buoy [boy] ~ [BOO-ee]

[Paul Johnston]

Go to Scotland, and it gets more confusing.  Because of the extra [^u] diphthong in Scots, it's quite frequently the equivalent to [BOW-ee].  At least David is.  I don't think they've heard much about Jim or his knife, unless they're old Western fans.

While we're at it, try pronouncing the name McKeown.  The American one I knew was the same as McEwan, complete with the schwa.  In Scotland, it was [m at kj^un] with the same diphthong described above.

My native form for buoy was BOY, but I changed it in young adulthood, except in the senses you mention, which are retained.

Paul Johnston
.  In Scotland On Mar 22, 2014, at 4:28 AM, W Brewer <brewerwa at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       W Brewer <brewerwa at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: buoy [boy] ~ [BOO-ee]
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> WB:  <Buoy>: My basic down-home citation form is  [BOO-ee], but fluctuate
> with lah-dee-dah [BOY]. However, my grandmother used <Lifebuoy> health
> soap; had a pungent disinfectant smell to it. <Life[BOY]>. Guess it was
> only for boys. Also the literary to <buoy up one's spirits> = [BOY].
> Howmsoever, just flashed on a childhood visit to <Bowie> MD: still
> pronounced [BOO-ee], acc. to Wikip. Which leads WB to <Bowie knife>, and
> Wikip lists both [BOWE-ee] and [BOO-ee]. I want to say [BOO-ee knife].
> Strangely, I have in my head the <Jim Bowie> TV jingle, in which I hear
> <Jim BOWE-ee>, but Youtube reality remembers it as:
> <<Jim [BOO-ee], Jim [BOO-ee], he was a bold, adventurin' man,
> <<J.B, J.B, battled for right with a powerful hand.
> <<His blade was tempered and so was he,
> <<Indestructible steel was he.
> <<J.B, J.B, he was a fighter, a fearless, and mighty adventurin' man.>>
> OTOH, <<Brit>> David Bowie, neither <<bold nor adventurin'>>, prescribes
> [BOWE-ee], as per Wikip.
> Dialect mixture before my very ears. More curiouser and more curiouser.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org