciation of "Worcestershire" and "Mapledurham."
Of course, that brings up the bizarre and illogical UK practice of the shoving in of unnecessary extra letters into words, such as those that ought to end in "-or" but now end in "-our." "Honour," "colour," et al.
Let's not forget "-re" either. No, the UK doesn't have center theater, it has "centre theatre," and I hope you all eat "fibre," not fiber.
When UK people get sick, they wear "pyjamas" and have "diarrhoea," and when they're in wombs, they're a "foetus," and when they find themselves singing, they "realise" they "harmonise" while driving cars which are equipped with a "bonnet," a "boot," "tyres" and a "carburettor."
Sheesh! Somebody'd think we spoke a common language or something! ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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"The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be a shepherd." --Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction
My blog: http://oxygenofgrace.blogspot.com
Posts: 11102 | From: Left coast of Wonderland, by the rabbit hole | Registered: Aug 2002
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
When the Americans corrected her, "You mean 'tor-tee-yas?" she was puzzled, went and got the bag, pointed to the spelling and said, "No, it says here, 'tor-till-as'."
That's not how you Brits pronounce it, is it?
No. Most of us never say the word at all, and the few who do would try to imitate a Spanish pronounciation and probably do not much worse than Anglo-Americans.
Though I confess I have heard "jalapeno" said as if it were English.
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
quote:
Originally posted by Gill H:
A former colleague used to try to show off her knowledge of French by pronouncing it 'Pray' - not realising that you pronounce the t when the next word starts with a vowel.
Hearing 'I'm just off to Pray' was rather bizarre, particularly from this particular colleague.
A similar error seems to be made frequently with the champers Moet et chandon
And Noilly Prat. It ws founded by an Irishman, and its the Anglo-Irish name Prat.
Is "Pret a Manger" the invatation to Communion in the French language Mass?
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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RuthW
liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Belisarius:
quote:
Originally posted by m.t_tomb:
Um, pronounce Edinburgh for me, please.
Tortilla is a Spanish word. What is your point?
But consider the American pronunciation of Spanish words such as "Los Angeles." My personal favorite is a street name in my home town: Higuera, which the locals, even those whose first language is Spanish, pronounce "hi-GAR-a" with the "gar" sounding like the first syllable in "Gary." A friend from here in SoCal moved up there a couple of years ago and is still telling the story about a Mexican immigrant correcting his pronunciation.
Nope, we'll never win on logic. I say we go with numbers and might. And volume.
Posts: 24453 | From: La La Land | Registered: Apr 2001
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daronmedway
Shipmate
# 3012
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Belisarius:
quote:
Originally posted by m.t_tomb:
Um, pronounce Edinburgh for me, please.
Tortilla is a Spanish word. What is your point?
I guess my point is that Edinburgh is just as foreign a word to an American as tortilla, and yet Americans seem to quite happily mis-pronounce Edinburgh and many other 'burghs' without much concern! Plus the said Americans were guests in someone else's home, eating food that someone else had bought them. And furthermore... Well, no this is heaven so I shan't continue,,, ![[Biased]](wink.gif)
Posts: 6976 | From: Southampton | Registered: Jul 2002
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babybear
Bear faced and cheeky with it
# 34
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by The Lad Himself:
I also know an English teacher who agrees with the rest of the cosmos that the word "amn't" is unacceptable, but is no more able to provide a decent explanation for why that should be so than the rest of the cosmos. Perhaps someone here could explain it.
It used to be considered perfectly acceptable. Go back just a 150 years and everything is fine. There isn't actually anything wrong with it. But because it doesn't get used very often it sounds weird, so people think it is wrong.
[ 20. December 2004, 17:15: Message edited by: babybear ]
Posts: 13287 | From: Cottage of the 3 Bears (and The Gremlin) | Registered: May 2001
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balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
A similar error seems to be made frequently with the champers Moet et chandon
Matt
Diferent error, same effect Moët et Chandon was founded by two people. M. Chandon was French , but Herr Moët Dutch. So the 't' in Moët, being a Dutch word, should always be pronounced, even when the 'et' is not present.
