phonetic phumble

[Victoria Neufeldt]

This HAS to be a joke!

Victoria

Victoria Neufeldt
Merriam-Webster, Inc. P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102
Tel: 413-734-3134  ext 124
Fax: 413-827-7262

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
> Of Mike Calvert
> Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 7:11 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: phonetic phumble
>
>
> For your amusement and edification, I pass on yet more evidence that the
> road to hell is paved with good intentions.
> Best,
> Michael Calvert-fella
> Press Enterprise
> Bloomsburg, PA
>
>
> MIAMI (AP) — Federal officials hoping to inform Haitian residents in the
> Creole language about subsidized housing have delivered a pamphlet
> written in an imitation Jamaican dialect.
>
> It’s a tough read:
>
> “Yuh as a rezedent, ave di rights ahn di rispansabilities to elp mek yuh
> HUD-asisted owzing ah behta owme fi yuh ahn yuh fambily,” the pamphlet
> states.
>
> What the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was trying to
> say was: “You as a resident have the rights and the responsibilities to
> help make your HUD-assisted housing a better home for you and your
> family.”
>
> The pamphlet, titled “Rezedents Rights and Rispansabilities,” came to
> the attention of government officials after a citizen questioned its
> contents. It had been signed by HUD’s top executive, “Sekretary Andrew
> M. Cuomo fella.”
>
> The pamphlet was intended to inform residents in Section 8 HUD housing
> of their rights, responsibilities and the resources available from HUD.
> Translations were printed in nine languages and Braille.
>
> Haitian Creole, the national language of Haiti, is based on French,
> while Jamaicans read and write standard English. The presumed language
> of the HUD document is the spoken Jamaican dialect — translated
> phonetically.
>