Words I say wrong...

[Tennesseer]

Sept 12, 2017 20:09:52 GMT -5 mroped said:

The most confusing thing for my older brother îs the pronunciation of Kansas-Arkansas.
When I corrected him he just looked weird at me and said "that doesn't make any sense! It just f...d up!"

To further convolute it, citizens of Kansas call themselves Kansans while citizens of Arkansas call themselves Arkansans (though some also call themselves Arkansawyers).

[weltschmerz]

Québec’s swearing vocabulary is one of the weirdest and most entertaining in the entire world. It is almost entirely made up of everyday Catholic terminology—not alternate versions, but straight-up normal words that would be used in Mass to refer to objects or concepts—that have taken on a profane meaning. Many languages have some kind of religious terminology wrapped into profanity (think of English’s “damn” or “goddammit”), but Quebec’s is taken to a totally different level.

www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-delightful-perversity-of-quebecs-catholic-swears

[happyhoix]

Sept 12, 2017 20:44:58 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Sept 12, 2017 14:11:25 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

I'm always interested in words that are 'bad' in one language and not in another. Bloody is apparently a very bad (or it used to be) English word. F --- is a bundle of sticks, the three letter short version is a cigarette.  Don't know how Americans translated that to a gay person. Someone in America who is pissed is angry, in England they're drunk. Then there is the whole 'biscuit' debacle. (That one I can kind of see, we stole the word cookie from the Dutch, so I can see how, since we already had a word for the sweet baked treats, we used the  biscuit word for a round baked object for non-sweet items best served with a slice of ham in the middle).  

And apparently the C word does not have the strong negative meaning in the UK that it does over here, since the Brits seem to use it A LOT.

Are you familiar with Quebecois swearing?

Not at all, but please do tell more... curious minds want to know.

[happyhoix]

Sept 12, 2017 19:46:52 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

Sept 12, 2017 16:42:58 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

You are are right about the sauce. But the city in Massachusetts (Worcester) is pronounced 'wooster' or at least by New Englanders like myself.

Here in in Memphis, we have the Peabody Hotel famous for its duck walk parade from the roof top to the lobby fountain (via elevator) in the morning and back to the roof top (via elevator) late afternoon.

Here in Memphis, the hotel is pronounced 'Pee-body'. But in Massachusetts there is a town called Peabody just outside of Boston and it is pronounced by New Englanders as 'Pee-bud-ee'.

Or Swampscott. It's pronounced more as Swampscitt. I don't know why. And Reading and North Reading are not pronounced like the verb. They are pronounced as Redding. Of course, I am also an anomaly because I know how to pronounce my "R's" unlike the majority of Massholes.

To my ears (used to the Southern dialect, having lived in the South 30 years now) when  I get on a conference call with a bunch of my MA coworkers it always sounds like they are all angry and a hockey fight is about to break out, when in fact they are politely conversing about a work topic. Just a very harsh accent I guess.

I can't imagine what Southerners must sound like to them. One of them came to visit my facility and was surprised that he found several rock stations on his car radio - I'm not sure what he was expecting? Hee Haw's greatest hits, played all the time, on all stations? (I told him we even have an NPR station, although he didn't seem to believe me.)

[NoNamePerson]

Sept 13, 2017 6:56:13 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Sept 12, 2017 19:46:52 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

Or Swampscott. It's pronounced more as Swampscitt. I don't know why. And Reading and North Reading are not pronounced like the verb. They are pronounced as Redding. Of course, I am also an anomaly because I know how to pronounce my "R's" unlike the majority of Massholes.

To my ears (used to the Southern dialect, having lived in the South 30 years now) when  I get on a conference call with a bunch of my MA coworkers it always sounds like they are all angry and a hockey fight is about to break out, when in fact they are politely conversing about a work topic. Just a very harsh accent I guess.

