autonoma

[Laurence Urdang]

I have watched scores of programs on the History Channel, and most of them are quite good.  However, many suffer from the flaw of incorrect (yeah, I know) pronunciation and, in a few cases, use of the wrong word.  I used to send them emails saying, in effect, "You seem to make a substantial effort to ensure the accuracy of the material you present, and you might consider submitting your copy and the presenter's pronunciation to review before you publish, in order to avoid what would be embarrassing goofs if only you were aware of them."  They have never responded and continue to produce programs that have substance but flawed presentation. I am sure that if they read my emails, their response would be, "Whatever!"
  L. Urdang

Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Jonathan Lighter
Subject: autonoma
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That seems to be a synonym for "automata" as pronounced by the narrator of "Ancient Robots" on The History Channel:

"One of the most complex water-driven autonoma."

awtoNOmuh.

I replayed the show and that's exactly what he says.

JL


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