Pronunciation of bout

Brad Little

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Wonder if this is usually pronounced like a boxing bout or with the French "boo" sound.
 

fronobulax

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I say boxing bout. But the people who insist on saying "aboot" when they mean "about" also talk about the boot of a guitar which leads to jokes about footwear or storage (think the boot of a car in the "other" English).
 

adorshki

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A "bout" as in a boxing match and a "bout" as in the curve of an instrument have different etymological origins even though (nowadays) they're spelled and pronounced the same.
 

richardp69

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A "bout" as in a boxing match and a "bout" as in the curve of an instrument have different etymological origins even though (nowadays) they're spelled and pronounced the same.

"Etymological"????? I'm afraid you continue to confuse this poor backwoods, redneck guy.
 

chazmo

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That's a good point Al's making. Different etymologies could warrant different pronunciations. That said, boxing bout and a guitar's lower bout are pronounced the same in my neck of the woods. Then again, if you want to hear some weird accents, just travel around New England a bit. My ex-wife grew up in a nearby town that, unlike the rest of Massachusetts, adds "r"s rather than subtracts them. The word "father" is pronounced "farther." I am not joking.
 

adorshki

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Study of bugs?

No wait, that's not it.

The study of words and their origins.

Pertaining to the study of words and their origins.
:friendly_wink:
But talk of guitar bouts reminds me of another of my favorite grammatical errors in so many on-line ads:
"fret ware".
Nope, the correct word is another one of those homographic homonym* pairs that have different origins even thought it's now spelt and pronounced the same: wear.
*Yeah I said that. Deal with it.


That's a good point Al's making. Different etymologies could warrant different pronunciations. That said, boxing bout and a guitar's lower bout are pronounced the same in my neck of the woods. Then again, if you want to hear some weird accents, just travel around New England a bit. My ex-wife grew up in a nearby town that, unlike the rest of Massachusetts, adds "r"s rather than subtracts them. The word "father" is pronounced "farther." I am not joking.
OK: I believe the real source of the "oot" pronunciation for "out" is Scottish (not Scotch, that's Uisghe); anybody remember the old stereotypical Scottish accent coming from an old guy in a kilt who says he's been "oot and aboot" ?
Reminds me of that song, What's it all Aboot, Alfie? :witless:
Joe
It's "What's That On Your Boot, Alfie?"
I also remember a show from years back exploring where the southern accent descended from and it was attributed to early Scots in the Appalachians; the exemplary phrase was "I'm gooin' up the maountain to pick some flahers".
(Why do you think moonshining in Appalachia was a well-established tradition long before the advent of the temperance movement and prohibition?)
But suspect the pronunciation "father" with an "r" has roots in London's east end.
Just to make sure there wasn't a connection I looked up the etymology of "fart" since it's sometimes synonymous with "codger", but no, no relation to "vater" ....
Not sure where Andy and Opie got "Aint Bee", though.
129196-004-7F2E1BD2.jpg

And if Mayberry had been spelled Maybury would they have pronounced it Mayberry or Mayburry??
PS shouldn't this thread be in the "Semantics" thread?
Mods?
Anybody?
:tranquillity:
 
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12 string

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Reminds me of Jean Redpath singing "O the broon coo has gotten oot and eaten all the corn."
 
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