wound a little tight?
It was a bit of sarcasm, tigerregis. It's happy hour, go make a drink!
Peace,
Agaliha
It was a bit of sarcasm, tigerregis. It's happy hour, go make a drink!
Peace,
Agaliha
leeward pronunciation
- Thread starter kpgraci
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Well it is going to get worse as technology advances, just look at texting shorthand these days and you'll discover a whole new slang language. I will probably (not prolly) use some of it myself but will never consider it 'lore' because it is just anoither slang method of shorthand communication. Your example of READ & read is a proper example of phonetical differences whereas many of the mariner expressions are sloppy mis-pronounced words. I don't hear navy personnel on modern warships speak like that, at least not in the movies. There is nothing beautiful or facinating about the inability to speak coherently, only an indication of being phonetically challenged (retarded) so to speak. There is proper english and there is improper slang english, which one you use depends on how you wish to be percieved. Nothing romantic about sounding like a 16th century uneducated sailor that cannot read or write. They could not even pronounce Boatswain and had to say foc'le because of their heavy accent, and to this day those mis-pronunciations are perpetrated because they were never corrected. Give us another few hundred years and hear how bad we sound.:dance:
Oh, I forgot to mention, most of the rest of the modern world has thrown away feet and inches and adopted the more universal metric system, just a few barbaric hold outs left to convert, and in time they will learn and fit in with the rest of the world. Some are just slower learners than others.
Now they tell me I gota learn to read to be a sailer? If I was gonna be correct and reasonable I'd have a powerboat.
Ray
Ray
Silly, that's just British "grammar."Er, Sam, your knowledge of English may be steeped in tradition but you're a little off on your grammer.
Learning and using the traditional pronunciations is part of the fun of it all! I love tradition and history...to walk in the footsteps of those before you.
Besides, using the incorrect pronunciation of words...pronouncing them as spelled....marks you as an incompetent by the older, more experienced folks. This isn't just in sailing...it happens in many aspects of life and activities, not to mention most of the English language!
Walk into a military base and ask to see the Colonel or the Sergeant....pronounce them as spelled and you'll be corrected, or laughed off the base.
Pronounce this as spelled:
I like Worcestershire on my two inch steak served on my yacht while drinking a daiquiri.
Besides, using the incorrect pronunciation of words...pronouncing them as spelled....marks you as an incompetent by the older, more experienced folks. This isn't just in sailing...it happens in many aspects of life and activities, not to mention most of the English language!
Walk into a military base and ask to see the Colonel or the Sergeant....pronounce them as spelled and you'll be corrected, or laughed off the base.
Pronounce this as spelled:
I like Worcestershire on my two inch steak served on my yacht while drinking a daiquiri.
Language is dynamic, constantly changing...
Language is dynamic, constantly changing. Modern English spelling was "standardized" in the 19th century. It still does not take into consideration all of the variations of regional and local dialects. The accepted "standard" is reflected in the present spellings of words.
Many words are pronounced very differently from how they are spelled. Leeward (ˈlēwərd) spelling was probably the way the educated ("upper class") pronounced the word. Leeward (ˈloōərd) was probably the way the working mariners may have spoken the term. Literacy was not universal in those days.
So, which is right? Both pronunciations are correct and accepted. It is more important to understand the meaning regardless how pronounced.
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leeward |ˈlēwərd; ˈloōərd|
adjective & adverb
on or toward the side sheltered from the wind or toward which the wind is blowing; downwind : [as adj. ] the leeward side of the house | [as adv. ] we pitched our tents leeward of a hill. Contrasted with windward .
Language is dynamic, constantly changing. Modern English spelling was "standardized" in the 19th century. It still does not take into consideration all of the variations of regional and local dialects. The accepted "standard" is reflected in the present spellings of words.
Many words are pronounced very differently from how they are spelled. Leeward (ˈlēwərd) spelling was probably the way the educated ("upper class") pronounced the word. Leeward (ˈloōərd) was probably the way the working mariners may have spoken the term. Literacy was not universal in those days.
So, which is right? Both pronunciations are correct and accepted. It is more important to understand the meaning regardless how pronounced.
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leeward |ˈlēwərd; ˈloōərd|
adjective & adverb
on or toward the side sheltered from the wind or toward which the wind is blowing; downwind : [as adj. ] the leeward side of the house | [as adv. ] we pitched our tents leeward of a hill. Contrasted with windward .
Amen and amen! The industry I get paid to work in (computers) is all TLAs (three-letter acronyms) - it started with IBM, I think, and keeps getting worse.
I love the nautical themed books with the old jargon, like Patrick O'Brian (particularly when Stephen Maturin gets the terms wrong) and C.S. Forrester.
I've known loo-ard (leeward), gunnel (gunwale), focsle (forecastle), bosun (boatswain), stuns'l (studdingsail), t'garn (topgallant), cox'n (coxswain), and many more from years and years of reading. I even mentally pronounce the word lieutenant as lef-tenant if the character is British or loo-tenant if American.
You boys obviously have a misconception about the English navy, where a man was flogged if he was caught drunk on duty. Their daily grog was an incentive...llike a smoke break. The rum was diluted when served out and lost its preservative properties.. this was so the men could not hoard it for getting drunk later. It sounds slurred to you because you're not English. Xenophobia and ignorance go hand and hand.
And don't even think about dispariging the English navy.... without them we would all be speaking French and the rest of the world would be run by pirates and slavetraders.
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