Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Are you trying to say, "capiche"? Well don't do it, 'cause it hurts my ears when you do it.

These aren't so much pet peeves as they are my contentions about how words ought to be pronounced.
  1. AGAIN - It should rhyme with "pain," and "rain," like the kind in Spain that stays mainly in the plain. I can only assume we changed this to spite our friends in Canada and/or the UK.
  2. KANSAS & ARKANSAS - It should either be "Can-Zes" & "Are-Can-Zes" OR "Ken-Saw" & "Are-Ken-Saw." The current inconsistency is unstable.
I don't know if usage has changed and what I'm proposing is how it used to be or if it's always been cagged, but regardless of what you've heard, I'm right on this.
  • While on the subject of pronunciation, I find it odd that "Course" and "Horse" and "Hoarse" and "Force" all rhyme.
BONUS: Check out one publisher's Top 40 Pronunciation Pet Peeves.

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3 Comments:

At 28 April, 2011 00:01, Blogger Rev. said...

It seems the only Americans who say "uh-GAIN" are musicians, but only while they sing. I never used that particular pronunciation. That and that alone forever doomed me to middle management.

 
At 29 April, 2011 09:48, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the people in Arkansaw are the ones who are wrong on the pronunciation of their state. But what can you expect from them? Their one achievement: the invention of the toothbrush. Had it been invented any where else, it would have been the teethbrush. :)

 
At 29 April, 2011 23:57, Blogger GUNNY said...

Rev, that's good to know. I always assumed it was the Army shoes. They're tragic.

"teethbrush" ... I'm not from Arkansas, but I've been there and known enough of them to know that even they would think that's funny.
;-)

 

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