We need that R in FebRuary. It’s an excuse to eat twice as many oysters.
From the Amer. Herit. Dict. 4th Ed.:
Usage Note: Although the variant pronunciation (fĕb"yoo-ĕr′ē) is often censured because it doesn’t reflect the spelling of the word, it is quite common in educated speech and is generally considered acceptable.
I’ll accept it when they accept “libary” for “library”.
Today, we sadly wait for baseball season to actually begin. This likely would have been “Truck Day”. The Red Sox truck would leave Fenway and head to spring training in Florida.
I recall the tale of an English chap named Featheringstonehaugh who pronounced it “Smith” because he said that his father’s preference for “Fanshaw” left people confused.
Researchers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority found over 200 dead crows near greater Boston recently, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu. A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and, to everyone’s relief, confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu. The cause of death appeared to be vehicular impacts.
However, during the detailed analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird’s beaks and claws. By analyzing these paint residues it was determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, while only 2% were killed by an impact with a car.
MTA then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills.
The Ornithological Behaviorist very quickly concluded the cause: when crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger.
The scientific conclusion was that while all the lookout crows could say “Cah”, none could say “Truck.”
Frazz18 hrs · I was fortunate enough to grow up left-handed after the era where they saw that as a problem too be corrected. But when I couldn’t pronounce an R properly, well, I guess that was still a problem. A problem I somehow thought could be corrected contorting my face, as if the right way to pronounce an R was located at an address on the lower left corner of my chin, and if I could just stretch my lower lip far enough in that direction I might be able to grab it. I might look like I’d had a stroke at age 5, but I’d sound “normal.” If it had worked, which it didn’t. Nor, I think, did the grown-ups’ idea was to pull me out of class once a week for speech therapy. That just served mostly to confirm the rest of the class’s suspicions that I didn’t just sound different, but in fact wrong. I didn’t mind the therapy so much — indeed, the therapist was a family friend whom I adored — but I didn’t like the stigma.
I honestly can’t tell you when the mispronunciations and facial contortions stopped. Or how. I think I just figured it out. One day it simply dawned on me that I hadn’t had a problem for a while, kind of like when you realize you’ve gotten over the hiccups. You don’t know when it happened, you just know THAT it happened.
Did it ruin my life? Apparently not. Did it scar me a little? I can’t say if this is a yes or a no, but I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed harder than I did during that one scene in Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian.” And you know exactwy which scene.
I was disappointed to find no responses from Southies. Living an hour west of Pittsfield, I was hoping to be enlightened about Frazz’s reference, but all I see are comments from historical linguistics specialists.
USAGENote that February is spelled with an r following the Feb-. Precise speakers insist that the r should be pronounced, but this is not easy, and most people replace the r following Feb- with a y sound: Feb-yoo- rather than Feb-roo-. This is now becoming the accepted standard.
Concretionist almost 4 years ago
Reminds me of a fine old joke. Someone asks JFK: “How do you get to the White House?”
“You go to Hahvahd, and turn ever so slightly left.”
pschearer Premium Member almost 4 years ago
We need that R in FebRuary. It’s an excuse to eat twice as many oysters.
From the Amer. Herit. Dict. 4th Ed.:
Usage Note: Although the variant pronunciation (fĕb"yoo-ĕr′ē) is often censured because it doesn’t reflect the spelling of the word, it is quite common in educated speech and is generally considered acceptable.
I’ll accept it when they accept “libary” for “library”.
sandpiper almost 4 years ago
S o-o-o-o-o folks who rely on idioms are . . . ??
ajr58(1) almost 4 years ago
Banjo Gordy Premium Member almost 4 years ago
Love the New England accent. Had a roommate from Noath Maine when at RISD in 1957. Hard to understand.
pshapley Premium Member almost 4 years ago
I bet Frazz really loves Wednesdays in February
rugeirn almost 4 years ago
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/58773/15-words-plagued-unusual-silent-letters
StratmanRon almost 4 years ago
I love “south Boston” accents. They’re HILARIOUS!
garcoa almost 4 years ago
and make sure you roll the ‘r’ to make sure everyone hears it clearly
MS72 almost 4 years ago
Today, we sadly wait for baseball season to actually begin. This likely would have been “Truck Day”. The Red Sox truck would leave Fenway and head to spring training in Florida.
We Will Wait.
Richard S Russell Premium Member almost 4 years ago
I recall the tale of an English chap named Featheringstonehaugh who pronounced it “Smith” because he said that his father’s preference for “Fanshaw” left people confused.
Kendall BoomSmith almost 4 years ago
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/february
The Brooklyn Accent Premium Member almost 4 years ago
After seeing the number of beer commercials in a Super Bowl broadcast one year, I started pronouncing it “Feb-brewery.”
Scott S almost 4 years ago
How does he feel about “nu-cu-lar?”
Or Kansas & Arkansas?
Stephen Gilberg almost 4 years ago
I stick with pronouncing the first R. I’m pretty sure they don’t skip it in other languages’ cognates, like “febrero” and “fevrier.”
braindead Premium Member almost 4 years ago
Researchers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority found over 200 dead crows near greater Boston recently, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu. A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and, to everyone’s relief, confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu. The cause of death appeared to be vehicular impacts.
However, during the detailed analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird’s beaks and claws. By analyzing these paint residues it was determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, while only 2% were killed by an impact with a car.
MTA then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills.
The Ornithological Behaviorist very quickly concluded the cause: when crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger.
The scientific conclusion was that while all the lookout crows could say “Cah”, none could say “Truck.”
Nick Danger almost 4 years ago
It’s not gratuitous, it comes from the origin of the name -
https://www.etymonline.com/word/February
tinstar almost 4 years ago
How’s about “goverment?”
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] almost 4 years ago
Frazz18 hrs · I was fortunate enough to grow up left-handed after the era where they saw that as a problem too be corrected. But when I couldn’t pronounce an R properly, well, I guess that was still a problem. A problem I somehow thought could be corrected contorting my face, as if the right way to pronounce an R was located at an address on the lower left corner of my chin, and if I could just stretch my lower lip far enough in that direction I might be able to grab it. I might look like I’d had a stroke at age 5, but I’d sound “normal.” If it had worked, which it didn’t. Nor, I think, did the grown-ups’ idea was to pull me out of class once a week for speech therapy. That just served mostly to confirm the rest of the class’s suspicions that I didn’t just sound different, but in fact wrong. I didn’t mind the therapy so much — indeed, the therapist was a family friend whom I adored — but I didn’t like the stigma.
I honestly can’t tell you when the mispronunciations and facial contortions stopped. Or how. I think I just figured it out. One day it simply dawned on me that I hadn’t had a problem for a while, kind of like when you realize you’ve gotten over the hiccups. You don’t know when it happened, you just know THAT it happened.
Did it ruin my life? Apparently not. Did it scar me a little? I can’t say if this is a yes or a no, but I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed harder than I did during that one scene in Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian.” And you know exactwy which scene.
harebell almost 4 years ago
I was disappointed to find no responses from Southies. Living an hour west of Pittsfield, I was hoping to be enlightened about Frazz’s reference, but all I see are comments from historical linguistics specialists.
billdaviswords almost 4 years ago
Feb·ru·ar·y | ˈfeb(y)o͞oˌerē, ˈfebro͞oˌerē |
USAGENote that February is spelled with an r following the Feb-. Precise speakers insist that the r should be pronounced, but this is not easy, and most people replace the r following Feb- with a y sound: Feb-yoo- rather than Feb-roo-. This is now becoming the accepted standard.