Cycling UK Forum

Audax67 wrote:

reohn2 wrote:What I find annoying is someone saing "drawring" when it's "drawing".
We had it all through the TV and radio news last night when they were reporting on the Leonardo da Vinchi exibitions up and down the country.

There are lots of explanations for this on line but they're all full of big words such as epenthetic* - and most of them explain pronunciation in terms of their own dialect, which is usually not mine.

* don't worry, I looked it up.

I feel much better for knowing that

Say this poem. This sorts out the flat vowel speakers amongst us.


Father's car is a Jaguar, and it can go very fast.
Castles and farms and draughty barns, we go charging past.
Arthur's cart is far less smart, and can't go half as fast,
But I'd rather ride on Arthur's cart than my pa-pa's fast car!


Fast is pronounced FAST, not FARST
Past isn't PARST, and castles isn't CARSTLES
Draughty is pronounced DRAFTY.
Jaguar is pronounced JAG-U-ERR.

Mick F wrote:Say this poem. This sorts out the flat vowel speakers amongst us.


Father's car is a Jaguar, and it can go very fast.
Castles and farms and draughty barns, we go charging past.
Arthur's cart is far less smart, and can't go half as fast,
But I'd rather ride on Arthur's cart than my pa-pa's fast car!


Fast is pronounced FAST, not FARST
Past isn't PARST, and castles isn't CARSTLES
Draughty is pronounced DRAFTY.
Jaguar is pronounced JAG-U-ERR.

You could substitute Arthur's bi-cycle for Arthur's cart and it would make even more sense.

Does anyone else find the word 'sabbatical' ridiculously pretentious? In Scotland we call it a 'brek', as in 'tak a brek'...

"The Rhine in spine falls minely on the pline..."

661-Pete wrote:"The Rhine in spine falls minely on the pline..."

Not a Brummie, then? Or perhaps a reformed Brummie?

Ray wrote:

661-Pete wrote:"The Rhine in spine falls minely on the pline..."

Not a Brummie, then? Or perhaps a reformed Brummie?

I wouldn't know - not very good on accents. Was simply quoting.

What's a pline?

Mick F wrote:What's a pline?

Area of flat land not common in Cornwall.

Mick F wrote:Say this poem. This sorts out the flat vowel speakers amongst us.


Father's car is a Jaguar, and it can go very fast.
Castles and farms and draughty barns, we go charging past.
Arthur's cart is far less smart, and can't go half as fast,
But I'd rather ride on Arthur's cart than my pa-pa's fast car!


Fast is pronounced FAST, not FARST
Past isn't PARST, and castles isn't CARSTLES
Draughty is pronounced DRAFTY.
Jaguar is pronounced JAG-U-ERR.

Your pronunciation example is one of accent your 'farst' isn't 'farst' at all but faast pronounced with the same pronunciation as the letter 'a' when said on it's own and not as pronounced in the word apple with the flat vowal a.There's no r in it and I've never heard anyone pronounce it 'farst'
OTOH my example of pronouncing the word drawing as 'drawring' invents a letter where there is non and much to my annoyance hear it all the time on TV and radio as if it's the correct pronunciation.

One of my friends has a job which seems to consist entirely of attending meetings in far-flung exotic places. He once grumbled about having an early meeting in Lancaster, followed by a mid-afternoon meeting in DoncaRster. Hearing the two different pronunciations in the same sentence was a bit weird. Well, he was born and brought up in Biggleswade, so I suppose he has an excuse.

Guy951 wrote:One of my friends has a job which seems to consist entirely of attending meetings in far-flung exotic places. He once grumbled about having an early meeting in Lancaster, followed by a mid-afternoon meeting in DoncaRster. Hearing the two different pronunciations in the same sentence was a bit weird. Well, he was born and brought up in Biggleswade, so I suppose he has an excuse.

I think part of the difference is that whereas the second syllable of Lancaster is completely unstressed, in Doncaster it retains a small secondary stress.

Just a quick observation that use of the plural in There is, There are is dying out fast. Here are two extracts from the Guardian today, the first from a Guardian staff member and the second AIUI from Jeremy Corbyn:

May is in her constituncy today, and will be at the Chequers country retreat at the weekend. At the moment there is no plans for visitors – and her spokesman said Jeremy Corbyn was not expected to come

The government claims there is more people in work than ever.

horizon wrote:Just a quick observation that use of the plural in There is, There are is dying out fast.

You may be right; can't say I'd noticed that in particular. I would have just put it down to sloppy use of English - which is indeed widespread.

I'm not sure that either the Grauniad or Jeremy Corbyn are representative examples of the current state of English usage - good or bad.

I'd go with sloppy usage - people are either confused from being thrust into contact with the illiterate on the Internet, or just don't care any more. Maybe using correct grammar is something to be avoided these days - too elitist. "Oooo, get him, using the subjunctive! He'll be calling himself one next."

Something I have noticed is an increase in the use of incorrect prepositions. Today I saw a headline, either in the Graun or Nature, about a fund being "used from" instead of "used by". Once you start noticing, there are many other instances, everywhere.