POLL: pronunciation of forehead

[bort]

Perhaps even more annoying than regional accents is people trying to replicate them. I cringe when I hear "lawn guyland," but cringe even more when I hear people without that accent trying to mimic it, like it's so clever.

Anyway, my point is still: If you ain't gonna talk good, you'd better write good.

[The Jackson]

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1yWtFVH-tU

[Mike Finn]

Perhaps even more annoying than regional accents is people trying to replicate them. I cringe when I hear "lawn guyland," but cringe even more when I hear people without that accent trying to mimic it, like it's so clever.

So, having resided in the Crescent City for less than a year, is it more appropriate for me to pronounce it "nu-or-LEENS" or "n'AWlins"? I usually split the difference and just say "nuWORlins".

As an aside, I moved from Vermont to Pennsylvania the summer before my fourth grade year, and was surprised at how differently the locals spoke. "You'se guys" is probably still my favorite, but most shocking was my friends' proclivity for addressing me by my last name only, rather than my first. One of them actually asked my Dad, on the phone, "Can Finn come over to play football?" Boy did he (the friend) get an earful!

[bort]

Hey Mike... I was thinking more of when people are trying to sound clever and mimic an accent for effect. Moving somewhere and trying to fit in is different from what I meant. I'm sure, more than a lot of places, NO requires at least some effort to pronounce it "correctly."

Like I have any room to talk, being from Baltimore. We say our long O's silly (like "eau"). I notice it a lot more since I've moved away, and I'm able to turn it on and off pretty well now. One of those things that, to a lot of people in a different location, just doesn't sound "smart."

[Donn]

"You'se guys" is probably still my favorite

Do they really say that? I mean, I thought "youse" (or "yez") was already plural, so an alternative to the more standard but unfortunate "you guys". It would be even worse than "all y'all".

In my youth, my male peers usually addressed each other by last name. It has been a long time, but I'm sure at least a few of the teachers did too - I mean, not "Mr. Chinaski", just "Chinaski".

[Carroll]

y'all - singular
all y'all - plural

or this far East "yu'ns" - (you ones)

[TMurphy]

Being a New Jersey native, the most disturbing part of watching The Sopranos on HBO was not the violence...it was how painfully accurate the accents and speech patterns were.

Bort, some of my college friends were from South Jersey, which has a very similar accent to Baltimore (Eau-cean, wudder, crick, etc.). They used to get lightly teased for it, until they met my very North Jersey parents, who love their morning cup of "Cawfee." I had never noticed how heavy their accents were until I was away for college a bit....how I avoided it, I don't know.

[Donn]

y'all - singular
all y'all - plural

or this far East "yu'ns" - (you ones)

I think that's the same word as "youse", "yez". Not that I would know. I can think of only one person I've heard say either. The "yez" guy had something like a mild NJ accent the way I remember, the "y'uns" guy was from western Pennsylvania and had a strong hillbilly accent.

I hope bloke is joking about "y'all." Talk about degeneracy.

[Mike Finn]

I hope bloke is joking about "y'all." Talk about degeneracy.

He's not joking. Works the same with "you'se" and "you'se guys". When I moved down South (although Va Beach is not The South) I started jokingly saying "you'se all" but it started to stick, and I had to make a concerted effort to quit.

[Donn]

I know there are places in the south where "y'all" is plural, as I have been there. That was Texas - Houston, Austin - but it's the south or they wouldn't be saying "y'all" in the first place.

The funny thing is, historically "you" is already the plural of "thou", and English isn't the only European language where the natural second person singular is little used, and plural is used instead. Some use it with friends and family, others like us have recognized that friends and family don't deserve any special words and essentially dropped it (I think few Portuguese speakers can correctly conjugate verbs with it, same as English.) I bet not one modern European language still makes use of its equivalent of "thou" to routinely distinguish between plural and singular, even though not one of them has any trouble making the same distinction with 1st* and 3rd persons.

Why? You can infer number by context, so the ambiguity isn't a big problem, but it's obviously a gap, or we wouldn't have "y'all" etc. Apparently we just don't like to single out one person? Find the people who have taken to addressing one person as "y'all", and make them explain themselves.

* Though I suppose none support the distinction between "we, including you" and "we, not including you", that I believe exists in Chinese.

[jamsav]

for= hed , BS, MBA 52 yars old ...and I grew up in the NYC suburbs and i had friends who ate " SANGITCHES " for lunch....

[Stefan]

An odd question - not the pronunciation, but the age and level of education. Lets see, I am in the minority because I have always said FAR-head.

I am 39 and have earned a masters degree. How does that matter? I was probably saying it that way since I first learned how to say the word.

Stefan

[Arkietuba]

You left fo'head off of the possible choices...

Where I grew up, in North Little Rock (specifically the Rose City/Argenta area) that is the most used version of "forehead"...as much as I try not to, I catch myself saying it.

[bort]

Speaking of accents, check out the new YouTube sensation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXvZeJSUDPM" target="_blank

[tubatooter1940]

Speaking of accents, check out the new YouTube sensation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXvZeJSUDPM" target="_blank" target="_blank

I question the sense of taste of the "intruder".

I have a more midwest accent but I love to hear local Alabamians say "Foe haid".
toots

[TMurphy]

Most today will pronounce the silent "f" in "off-ten", just as they will pronounce the silent "h" in "four-haid"

Ok....I am confused here, and want to clarify....did you mean a silent "T" in often (pronounced off-en), which is what you indicating by bolding the letter "T", or did you mean a silent "F" (pronounced au-ten??), which is what you actually wrote. I assume you meant the former (which is how I say it), because the latter just seems....weird. If that makes me under-educated and illiterate, so be it.

[bort]

I used to work with a woman who called it an "ink pen" and a "lead pencil." In perfect Baltimorese, it was more like "ink pey-un" and "led punsil."

[Carroll]

I guess since I have commented I should play along with the "poll". I say four-hed, I am 49 and hold postgraduate degrees.

[Carroll]

I used to work with a woman who called it an "ink pen" and a "lead pencil." In perfect Baltimorese, it was more like "ink pey-un" and "led punsil."

Did she use a "hot water heater" and eat "tuna fish"?