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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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Joined: Feb 2002
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old hand
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OP
old hand
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833 |
Or coo-tie pie
Now I love you too, Faldage. Will AnnaS share?! (didn't make me cry but did make me laugh out loud!) (which reminds me of another question....)
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Joined: Oct 2002
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newbie
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newbie
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346 |
Or coo-tie pie
Very coute.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
In Michigan, I hear both pronunciations with about equal frequency, and I use both. I've attempted to discern whether there is a pattern to when I use one or the other, but it seems to be random.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
I say q-pon because my mom said it that way. I never thought it had anything to do with the letter q though. Maybe it's the glide-vs-no-glide thing which happens with a long u such as:
Toos-day/Tyoos-day (Tuesday)
Du-tee/Dyoo-tee (Duty)
Stoo-pid/Styoo-pid (stupid)
Nooz/Nyooz (news)
Lood/Lyood (lewd)
...except that the glide-no-glide usage follows some sort of East/West side of the Atlantic pattern, and this doesn't seem to. Now I have a question about this: it can happen with long u after N, D, T, L... Has anyone else seen this split with any other word following a K sound (a hard c or a k)? I can't think of any. (It doesn't have to be at the start, necessarily.) Fr'example, does anyone say jocular as jok-oo-lar or do we all say jok-yoo-lar?
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
since when is "cou" ever pronounced "q"?"Coupon" comes from L. colaphus, meaning a blow with a fist -> LL colpus -> OF colp -> F coup, leading to couper, meaning to divide with a blow or stroke -> coupon, meaning a portion which is cut off -> English. Coupon was first recorded in English as meaning a detachable certificate in 1822. The English word was originally pronounced "koo pon". The variant pronunciation of "kyoo pon" developed in American English, and according to The American Heritage Dictionary, was perhaps through association with words such as cube, cupid, and cute, and both pronunciations are acceptable. Here's a pretty picture of the sound generated by coopon and cyupon: http://www.asel.udel.edu/icslp/cdrom/vol1/683/a683.pdfAnd a place to put in your two cents regarding variably pronounced words: http://hyde.park.uga.edu/survey.htmlOther words which I am used to hearing variably pronounced: roof, data, route.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
through association with words such as cube, cupid, and cute
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. There's no etymological reason for the pronunciation with the -yoo- sound but people usually learn to speak before they learn etymology (or spelling)! And it fits the cube, cute pattern in that sense.
and both pronunciations are acceptable
I know we've talked about this before but you gotta wonder who decides acceptable and how.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
The acceptability of usages is per usage panels assembled by the dictionaries. You can find the composition of the panel in the front of whatever dictionary you are using; the panels are typically composed of a selection of editors, linguists, writers and such.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
I was wondering just how popular a pronunciation or spelling must be before it makes it into the dictionary. Browsing Quinion's page this morning I found a sort-of answer: If enough English speakers decide that some word or phrase has value, to the extent that those who encounter it are likely to need to consult the dictionary in search of its meaning, then it is put into new editions. (Emphasis mine) Found at: http://www.quinion.com/words/articles/howdowords.htmSo that's the vaguely-defined threshold, in case anyone besides me was curious.
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