Seriously strange pronounciations (?)

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Here's one for you .... no Americans living anywhere NEAR Texas or having been born in Texas should answer.

Pronounce: Bexar .... as a Texan would .... no fair trying to give me any proper Spanish pronunciations.

bé-har !

oh wait, as a texan would, not proper spanish pronunciation... no idea.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

bé-har !

oh wait, as a texan would, not proper spanish pronunciation... no idea.

Yeah, that's the hitch. You gave the correct Spanish pronunciation. Now, think like a Texan, and remove at least one vowel and one other letter (just because you're a Texan, and they like to do that sort of thing) to make it be one syllable.

And I'll give you another hint .... think of a large mammal that lives in the woods.

[zelda_pinwheel]

b'ar ?

[yvanleterrible]

Beeyar?

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

b'ar ?

Close .... more or less b'er (said almost like bear)

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Close .... more or less b'er (said almost like bear)

of course. i should have guessed that.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Yeah, that's the hitch. You gave the correct Spanish pronunciation. Now, think like a Texan, and remove at least one vowel and one other letter (just because you're a Texan, and they like to do that sort of thing) to make it be one syllable.

And I'll give you another hint .... think of a large mammal that lives in the woods.

pope? (karma if you get the reference)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

You sort of pronounce the "z" as a "g", so it's like saying Min-gis. It's because the original spelling of the name included a letter that isn't in the modern alphabet, but looked a tiny bit like a "z".

Absolutely right - well done! But the "-is" bit is generally slurred over or dropped entirely, so it's more like "ming".

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by HarryT

"Menzies" is pronounced "ming", believe it or not .

Almost as weird as gaelic...

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Absolutely right - well done! But the "-is" bit is generally slurred over or dropped entirely, so it's more like "ming".

Is there a known reason for this, Harry? Perhaps some past PM didn't like z's (excuse me, zed's) and declared them seditious? The owner has something of a lisp? Someone misspelt his name in the papers and he couldn't change it? Or perhaps just someone's odd sense of humor? I'm really curious.

[slayda]

I challenge anyone (who didn't grow up hearing it) to read the Tales of Uncle Remus aloud at all, let alone correctly. I grew up hearing it and still have trouble wrapping my tongue around it. It takes a page or two to get my mind in the groove.

For those that don't know it is written somewhat phonetically.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by slayda

I challenge anyone (who didn't grow up hearing it) to read the Tales of Uncle Remus aloud at all, let alone correctly. I grew up hearing it and still have trouble wrapping my tongue around it. It takes a page or two to get my mind in the groove.

For those that don't know it is written somewhat phonetically.

i have a lot of trouble with that sometimes, especially if the phonetic transcription is of a regional accent or dialect. sometimes it helps if i try to pronounce the word and listen to how it sounds but i can't read fluidly like that.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Is there a known reason for this, Harry? Perhaps some past PM didn't like z's (excuse me, zed's) and declared them seditious? The owner has something of a lisp? Someone misspelt his name in the papers and he couldn't change it? Or perhaps just someone's odd sense of humor? I'm really curious.

It's a Scottish name and, as Ricky rightly says, the "z" is a substitute for an old Norse letter called "Yogh", which was pronounced "ng".

There's a Scottish limerick which plays on this:

There wis a young lassie named Menzies,
That asked her aunt whit this thenzies.
Said her aunt wi a gasp,
"Ma dear, it's a wasp,
An you're haudin the end whaur the stenzies!"

The words at the end of the first, second, and fifth line should be pronounced "Ming is", "Thing is", and "Sting is", respectively, to understand it.

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by slayda

I challenge anyone (who didn't grow up hearing it) to read the Tales of Uncle Remus aloud at all, let alone correctly. I grew up hearing it and still have trouble wrapping my tongue around it. It takes a page or two to get my mind in the groove.

For those that don't know it is written somewhat phonetically.

Okay, you got me, slayda. My head is hurting.

“Uv all de creeturs”, said Uncle Remus, in response to a questioning took on the part of the little boy, “ol Brer B’ar had de biggest an’ de warmest house. I dunner why ner wharfo’, but I’m a-tellin’ you de plain fack, des ez dey to!’ it unter me. Ef I kin he’p it I never will be deceivin’ you, ner lead you inter no bad habits. Yo’ pappy trotted wid me a mighty long time, an’ ef you’ll ax him he’ll tell you dat de one thing I never did do wuz ter deceive him whiles he had his eyes open; not ef I knows myse’f. Well, ol’ Brer B’ar had de big house I’m a-tellin’ you about. Ef he y’ever is brag un it, it aint never come down ter me. Yit dat’s des what he had—a big house an’ plenty er room fer him an’ his fambly; an’ he aint had mo’ dan he need, kaze all er his fambly wuz fat an’ had what folks calls heft—de nachal plunkness.

[zelda_pinwheel]

i'm not even sure how to pronounce half of those words. definitely won't try reading that book !