I can't imagine what Southerners must sound like to them. One of them came to visit my facility and was surprised that he found several rock stations on his car radio - I'm not sure what he was expecting? Hee Haw's greatest hits, played all the time, on all stations? (I told him we even have an NPR station, although he didn't seem to believe me.)

 I love preconceived notions. When I decided to fly to Ohio to meet my father's family I had to send them a picture of me so they would know what I looked like. After a few back and forth phone calls I got the impression that they thought I was a country bumpkin that only liked country music - which is my least favorite music but do like some.

I did finally convince them that I did not have to have grits with every meal   And one day we went to this huge grocery store and was asked if I wanted anything in particular and there was a huge deli and I said I would love some taboulah. I think that was the ice breaker.  

I really considered pulling a piece of broom straw and sticking it in my mouth when I got into airport. 

But all in all it was a very good visit. They were surprised that I would just hop a plane to come visit people I had never met in my life. I didn't go into details but that wasn't my first time doing this!! Did it as a 16 yrs but by train that time. 

[Lizard Queen]

It's all relative--Ohio is South to me. My BIL picked up a prominent southern accent after he moved to Cinnncinati.

[Tennesseer]

Sept 13, 2017 8:13:30 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

It's all relative--Ohio is South to me. My BIL picked up a prominent southern accent after he moved to Cinnncinati.

Cincinnati is just across the bridge from Covington, Kentucky so that is no surprise.

[Waffle]

I thought of another word that I can't pronounce. Entendre (as in double entendre). I just avoid saying it, cause I know it's going to come out wrong.

[NoNamePerson]

Sept 13, 2017 8:13:30 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

It's all relative--Ohio is South to me. My BIL picked up a prominent southern accent after he moved to Cinnncinati.

The folks in Toledo didn't sound the least bit Southern

[gs11rmb]

As a child in Scotland I read a book about a girl living on an Indian reservation who moved to the big city of Chick-a-go.  I loved that book; she could run faster than anyone in her moccasins.  I was an adult who had been to Chicago before I realized that Chicago and Chick-a-go were the same place!

BTW, does anyone recognize my description of the book?  I can't remember the title but would love to buy it for my daughters.

[Lizard Queen]

Sept 13, 2017 8:18:29 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Sept 13, 2017 8:13:30 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

It's all relative--Ohio is South to me. My BIL picked up a prominent southern accent after he moved to Cinnncinati.

Cincinnati is just across the bridge from Covington, Kentucky so that is no surprise.

I've visited quite a bit, so I know where it is. The surprise is how much he, having been a Michigander until his mid-20's, picked up in his speech. It's a more prominent drawl than his wife, a schoolteacher and life-long Ohioan, and more than many of the people we come across in Cincinnati. I feel like he's a traitor to his dialect!😜

[Deleted]

Sept 13, 2017 8:34:44 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

As a child in Scotland I read a book about a girl living on an Indian reservation who moved to the big city of Chick-a-go.  I loved that book; she could run faster than anyone in her moccasins.  I was an adult who had been to Chicago before I realized that Chicago and Chick-a-go were the same place!

BTW, does anyone recognize my description of the book?  I can't remember the title but would love to buy it for my daughters.

This one maybe? But it doesn't get the best 'aged well' reviews...

www.amazon.com/Susan-Wigwam-city-Scholastic-1708/dp/B0007ERW5K

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Epitome and hyperbole.  I'd read them in print many times so I knew what they meant but it was a long time before I learned how to pronounce them properly.  

[gs11rmb]

Sept 13, 2017 11:27:14 GMT -5 oped said:

Sept 13, 2017 8:34:44 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

As a child in Scotland I read a book about a girl living on an Indian reservation who moved to the big city of Chick-a-go.  I loved that book; she could run faster than anyone in her moccasins.  I was an adult who had been to Chicago before I realized that Chicago and Chick-a-go were the same place!

BTW, does anyone recognize my description of the book?  I can't remember the title but would love to buy it for my daughters.

