''flourish'' and ''nourish''

Travis   Fri Sep 09, 2005 4:37 am GMT
I agree with Lazar that it is best if Schoonmaker is simply not mentioned from this point on, period. It's already clear that the guy is an idiot, and I don't think we need to substantiate such any further.
Kirk   Fri Sep 09, 2005 4:54 am GMT
<<I agree with Lazar that it is best if Schoonmaker is simply not mentioned from this point on, period. It's already clear that the guy is an idiot, and I don't think we need to substantiate such any further.>>

Yes, he really need not be brought up again. SpaceFlight, could you be so kind as to stop posting stuff of his? There are other ways to bring up conversations about different dialects than referring to Schoonmaker.
Uriel   Fri Sep 09, 2005 4:58 am GMT
As for "ont", I suggested that because "ant" is a homophone we can eliminate from a language filled to overflowing with homophones, and seems to those of us who say "ont" -- meaning a large proportion of the BEST-EDUCATED PEOPLE IN THE U.S. and almost everybody in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, etc.


Hmm. I've been calling my mother's sister a bug all my life -- I'm one of those "ant" people.

I guess I better send my college degree back, and ask for a refund .....(it'll be nice telling those student loan people to shove it, too)
Kirk   Fri Sep 09, 2005 5:08 am GMT
<<Hmm. I've been calling my mother's sister a bug all my life -- I'm one of those "ant" people.

I guess I better send my college degree back, and ask for a refund .....(it'll be nice telling those student loan people to shove it, too)>>

"Aunt" and "ant" are homophones for me, too :) That's actually an older pronunciation that has fallen out of favor in most UK dialects but survives in many North American ones. Anyway, I've never had cause for confusion despite the fact that I pronounce "aunt" and "ant" the same.
Travis   Fri Sep 09, 2005 5:24 am GMT
I too have been consistently calling my mom's sisters insects, and it hasn't caused any problems whatsoever. And as for Schoonmaker's comment about "best-educated people in the U.S.", he can go directly to hell for all I care.
Lazar   Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:07 am GMT
Don't let Schoony sour you on people who pronounce "aunt" as [Ant], though. I do - [Ant] is the most common pronunciation in New England. I have just as much reason to dislike his spelling, since "ont" to me looks like it should be [Qnt].
Travis   Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:14 am GMT
Actually, I myself interpreted "pronouncing 'aunt' like 'ant'" as meaning "pronouncing like 'aunt' and 'ant' like /{nt/" not "as /Ant/"; at least in my dialect, the pronunciations of "aunt" and "ant" are both /{nt/ -> [{~?].
Kirk   Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:54 am GMT
<<I have just as much reason to dislike his spelling, since "ont" to me looks like it should be [Qnt].>>

Well you just need to get over your obviously deformed and effing weird dialect which doesn't merge "father" and "bother" then!

;)

Sorry, just thought I'd throw in some Schoony-esque logic in there :)

As for "aunt" here, most people say it the same as "ant," but there is the occasional person here who says [Ant] for "aunt." However, it's relatively rare so when I hear it it sticks out to me as different. To hear it from someone from here sounds affected to me (I would expect it from someone from the East Coast), but I realize some people may have just grown up saying it that way for whatever reason.

I felt bad because one time last year I was talking with a girl from New Hampshire and she said "aunt" as [Ant] and for some reason in the flow of the conversation I actually didn't understand that what she said (I guess it wasn't clear from context) was "aunt." So I asked her to repeat and she just thought I was being an ass and making fun of her accent--so when it garnered that reaction I realized she'd meant "aunt."

Otherwise, there has usually been little chance for misunderstanding between either pronunciation of the word for me.
JHJ   Fri Sep 09, 2005 4:26 pm GMT
<<"Aunt" and "ant" are homophones for me, too :) That's actually an older pronunciation that has fallen out of favor in most UK dialects but survives in many North American ones. Anyway, I've never had cause for confusion despite the fact that I pronounce "aunt" and "ant" the same. >>

They're often the same in the UK too; I pronounce them the same, and I've never had any confusion either. I think most people in Britain will use the same vowel in "aunt" as in "bath", so short [a] (as in "cat") in northern England, long [A:] or [a:] (as in "father") in southern England, etc.
eito(jpn)   Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:56 pm GMT
Anyway, "ont"(for "aunt") looks desperately weerd. And now I have a question. Does spelling pronunciation of "aunt" sound strange to you? I hope this is not a silly question.