6 Apr 2011

And Then, Another New Name….

I posted a while back regarding our news readers attempts to sound smarter than wot they consider we are by pronouncing place names differently to their spelling. Stick an ‘r’ in so it pronounces posh. Pakistan becomes Pakistarn, Afghanistan to Afganistarn and similar.

Here we are with a new conflict and a new rush to be ‘smartest’ with its pronunciation.

This new one is a place wot I went to a couple or four times back in the day when I worked on mans boats and, trust me on this, all of us sailor men on mans boat, and all the folk living in this place that we met, pronounced the place Abijan.

Okay, the place has a wasted ‘d’ in there, thus Abidjan. Yes, he be a silent ‘d’. Why bother putting him in if your not going to say him, I here you ask. May I suggest you ask someone else ‘couse I don’t have a clue.

Anyhoo, do you get it news folk? Silent ‘d’, take him out and you have Abijan. Before – Abidjan; After – Abijan. The dropping of ol’ Mr. D doesn’t mystically turn it into Abarjuan or Aibejeuane, it’s Abijan just like I remember the Abijanonianees pronouncing it. Got it? No? Never mind…..

Quote; Andrew Jackson.

“It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word.”

No comments: