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Post by Verbivore on Jun 5, 2023 6:29:29 GMT
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Post by Dave Miller on Jun 6, 2023 5:39:48 GMT
Great fun and beautifully presented … but not really on, is it? Taking it far too seriously, I spot the conflicting aims: to keep things simple (and get rid of unnecessary letters), versus representing individual sounds in individual ways, without using letter combinations (and adding more letters).
There is then the problem of representing sound versus representing meaning. At at least one point, Rob uses the “ay” sound for the indefinite article (one of my greatest bugbears), yet at others he uses “a”. Should these be spelled differently? Why have two different words for one meaning?
And which pronunciation is right: four-five-six or fooer-fife-sex? Depends whether you’re in Scotland. And whose opinion do we take? If something is against the law, I’d say it’s illegal, but (to my ear) an Australian would say it’s ullegal. And yet I’m sure the Australians would say that they are indeed saying “illegal”.
Far too difficult a territory to enter!
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Post by Verbivore on Jun 6, 2023 7:50:12 GMT
[…] If something is against the law, I’d say it’s illegal, but (to my ear) an Australian would say it’s ullegal. And yet I’m sure the Australians would say that they are indeed saying “illegal”. […] Dave: Agreed on most points. Let’s face it: If G B Shaw couldn’t swing such an alphabetical change, what hope for others? As for ‘ullegal’, that to me sounds Kiwi, from the land of fush’n’chups and mulk. (I'm sure I say әllegal.)
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Post by Dave Miller on Jun 6, 2023 8:42:37 GMT
Quote: (I'm sure I say әllegal.)
That’s much the same (to me). Australians use a schwa; Brits don’t.
I steered clear of New Zealish pronunciations. I remember a lady on a plane asking me if I had “a spear cushion”. The conversation got nowhere and it was some days later that I realised she was asking about “a spare cushion”. (I still haven’t worked out why she thought I might be carrying such a thing …)
Also the guy telling me he had an old berk at home. (Bike.)
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Post by Twoddle on Jun 6, 2023 9:47:17 GMT
I recall a lecture on law at college several decades ago. The lecturer asked, "What's the difference between 'unlawful' and 'illegal'?". The answer was that "unlawful" means "contrary to the law", and "illegal" means a sick bird of prey. His point was that the word "illegal" doesn't occur anywhere in British law.
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Post by Twoddle on Jun 6, 2023 9:52:38 GMT
My brother's fond of telling a story from his days at work, when he had a New Zealand colleague. He couldn't find a particular CD for his computer so he asked the Kiwi whether he could borrow her disk. There followed a lengthy and confusing conversation where he thought they were referring to the CD and she thought they were discussing her work station.
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Jun 10, 2023 20:23:54 GMT
I'm not sure on my source but I think it came from "The Oxford Guide to Word Games" by Tony Augarde. At a book signing in 1964, Monica Dickens was handed a book by a woman who said "Emma Chisit". Monica signed the book "To Emma Chisit", before realising that the woman had asked "How much is it?"
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Jun 10, 2023 21:16:37 GMT
Today's Google Doodle references the important debate in the United Kingdom about whether one should put the strawberry conserve on first or the clotted cream on first when eating a scone while enjoying a cream tea. Traditionally in Devon it is cream first whereas in Cornwall it is conserve first. I am a Lancashire lad and insist that butter should come first followed by strawberry conserve and then clotted cream. This is apparently frowned upon by Devonians and Cornish men and women alike. I am reliably informed that Queen Elizabeth II required the conserve to come first followed by the clotted cream and insisted on this at all garden parties at Buckingham Palace. I find that, if one puts the strawberry conserve first, one can get more conserve and clotted cream on one scone than if one does it the other way around.
There is, also, the debate as to whether one talks about SKONNS or SKONES. In my view, it is a SKONN.
I once had an excellent "Devon cream tea" at a roadhouse in Angas Downs somewhere between Alice Springs and Uluru. At the time, I thought it would be hard to find a Devon cream tea anywhere that was further from Devon!
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Post by Verbivore on Jun 11, 2023 7:26:14 GMT
I'm not sure on my source but I think it came from "The Oxford Guide to Word Games" by Tony Augarde. At a book signing in 1964, Monica Dickens was handed a book by a woman who said "Emma Chisit". Monica signed the book "To Emma Chisit", before realising that the woman had asked "How much is it?”
I first encountered that story in the foreword of the Afferbeck Lauder – a.k.a. Alistair Morrison – Strine book Nose Tone Unturned or Let Stalk Strine. He claims it was his inspiration to phonetically record Strine.
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Post by Verbivore on Jun 11, 2023 7:29:28 GMT
[…] whether one should put the strawberry conserve on first or the clotted cream on first when eating a scone while enjoying a cream tea. […]
There is, also, the debate as to whether one talks about SKONNS or SKONES. In my view, it is a SKONN. […] Depends on which spread is the thicker: clotted cream or conserve. Most times my clotted cream sets very firm and simply must go on first, lest it refuse to stick to a runny strawberry. And the items I make are SKONNS.
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Post by Dave Miller on Jun 11, 2023 11:21:36 GMT
I grew up saying “skowne”, but I think (it’s difficult to catch myself saying it without thinking about it) I nowadays say “skonn”. There’s apparently a geographical split: brilliantmaps.com/scone-map/
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Jun 12, 2023 20:48:43 GMT
>it refuse to stick to a runny strawberry< So don't make runny strawberry conserve, Vv. Obviously it should be stiff and mouldable. How else can you bite into it?
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Post by Verbivore on Jun 12, 2023 21:29:40 GMT
>it refuse to stick to a runny strawberry< So don't make runny strawberry conserve, Vv. Obviously it should be stiff and mouldable. How else can you bite into it? I cook many things, LJH, but jams and conserves aren’t among them. My clotted cream is thicker than any spread, butter included.
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Post by Trevor on Jun 13, 2023 20:14:03 GMT
Not sure if you need a Facebook account to see this link, but also not sure how to find the video anywhere else. (Silly video about misused phrases and pronunciations.) fb.watch/l8xNPw1Iys/
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Post by Verbivore on Jun 13, 2023 21:10:49 GMT
Thanks, Trevor, for my breakfast cackle! (Nope, didn’t need a Fakebook account.)
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