General Chat

Was only thinking this morning that, now we don't seem to use proper English anymore, the Simon and Garfunkel song, 'Homeward Bound' may have lost it's magic.

"Sat on a train station with a ticket for my destination' isn't the same is it?

Sharron, I have actually asked for a bus ticket to the railway station, only for the driver to not know where I meant!
I changed it to 'train' station - he then understood, but I couldn't help adding 'Where the chuff chuffs go from'.

Sister and I were talking tonight about how words are pronounced/mispronounced - the one that came to her mind was 'Mauve'
I admit, neither of us can can say 'tarpaulin' in the 'accepted' way, - we say 'tarpolan', but if the 'au' in 'mauve' is pronounced 'o', why isn't it in 'tarpaulin'?
But that's nothing compared to others!
I also admit to voicing the 'l' in 'Folk', instead of pronouncing it 'Fowk' - much hilarity for the family :-|

As you know, I am a bit of a swede basher and my Namibian mate's daughter thinks it hilarious to get me to say brown.

:-D :-D :-D
I've been sat here, working out how you'd say it!

I have no problem with people mispronouncing if they've read the word, but MP's - the majority of whom went to the (apparently) 'best' schools have no excuse - and I'm racking my brains to try to remember the worst!

Have to admit, when I was at Uni, one of the lecturers asked if anyone had read Goethe.
Silence.
'No-one?' asked the lecturer.
Then he wrote the name on the board.
'Oh, HIM - yes, he's incredible', I shout out. :-(
I pronounced his name Go-ethee

..a least I'd read him, even if I didn't know how to say his name! :-D :-D

You have been what there?!

What surprises me is that 'to', which used to be pronounced similarly to 'too' and 'two' now is pronounced as 'ter'.

True, Kense, and the constant lack the use of 'too'.
When my sister was at school in Scotland, her teacher told the class, 'too' was used when, in Scottish dialect, the word 'ower', was used.
eg - 'This tea is ower hot' - and it works!


Sharron, :-D :-D :-D :-D
I've admitted it!

There are 2 words that drive me crazy

southern ............... I was taught suthern even though south is said sowth

Many of our local radio and TV guys began saying "sowthern" a few days EDIT - years ago


nuclear ............... when it is said as nuk-uh-ler. Very very common over here, especially from those in the country south of us, even those who should know better!

Bloke goes for an interview on a building site. The interviewer asks him if he knows the difference between girder and joist. "Sure, and didn't Joyce write Ulyses, and Goethe write Proust?" Bit of an intellectual joke there.

... and, why do so many people start the answer to a question with "So" As in, what do you do for a living? So, I'm a ....

I suppose that, as one who says somewhen, I am not in a very strong position to complain.

Bob :-D :-D

I occasionally say 'outwith' which is a word, but not used very often 'doon sooth'.
So (proper use of, following on from what I've previously said) you use old words, Sharron, I use out of area words :-D :-D

My favourite Midlands expression is "tara a bit". I am trying to put it into everyday use here darn sarf in "the smoke".

Tara a bit is used in my home town of Walsall.

I was in a cafe in Lincolnshire once and a couple near us were joined by a much younger couple and 2 children. We could hear some of chat and I turned to my OH and said they were from close to where I was born. The older couple stood up and walked away turning to say tara a bit. :-D My sister always says that to me when we speak on the phone.

I hate very unique - it's either unique or it isn't :-\

A certain shampoo, claims to be "Original" yet new and improved..


cum on make up yer mind!!!

I am still wanting to see an empty bottle of beer.

talking of mispronounciation. I have always read a lot and understood most words from an early age, but there is one word I must not have heard read aloud. I was in my 20s and taking A level english. for some reason we were reading around the class, only a few mature students the remainder teenagers who fell about laughing when I pronounced misled as 'missled (i.e. not miss led). Even at that age I had always read it thus. and, yes I was embarrassed. :-D :-D

During trade training in the army, there was a large map of Cyprus on the wall for some reason. I asked Stan, next to me, to ask the instructor where Episcopi was, only I got him to pronounce it eppy skoppy. He didn't forgive me that for a long time.
How do you pronounce "preface" The posh kid in our class pronounced it preffiss.
And as for foreign words and names, it is every free born Englishman's (insert women's, non gender specific person etc. if you wish) right to pronounce foreign words as we wish. Mumbai? Tosh. Kolcata? B*****s. Sri Lanka? Come on.