This one maybe? But it doesn't get the best 'aged well' reviews...

www.amazon.com/Susan-Wigwam-city-Scholastic-1708/dp/B0007ERW5K

It might be. Where can you read 'aged well' reviews?

I admit when I read the book's description it wouldn't encourage me to purchase it for my girls!

[Deleted]

This was the review I read
www.google.com/amp/s/vickyandpolly.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/wigwam-in-the-city-alternate-title-susan-by-barbara-c-smucker-illustrated-by-gil-miret/amp/

Fwiw I love The Egg and I, but I always preface suggesting it to people by preparing them for the period treatment of native Americans. It can be important to read things in their context, like original sources.

[weltschmerz]

Sept 13, 2017 6:46:23 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Sept 12, 2017 20:44:58 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Are you familiar with Quebecois swearing?

Not at all, but please do tell more... curious minds want to know.

I'll post another link. Quebecois swearing has nothing to do with bodily parts or functions, like shit or fuck.
The worst profanities are religious in nature. People tend to use what they fear, hate or what they're intimidated or oppressed by as profanities.
For the longest time, the Catholic church had an iron grip on the populace, and made life a living hell with tithing when you had nothing, or insisting you bear children you couldn't afford to feed.  It kept everyone dirt-poor. That all changed literally overnight, with the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s.
--------------------

In Quebec's use, the church was running  the show. The clergy controlled nearly every aspect of society in 19th century Quebec, which understandably pissed off the Quebec people. Taking words deemed sacred or holy by the Church, Quebecers recreated these untouchable sayings into harsh profanities. If you've ever wondered why Quebec swear words have a religious tinge, now you know its basically because they wanted to give a linguistic fuck you to the Church.

www.mtlblog.com/lifestyle/quebecs-swear-words-and-their-origins

[weltschmerz]

Interestingly enough, it's part of how the hostilities between the French and English started.
The French resented the "rich" English who took advantage of them, usually by owning businesses and hiring the French.
The reason the English had more money was because they weren't Catholic, but Protestant. Each family didn't have 12-15 children.

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life was spot-on. Remember the skit about having so many kids, you had to sell them for medical experiments? While the WASPs only had one or two? "We're allowed to  use rubbers!"

[empress of self-improvement]

Sept 13, 2017 8:23:29 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

Sept 13, 2017 8:13:30 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

It's all relative--Ohio is South to me. My BIL picked up a prominent southern accent after he moved to Cinnncinati.

The folks in Toledo didn't sound the least bit Southern

I hear Toledo and my mind automatically goes to Klinger from MASH. He didn't sound the least bit Southern to me.

I expect Southern radios to be playing Lynrd Skynrd and Kid Rock pretty much 24/7. Hee Haw is for TV. Doesn't work for me on the radio.

[Pants]

Sept 13, 2017 12:45:03 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Epitome and hyperbole.  I'd read them in print many times so I knew what they meant but it was a long time before I learned how to pronounce them properly.  

Yes! I thought epitome was pronounced "ep-it-tome" not "e-pit-oh-me" when I was a kid.

There's another one I can't remember but I only realized I was pronouncing it wrong like 2 years ago when my husband corrected me. Wish I could remember what it was.

[Tennesseer]

""ep-it-tome"" here too.

[zibazinski]

Same here

[Lizard Queen]

Segue used to be 2 different words to me--when reading, I'd pronounce it wrong, but was familiar with the spoken word.  Took me a while to figure out they were the same word! 

[dannylion]

Epitome, hyperbole -- more Greek!

If it's a fancy word that ends in a consonant followed by an E, it might be Greek.  It probably is Greek.  Just assume it's Greek, stress the second syllable, and pronounce the terminal E. 

 

[TheOtherMe]

When I was in grad school, I dated a man who was from Tokyo.  We were going to a party with his friends.  I was the only non-Japanese person at the party.  He had told me he would teach me some Japanese for the party.  He taught me all swear words.  The looks I was getting until I figured out what he had done.  I was not happy.

