Eclectic replies.

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" <catlady at ...> 
wrote:
>
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister"
> <gbannister10@> wrote:
> >
> > Geoff:
> > Well, in my experience in the UK, the current year is either 
> > pronounced "two thousand and eight" or "twenty-oh-eight". I use the 
> > latter form. I very very rarely hear "two-oh-oh-eight."

Catlady: 
> I've occasionally heard twenty-oh-eight but I don't like the sound of
> it. I admit to saying two thousand and eight myself, but I still like
> the idea of the decade of the Oh-ohs.

Geoff:
Which rather goes against the kind of unofficial pattern. Take for 
example: eighteen-oh-seven, eighteen-fifty, eighteen-seventy-six 
or nineteen-oh-two, nineteen-sixty-four and then extrapolate these 
to get twenty-oh-six, twenty-twelve and twenty-forty-five.

The twenty-something pattern is well established - at least here in 
the UK with the twenty-twelve Olympics as an example. We just don't 
use the double-oh pattern.

Geoff (earlier):
> > You must have an odd accent. I can' t see how you get anything 
> > approaching an 'a' sound for any words you mention. I pronounce 
> > naught and nought as 'nort' a bit like 'north' without the 'h'. 
> > And 'knot' and 'not' are simple short 'o' sounds. Gnat would be
> > different because it's a short 'a'.

Catlady:
> Knot and not and cot and hot and what and Ma and Marie and Maria
> (twice) probably ARE simple short-o sounds, but the only way to write
> that without special characters is aah; oh is long-O; ooh is long-U.

> An 'awww' sound is not an 'a' sound.  A corvid's caw, naught, ought,
> cough, caught, thought, sauce, paw, thaw... You and I may be referring
> to the same sound, as I've gotten to used to  hearing radio
> interviewees with BBC accents pronouncing 'law' as if it were 'lore',
> and one of Rowling's made-up titles, 'Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts',
> seems to intend for 'sauce' and 'sort' to sound alike. 

Geoff: 
Sorry, but to me, 'aah' is a long 'a'. I agree that 'awww' is not an 'a' 
sound. It's the sound of a doting admirer begin soppy over a new 
baby or a small animal....

Geoff (again earlier):
> > I pronounce 'Mary' as 'Mairy' - the middle rhyming with 'air' (the  
> > stuff wot you breaves' as a Cockney might put it) so all your three 
> > have a different sound for me.

Catlady: 
> Mary, merry, mairy, airy, hairy, berry, very, vary ... all the same
> vowel to me. But marry has the same vowel as Harry and Barry and Larry.

Geoff:
...and also carry and tarry and parry. Your point being?

PS: I wish you'd attribute your comments with your name. When I'm 
halfway down a screen, I sometimes forget to whom I'm replying - 
nothing personal intended there - and have to scoot back to the 
top to remind myself. I've inserted them in this post for the benefit 
of anyone suitably barmy enough to read this post.
:-)