tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post6128908854630087366..comments2024-03-28T16:11:36.465+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: US-to-UK Word of the Year 2021: "doon"lynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-15285493221799935492023-01-23T00:19:53.514+00:002023-01-23T00:19:53.514+00:00Dyu vs. du: My Filipina wife has an interesting ac...Dyu vs. du: My Filipina wife has an interesting accent that includes a sort-of British pronunciation of duty and such words. One time she asked when my on-call duty was at the hospital. "My Uncle Judy?" I asked. After making it clear what she meant, she asked, "Do you have an Uncle Judy?" Uh, no.Steve Dunhamhttp://www.stevedunham.50megs.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-19810103313173953722022-12-09T15:09:18.517+00:002022-12-09T15:09:18.517+00:00What is blue and sits on a toilet? A policeman do...What is blue and sits on a toilet? A policeman doing his duty. (American joke, 1980s but surely older - seldom if ever heard duty in this meaning otherwise, but somehow we all got the joke.)James Kabalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02335302113772004687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-203705290966278012022-06-22T01:15:28.881+01:002022-06-22T01:15:28.881+01:00What I find particularly interesting, as I am a fa...What I find particularly interesting, as I am a fan of classic Radio from the 30's, 40's and 50's, is how everyone's pronunciation has changed. In t I e 40's Los Angeles had a hard G sound. And in one advertisement the word "protein" (pro teen) they pronounce as "pro tee un".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-56001555455601889122022-05-24T05:39:07.718+01:002022-05-24T05:39:07.718+01:00Kind of on subject, I was surprised to hear many A...Kind of on subject, I was surprised to hear many Australians pronounce debut as day-boo, when they use the British pronunciations of dune, etc.CaptainSiCohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18025513284180590274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-33063958832218312322022-04-29T10:27:55.507+01:002022-04-29T10:27:55.507+01:00I have memories from the mid-70's of being bea...I have memories from the mid-70's of being beaten up in a tiny place in Western Illinois, spelt Milan but pronounced My-lan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-37201552781830844032022-02-02T23:23:58.256+00:002022-02-02T23:23:58.256+00:00https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zTY3HVCqdshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zTY3HVCqdsSimonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01628722112979043156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-66818676451897555652022-02-02T23:06:30.456+00:002022-02-02T23:06:30.456+00:00Yes, that was really noticeable. It's how they...Yes, that was really noticeable. It's how they say it in Scotland as well.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01628722112979043156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-22607286441649771462022-01-31T02:36:36.285+00:002022-01-31T02:36:36.285+00:00Well, the British pronunciation is enormously clos...Well, the British pronunciation is enormously closer to the correct Dutch pronunciation it than the American one. The British way of saying it is correct except that we can't do that particular Dutch croaky sound or whatever the correct term for it is. The American way is totally wrong.Andy JShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15819413906544791899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48125420847565265362022-01-29T09:46:01.987+00:002022-01-29T09:46:01.987+00:00I wonder if that might be more interesting than it...I wonder if that might be more interesting than it sounds. When I was a child (England early 1950s) many people attached great importance to making sure each child did a daily bowel movement. Having regular bowel movements was regarded as virtuous, and having irregular ones, as proof of a casual, disorganised attitude to life. This was sometimes politely referred to as 'doing one's duty' (pronounced dyooty) and 'duty' was even used as a euphemism for that which was produced.<br /><br />Small children jokes would interpret Lord Nelson's 'England expects .... ' address as having a quite different interpretation to that which he intended.<br /><br />I've never heard of, yet alone seen, 'Wreck it Ralph' and don't know of 'doody' as a word used for excrement, but if it is used that way, it just might have evolved from the same source in a part of anglophone where a casual pronunciation of 'duty' might come out (pun intended) as 'doody'.<br /> Druhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04695126646028596371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-91843716752407658622022-01-27T14:04:33.282+00:002022-01-27T14:04:33.282+00:00https://xkcd.com/2260/
I was surprised to see tha...https://xkcd.com/2260/<br /><br />I was surprised to see that that cartoon was published almost exactly two years ago. Doesn't time fly...Paul Dormerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00611343972547300193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-35957507502250846082022-01-27T09:25:23.411+00:002022-01-27T09:25:23.411+00:00Similarly, the film Wreck-it Ralph makes puns betw...Similarly, the film Wreck-it Ralph makes puns between "duty" and "doody" (as in poo), and they're not especially clear to those of us who pronounce "duty" as "joo-ty" (or "dyoo-ty" if enunciating carefully) rather than as "doo-dy".Rachael Churchillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-19086247976081716042022-01-27T09:23:25.205+00:002022-01-27T09:23:25.205+00:00Wow. I don't remember that particular xkcd pun...Wow. I don't remember that particular xkcd pun and wouldn't have got it either. When I think of puns on "Tudor" I think of "Henry Tudor Chicken Leg" (Henry chewed a chicken leg), which presumably Americans wouldn't get. It sounds like the pronunciation diverges in three separate places: "too" versus "tyoo"/"choo", reduced versus unreduced second vowel, and rhoticity.Rachael Churchillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-33138779474042683072022-01-20T00:17:59.313+00:002022-01-20T00:17:59.313+00:00"Most Americans know how to say Tudor properl..."Most Americans know how to say Tudor properly".