[teen persuasion]

Sept 12, 2017 10:44:53 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

Cricks are in the South. An old saying "God willin and the crick don't rise." 

Cricks are in WNY, too.  Well, sometimes.  It depends on what the name of the creek is, whether you say crick or creek.  So it's Tonawanda Creek, but Caz Crick (short for Cazenovia).

[teen persuasion]

Sept 12, 2017 11:55:36 GMT -5 dannylion said:

Sept 12, 2017 9:33:24 GMT -5 oped said:

Someone tried to convince me en dive was un deev once. But I learned that one from hearing it... local differences? Or maybe she was just a pretentious ass..? 

This one's French, so "on-DEEV" is technically correct while "IN-dive" is the Anglicized version. It has taken up residence in English, but the word is still French, so in my (not so humble) opinion, either is fine.   

Then there's "niche," another French word that has burrowed its way into a comfy spot in English. There are those who become enraged to hear it pronounced "neesh" as it is in French instead of "nitch,"  the Anglicized version, claiming that "neesh" is pretentious and stuck-up.  Again, a legitimate case can be made for either pronunciation, so either is fine.  I always pronounce it "neesh" because a) I know the French pronunciation and b) I like to annoy people who become enraged over something that is actually correct. 

Then there are words like "intelligentsia" that are borrowed from farther away (in this case Russian) and retain their original character when used in English.  In an English word, a G followed by an E would be pronounced like a J, but not in Russian, so the correct pronunciation is "intelli-GHENT-sia" with a hard G. 

And what about words that are borrowed from a language that borrowed them from another language? There is a local Mexican restaurant Xitomate.  How to pronounce it?  In Spanish, it would be "Hee-to-mah-tay," but it was borrowed from Nahuatl in which it would be pronounced "Sh-to-ma-teh" (it means tomato). 

Language geeks like me spend a lot of time thinking about things like this.  There are those who think we are weird (also pretentious and stuck-up), but we don't care. 

I took Classical Latin in HS (in a Catholic school ), and we were taught by our lay teacher that C's and G's were hard, and V sounded like W. Whenever we sing any songs in church with Latin lyrics my Latin class pronunciation rules kick in. I just can't bring myself to pronounce them by Church Latin rules, they really grate on me. So I'll be the one singing Ah-way Maria instead of Ave Maria, thank you very much.

So, in case you were wondering:

Veni vidi vici = Waney weedy weeky
Via Appia = Wee-ah Op-ee-a
Caesar = K(eye)-saar <--- that's like the word eye, or letter I in the first syllable



My favorite Latin word is celeriter, because it sounds like kell-AIR-ee-tair. It means quickly; you can see the root celer in accelerate, but English uses the S sound instead of the hard C.

[giramomma]

I just found out that I say incorrectly say decrepid instead of decrepit. I do believe that this is the first time autocorrect has been useful for me.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Sept 13, 2017 20:34:38 GMT -5 dannylion said:

Epitome, hyperbole -- more Greek!

If it's a fancy word that ends in a consonant followed by an E, it might be Greek.  It probably is Greek.  Just assume it's Greek, stress the second syllable, and pronounce the terminal E. 

 

Years and years ago, in a former life, I went through an intensive, immersive, program at Harvard to learn Greek as a job requirement.

Sadly, I haven't had much chance to use it since that job and have lost most of it.

I also took a course in Greek and Latin roots in English in college. I believe a course like that should be mandatory in high school, but, alas, the Humanities are dead. 😕

[Deleted]

If you want to supplement at home, critical thinking company makes a great set of word roots workbooks.

[mmhmm]

I mispronounced the word "misled" for years. I said it as "mizled" with a long "i".  One day, I looked at the word and realized what it actually was -  led astray. I would have been horribly embarrassed had I not realized I'd been mispronouncing it for years and nobody had ever said a word. I guess mizled sounded like it just might be a word! 

Back in the day Latin was required to graduate from high school. It's a shame it isn't still required as it really is helpful.