Hint: the French do this and it is a French wine, why not do likewise?
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Last ever sig ...
blog
Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
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The Lad Himself
Accidental stowaway
# 2073
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by babybear:
It used to be considered perfectly acceptable. Go back just a 150 years and everything is fine. There isn't actually anything wrong with it. But because it doesn't get used very often it sounds weird, so people think it is wrong.
I knew it!
:: immediately prints out babybear's post, highlights "there isn't actually anything wrong with it", laminates it and places it in wallet to brandish at the grammar police ::
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new blog: crazywise.org
Posts: 2302 | From: Southport, UK | Registered: Dec 2001
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melliethepooh
Shipmate
# 8762
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Posted
I have a question-what's up with the British pronunciation of idea, or rather the preponderance of Brits (and Australians) who say 'idee-er'?
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"You can't go out right now."
"And yet I'm going. You're thinking of a cult. You can't get up and leave a cult."
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by melliethepooh:
I have a question-what's up with the British pronunciation of idea, or rather the preponderance of Brits (and Australians) who say 'idee-er'?
Don't Americans say that?
I know some of them do because I've heard them.
Which ones don't?
And how do they say it?
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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melliethepooh
Shipmate
# 8762
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Posted
Well...I know that I've never said idea that way, unless maybe I was talking really fast and thinking of Patrick Stewart at the same time. I've never heard an American say it but there are places in the south where they speak a language that's a bit older, so to speak. Maybe Americans living in Britain pick up on it, so that's what you've heard. I say it aye-dee-ah.
[edited to add]...but some people tell me that I have a Coloradan accent. Whatever that means.
[ 20. December 2004, 19:07: Message edited by: melliethepooh ]
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"You can't go out right now."
"And yet I'm going. You're thinking of a cult. You can't get up and leave a cult."
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
Now I'm really confused.
What's the difference between "idee-er" and "aye-dee-ah"? Where are you putting the stress?
As far as I know everyone says: ai-DEE-uh
where
"ai" is a dipthong more or less the same as the name of the letter "I". Which is the sound I thought you meant in your first post.
"DEE" is like the name of the letter "D", and bears the stress
"uh" is the schwa, the unstressed, indefinite vowel. Which is what I thought you meant by "er" in the first post. Although us southern Englanders can't actually say "er", it comes out as "uh". We leave proper "R"s to the Scots & various kinds of northerner.
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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melliethepooh
Shipmate
# 8762
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Posted
now I'm confused too. When I stuck the r at the end of it, I wasn't modifying the vowel sound, I was actually adding an R. I hear it all the time from the english folks I know and it always throws me off. The stress is still on the middle syllable, of course. It sounds like idee-r to me. I don't understand.
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"You can't go out right now."
"And yet I'm going. You're thinking of a cult. You can't get up and leave a cult."
Posts: 218 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
But consider the American pronunciation of Spanish words such as "Los Angeles." My personal favorite is a street name in my home town: Higuera, which the locals, even those whose first language is Spanish, pronounce "hi-GAR-a" with the "gar" sounding like the first syllable in "Gary."
I used to live on 'EX-imeno' (Ximeno) in that very city in the late '70s. LA is of course pronounced 'Loss-Anjelus'.
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by melliethepooh:
I was actually adding an R. I hear it all the time from the english folks I know and it always throws me off.
Ah. To me, Americans sound as if they have Rs where we don't!
In my version of English "idea" rhymes with "beer" - and neither of them have an "R".
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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Janine
The Endless Simmer
# 3337
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Posted
Calliope = "Cally Ope"
Burgundy = "Ber GUND ee"
I've never heard anyone attempt "Terpsichore" out loud.
Street names in New Orleans are a hoot.
'Course, Tchopitoulas is always Tchopitoulas.
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I'm a Fundagelical Evangimentalist. What are you?
Take Me Home * My Heart * An hour with Rich Mullins *
Posts: 13788 | From: Below the Bible Belt | Registered: Sep 2002
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John Donne
Renaissance Man
# 220
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Posted
So "Moët" would be correctly pronounced something like 'Moo-et'?
