Oh, Lieutenant: Americans pronounce it loo-TEN-ent. Why, how do the British pronounce it Lef-ten-ent? Where does the "F" come from?
Slap my hand now!
Anya ,'Empty Places'
Natter 67: Overriding Vetoes
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, nail polish, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
quester - Mar 23, 2011 10:55:32 am PDT #29870 of 30001
Danger is my middle name, only I spell it R. u. t. h. - Tina Belcher.
erikaj - Mar 23, 2011 10:55:50 am PDT #29871 of 30001
I'm a fucking amazing catch!--Fiona Gallagher, Shameless(US)
Place names are different. "Mogollon" took a long time. And it *still* feels weird to say "Cassa Grand", but if you live there, it's not fucking Casa Grande. Even though they're *wrong*. But that is totally a "mock the afflicted" thing anyway. But you can always spot the newbie news and weather people by it. For some reason, I HATE when people try to take the second "r" off "Rural Road" though I haven't lived there for twelve years and it's not even rural anymore, anyway. I'm such an annoying pedant.
Consuela - Mar 23, 2011 10:55:58 am PDT #29872 of 30001
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
"Gloucester" is Gloster? Fuck you for tricking me on purpose, England! "Worcestshire" is Wurstersheer? WTF?
Oh, please, it's actually GLOS-tah. And Peabody is PEE-b'dy.
And Amherst is AM-erst. No H.
The advantages of a New England upbringing!
Scrappy - Mar 23, 2011 10:56:19 am PDT #29873 of 30001
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
In 7th grade, I pronounced "imagery" as though it rhymed with menagerie. Luckily, my teacher was so glad I was using the word that she managed to alleviate my embarrassment.
Consuela - Mar 23, 2011 10:56:52 am PDT #29874 of 30001
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
Where does the "F" come from?
quester, I have always wondered that!
sumi - Mar 23, 2011 10:57:44 am PDT #29875 of 30001
Art Crawl!!!
From wikipedia:
Pronunciation of lieutenant is generally split between the forms lef-tenant (/lɛfˈtɛnənt/) and loo-tenant (/ljuːˈtɛnənt/ or /luːˈtɛnənt/ ( listen)), with the former generally associated with the United Kingdom, Ireland and Commonwealth countries, and the latter generally associated with the United States.[1] The earlier history of the pronunciation is unclear; Middle English spellings suggest that the /l(j)uː-/ and /lɛf-/ pronunciations existed even then.[2] The rare Old French variant spelling luef for Modern French lieu ('place') supports the suggestion that a final [w] of the Old French word was in certain environments perceived as an [f].[2]
In Royal Naval tradition — and other English-speaking navies outside the United States — the intermediate pronunciation /ləˈtɛnənt/ was preserved. This is not recognized as current by the OED, however, and by 1954 the Royal Canadian Navy, at least, regarded it as "obsolescent" even while regarding "the army's 'LEF-tenant'" to be "a corruption of the worst sort".[3]
§ ita § - Mar 23, 2011 10:57:49 am PDT #29876 of 30001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
we kept their pronunciations along with their land!
I have no problem with the pronunciation. It's the spelling that's an issue. Blame them for that?
quester - Mar 23, 2011 10:58:44 am PDT #29877 of 30001
Danger is my middle name, only I spell it R. u. t. h. - Tina Belcher.
Moving to Iowa when I was 11, I was struck immediately by how many Iowans pronounce "wash" as "warsh".
Aims - Mar 23, 2011 10:59:42 am PDT #29878 of 30001
Shit's all sorts of different now.
"Warsh" is a total pet peeve of mine. As is "crik" for a body of water. *shudder*
t total snob
DavidS - Mar 23, 2011 11:00:18 am PDT #29879 of 30001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Arkansas. Let's not get out of hand with apportioning national blame here. You even have a fucking Kansas.
What's the issue? Arkansass and Kansaw. Clear as day.
I think the issue there was appropriating Native American words and fucking them up. It's not the deliberate perfidy of the English. Just plain old American stupidity.