<br />I've always suspected that Americans really know how to pronounce ALL words properly. They only talk in that weird way to annoy us British!Grhmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-19734696289483889022022-01-13T17:47:41.269+00:002022-01-13T17:47:41.269+00:00Yes Norfolk. But other parts of East Anglia, too? ...Yes Norfolk. But other parts of East Anglia, too? And in Essex and London north of the river 'Duke' is often 'dook'.Clydesdale Jeffersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14631644050118490759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-52635134459658875692022-01-13T17:17:45.612+00:002022-01-13T17:17:45.612+00:00What I tell you three times is true. :-)What I tell you three times is true. :-)Paul Dormerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00611343972547300193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-33435826488174719122022-01-13T16:51:46.590+00:002022-01-13T16:51:46.590+00:00BrE speaker. Not having read the book or seen the ...BrE speaker. Not having read the book or seen the film, it wouldn't have occurred to me to pronounce this word without a 'y'. Dropping the 'y' sound is Norfolk to me. It's also supposed to start with a 'd' rather than a 'j' unless you're being a bit casual.Druhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04695126646028596371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-85175351309538384572022-01-13T09:02:43.979+00:002022-01-13T09:02:43.979+00:00I was born in London but grew up in the north-east...I was born in London but grew up in the north-east. Eventually I learnt how to pronounce "Newcastle" in the local way (but I never picked up a Geordie accent).Paul Dormerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00611343972547300193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-18185693005043500232022-01-13T08:59:33.365+00:002022-01-13T08:59:33.365+00:00Incidentally, there is a book by Philip K. Dick I ...Incidentally, there is a book by Philip K. Dick I read as a teen that involved a drug called Chew-Z. It was many years after I read it that someone pointed out to me that Dick, being American, meant that to be pronounced "chew-zee".Paul Dormerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00611343972547300193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-41599703554580759392022-01-12T23:46:05.215+00:002022-01-12T23:46:05.215+00:00Here in Northern California we have a small town [...Here in Northern California we have a small town [village] named Tudor. And yes, they pronounce it two-door.<br />But, I believe most Americans know how to say Tudor properly, it just lends itself to jokes easily.<br />Oh, near Tudor is another small town [village] named Artios- pronounced Are-toys. And that is a whole 'nuther story...McCallawayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16779149710474946156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-17123152593285569482022-01-12T09:12:27.612+00:002022-01-12T09:12:27.612+00:00Interesting. I first read the book about fifty ye...Interesting. I first read the book about fifty years ago - I was at university at the time and I graduated in 1973 - and had no idea that was how Americans pronounce it. Of course, you wouldn't if just reading. I did see the David Lynch film and the later mini-series a long time ago but I don't recall how they pronounced it there. After all, the planet is officially called Arrakis.<br /><br />I haven't heard the film name being pronounced either on TV or in person, Not doing much in-person meeting these days.<br /><br />When my book club discussed Frank Herbert a few years - all of us British - I'm sure we all pronounced it 'june'.<br /><br />I read a lot of US books. Most SF is by American authors. There are words that I know are different in the US but I still read 'math' as 'maths' and 'aluminum' as 'aluminium'.<br /><br />A while back there was an xkcd cartoon where someone claimed he called his car [name of 16th century treaty] because it was a 'Tudor compact'. I had to go to the explainxkcd website to discover that Americans would pronounce this 'two-door compact'.Paul Dormerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00611343972547300193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-56704174611248471442022-01-12T09:05:59.199+00:002022-01-12T09:05:59.199+00:00I remember being startled when Marc Okrand retro-K...I remember being startled when Marc Okrand retro-Klingoned 'Klingon' as 'tlhIngan'. The initial consonant cluster is fine, but what's that unrounded vowel doing in the last syllable?Colin Finehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08475078800699475462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-15835582823795968792022-01-12T03:45:25.749+00:002022-01-12T03:45:25.749+00:00(20ish years of UK-in-US). Found myself consciousl...(20ish years of UK-in-US). Found myself consciously modifying Dyune to Doon this year because, you're entirely right, it came up *a lot*. Mountain Dew's 'Do the Dew' slogan has two different D sounds when I say it. Happy to add 'palatal on-glide' to the linguistic arsenal. Thanks for the edification as ever.GwynFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16130056662883572556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-29217470272538266932022-01-12T01:38:23.635+00:002022-01-12T01:38:23.635+00:00Just because it's a name doesn't mean Brit...Just because it's a name doesn't mean Brits don't struggle! I had a friend from the South who's surname was Redpath (Redparth) but to my Northern tongue it had to be a short a sound in path.<br /><br />I felt awful that I struggled to pronounce her name! Carolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00544374413183408228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-1629187893156709162022-01-12T01:01:06.939+00:002022-01-12T01:01:06.939+00:00I'm Australian, and found the interviewer'...I'm Australian, and found the interviewer's pronunciation of pronunciation weird. But maybe that's how the youngsters are saying it these days.Vireyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16464838238295059335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-44762936734191105882022-01-12T00:47:43.143+00:002022-01-12T00:47:43.143+00:00What about that interviewer's "pronounce-...What about that interviewer's "pronounce-iation" of pronunciation?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00118485670772781389noreply@blogger.com