Poor pronunciation

[jdub]

Re: Poor pronunciation

i've always been tickled by the way local folks add an "s" onto everything:

"so what, you like go costcos? rock za's? femme nu's? L&L's?"

"bartendah, can get one heinekens?"

[Pomai]

Re: Poor pronunciation

What about naturalized U.S. citizens (formerly immigrants) who've lived here almost their ENTIRE LIFE who still can't, or refuse to make an effort to pronounce ENGLISH properly?

That's like living in Japan for 10 years and still saying, "AIR'EE'GAH-TOE GOW'ZAY-MAS'SU"? lol

Then again, doesn't President Bush still say, "NOO'KEE'LUR" and "TERRST"?

[Pomai]

Re: Poor pronunciation

i've always been tickled by the way local folks add an "s" onto everything:

"so what, you like go costcos? rock za's? femme nu's? L&L's?"

"bartendah, can get one heinekens?"

LOL!

What about surfer style "half-the-word" abbreviations:

"Brah, rights was mean!". (right breaking wave)
"Whoah, Points was going off! (Point Panic)
"So what? Bowls?" (Ala Moana Bowls)
"Wheah you like grind, Jack's'? (Jack in the Box)
"Wheah you like grind, Zips"? (Zippy's)
"Whoah dat was unz" (uncool)
"We go cruise Waiks!" (Waikiki)

[MadAzza]

Re: Poor pronunciation

i've always been tickled by the way local folks add an "s" onto everything:

"so what, you like go costcos? rock za's? femme nu's? L&L's?"

"bartendah, can get one heinekens?"

Another localism: In words ending with "ct," only the "c" sound is pronounced.

For example, "impact," a word that should never be used as a noun in the first place (pet peeve), becomes "impack." Newscasters and politicians are the worst offenders.

Family confession: My mom moved here about eight years ago, after Dad died. The first time I heard her say "Ewa," I just about fell off the sofa laughing. "Eeee-waaah."

Bless her heart, she's a Cherokee/Scot from Georgia who grew up in Oklahoma and Florida before marrying a Swede and moving to the Pacific Northwest, so I guess she has a lot of her own "local" influences battling one another. And now she knows how to pronounce Ewa. But sometimes she says it the wrong way just to make me laugh.

[Lalalinder]

Re: Poor pronunciation

It drives me nuts when i hear "a-tha-leet" for athlete and "heighth" for height. You don't say "weighth" do you?

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Poor pronunciation

Speaking of mispronoucing
why do a lot of locals say, Kaneohee not Kaneohe? It always cracks me up....I actually heard this on a Hawaiian Kapena CD once.

...and Kelly Boy even lives there...

[Rickyrab]

Re: Poor pronunciation

Soaw! Haow's the boiys in Hoi-woi-ee? (attempting an old Brooklyn/ Noo Yawk accent here, which is tough cuz I never properly had a Brooklyn accent, and intending to say "so! how's the boys in Hawaii?")

When I was growing up, Hawaii to me was Hah-wah-ee.... nowadays the glottal stop has come in: Hahvah'ee or Hawa'ee, something like that. (Although, since I've heard of Havaiki, I've been tempted towards Hava'ee...)

To me:
Kilauea = Kill-awayah
Mauna Loa = Mawnah Lowah or Ma-unah Lowah
Oahu = Owahoo
Honolulu = Hahnohlooloo
Waikiki = Why-ki-ki
Lanai = Lan-ay, but I've heard of the glottal stop and now think a bit of "Lanah'ee".
tiki = tih-ki.
Loihi = low-ee-hee
And, yeah, admittedly, muumuu = moo-moo, lol.

And how are they supposed to be pronounced?

[Rickyrab]

Re: Poor pronunciation

Another localism: In words ending with "ct," only the "c" sound is pronounced.

Me: Look at the duck crossing the bridge!
Nudnik: Vhy a duck?
Me: Yeah, it's on the viaduct.
Nudnik: Yeah, but vhy a duck?

(/bad joke)

[Mokihana]

Re: Poor pronunciation


One of the other ones much mispronounced is Waikīkī. Before the emphasis on correct pronunciation, all locals I knew pronounced it Waikikī. Unless you were a tourist... then it was usually Wackykee.

[MadAzza]

Re: Poor pronunciation

It drives me nuts when i hear "a-tha-leet" for athlete and "heighth" for height. You don't say "weighth" do you?

"Weighth for me, Heinth, I'm trying to cat-thup!"

[Pomai]

U' Lee or not to Li. That is the question.

My GF bought a pair of Uli Uli implements for a Hula Dancing job a while back.

She showed an aunt who was visiting, "Aunty, check out the new Uli Uli I just bought from the Hula Supply Store."

Aunty was casually offended in how GF pronounced it and corrected her.

GF pronouced Uli Uli "OOH'LI-OOH'LI" (connectively quick)

According to aunty, it's supposed to be pronounced, "OOH'LEE OOH'LEE" (quick "ooh, extended "lee")

Aunty claimed the way GF pronounced it is a bad word for a man's "you-know-what" things that produce swimming tadpoles.

Seriously, anyone know if there's a truth to that? Looking upon my Hawaiian dictionary, it mentions Uli Uli being a hula implement, but nothin' mentioned about it also meaning a man's "huli huli's".

[kamuelakea]

Re: Poor pronunciation

You know what i love about Hawaii residents today.

They spend so much energy on the proper pronuciation, enunciation, diction and syntax of Hawaiian and Japanese.

Meanwhile, they butcher English and are proud of it.

I'm all for speaking all languages "properly" whatever that is, but the hypocrisy is humorous.

Did I say that correctly?

[kimo55]

Re: Poor pronunciation

enunciate,

when a sister sees another sister at da convent have dinner.




diction

what a lesbian does.


syntax

extra payment on cigs and likker.
of course.