Round here they would think you a terrible barbarian if you said anything other than 'Mo-ee'!
Posts: 13667 | From: Perth, W.A. | Registered: May 2001
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Esmeralda
Ship's token UK Mennonite
# 582
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gill H:
Then there are all the (probably apocryphal) audio-typist stories. Like 'triennial balance sheet' which ended up as 'try any old balance sheet'. Or 'Sir Michael Spears' for 'cervical smears'.
There's also the probably apocryphal story of the opera reviewer who dictated her copy down the phone. Next day a review appeared of 'Doris Goodenough' (she'd been to see 'Boris Godunov').
But I have an absolutely real one. My Dad, a chest doctor and a refugee from Austria, dictated to his secretary, 'This patient is a mouth breather'. The secretary typed 'This patient is a mouse breeder'!
Another delightful spin off of my parents' English was the time when my Mum, not long in England, remarked that the weather was so cold that she had seen some workmen 'warming their hands at a brassiere'.
[ 20. December 2004, 20:08: Message edited by: Esmeralda ]
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I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand.
http://reversedstandard.wordpress.com/
Posts: 17415 | From: A small island nobody pays any attention to | Registered: Jun 2001
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RuthW
liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
But consider the American pronunciation of Spanish words such as "Los Angeles." My personal favorite is a street name in my home town: Higuera, which the locals, even those whose first language is Spanish, pronounce "hi-GAR-a" with the "gar" sounding like the first syllable in "Gary."
I used to live on 'EX-imeno' (Ximeno) in that very city in the late '70s.
Long Beach is not my home town, actually, and has no Higuera Street that I'm aware of. I was talking about San Luis Obispo. The pronunciation of "Ximeno" seems to have changed in the last 25 years; now it's ex-IM-in-o. And of course there's also"wan-i-PEAR-o for "Junipero."
quote:
LA is of course pronounced 'Loss-Anjelus'.
Or more commonly, el-lay.
Posts: 24453 | From: La La Land | Registered: Apr 2001
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melliethepooh
Shipmate
# 8762
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
quote:
Originally posted by melliethepooh:
I was actually adding an R. I hear it all the time from the english folks I know and it always throws me off.
Ah. To me, Americans sound as if they have Rs where we don't!
In my version of English "idea" rhymes with "beer" - and neither of them have an "R".
Yes yes, it rhymes with beer. Are you sure you don't say an r? Where do americans put r's that you don't?
I am now reminded of a woman I met who was named Avril. She pronounced it with the thickest midwestern accent I've ever heard-AH-vril
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"You can't go out right now."
"And yet I'm going. You're thinking of a cult. You can't get up and leave a cult."
Posts: 218 | Registered: Nov 2004
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by m.t_tomb:
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
A friend of mine was staying with people in London for a while, and her hostess offered them some "tor-till-as" - pronouncing the "l"s. When the Americans corrected her, "You mean 'tor-tee-yas?" she was puzzled, went and got the bag, pointed to the spelling and said, "No, it says here, 'tor-till-as'."
Um, pronounce Edinburgh for me, please. Now, I must admit that a thrill of irritation went through me as I read this post. The very idea of an American correcting an English[wo]man's pronunciation fills me with a horrid combination of revulsion and irritation.
Normally, I'd agree with you, but "tortilla" isn't an English word. Although since England is on the border of Mexico and the US is all the way across a continent and an ocean, I'm sure the English person rather than the American would be correct on how to pronounce a Mexican food's name.
And probably my friend was just surprised at the strange pronunciation. I suppose there's no harm in letting the English anglicize non-English words.
[ 20. December 2004, 20:41: Message edited by: churchgeek ]
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I reserve the right to change my mind.
My article on the Virgin of Vladimir
Posts: 7773 | From: Detroit | Registered: Feb 2004
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Campbellite
Ut unum sint
# 1202
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Posted
There is a woman in our community named Azalea, pronounced Aza LEE. (initial "a" as in "cat")
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I upped mine. Up yours.
Suffering for Jesus since 1966.
WTFWED?
Posts: 12001 | From: between keyboard and chair | Registered: Aug 2001
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