thy thigh etc.

[Larry Trask]

--On Tuesday, June 5, 2001 7:49 am -0700 Sam Martin <semartin at pacifier.com>
wrote:

> Larry Trask mentions the revival of the properly buried "albeit". He may
> be amused that I have heard this resurrected word pronounced as if it were
> German, riming with "Arbeit".

Not so much amused as flabbergasted.  However, I guess I shouldn't be
surprised.  This word must have been resurrected via reading, and I guess
it's not unusual for a reader who is eager to collect fancy-looking words
to see this as [indigestible glob], and to assign a pronunciation
accordingly.

I once came across a woman who had learned the word 'misled' through
reading, and who pronounced it like 'mild', blissfully unaware that it had
anything to do with 'mislead'.  Honest.

> He also mentions the proliferating use of -wise. This is a productive
> bound particle, rather than a derivative suffix. Sentence-wise it can go
> anywhere, syntax-wise. Usage-wise, I have collected some delightful
> examples, wise-wise. Notice that "street-wise" can have two different
> meanings: "street-wise youngsters" has the derivative suffix, but
> "Street-wise, this city is a mess!" has the particle. The meaning of the
> particle is very similar to that of the Japanese particle of backgrounding
> focus wa "as for, when it comes to". As a particle the -wise can attach to
> a plural, and I could have substituted "Streets-wise" for "Street-wise" in
> the example above. Like Japanese multiple-wa phrases, the
> particle can occur two or three (or more?) times in a single sentence.
> Afterthought-wise, at least. Structure-wise the particle belongs with
> focus devices, I think.

Yes; on reflection, I think I must agree with this.  Many thanks for the
correction.

Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk

Tel: (01273)-678693 (from UK); +44-1273-678693 (from abroad)
Fax: (01273)-671320 (from UK); +44-1273-671320 (from abroad)