ADS-L Digest - 27 Jan 2008 to 28 Jan 2008 (#2008-29) "WHICH HUNT"

[Geraldine Hizer]

In a message dated 1/28/2008 11:05:04 P.M. Central Standard Time,
LISTSERV at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU writes:

Date:         Sun, 27 Jan 2008  23:50:26
To:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject:      Re:  [ADS-L] puns (e.g., WHICH vs. WITCH et al.)


I could tell that  Chicago *Which* Hunt was an attempt at a pun or
something approaching a  pun, but, for me, it was no pun. It wasn't
until I discovered that, as that  guy in the Army had tried to point
out to me, there *are* people who don't  pronounce the "h" in words
that begin with "wh." Hence for those people,  the title was a perfect
pun.

For me, there was also the problem that  "which" is a relative, whereas
"witch" is a noun. I would gotten "The Trill  Is Gone" v. "The Thrill
Is Gone" immediately, especially since I've been  familiar with the
blues song by "Master B.B.," as we called him in Saint  Louis, since
its release. And I recall "author-title" puns like "Under  The
Grandstand" by Seymour Hairyass and "jones" like, "He wear  Seymours:
see more feet than you do shoes" and "He wear Dunlops: heels  worn
down, done lopped over."

The person who tried to deconstruct  "Chicago Which Hunt" for me, Joan
Maling, was surprised by my preservation  of the /hw/, at least as
surprised as I was to learn that there really were  normal people for
whom initial /hw/ and /w/ fell together as  /w/.

Hm. I wonder whether there are still people who are annoyed by  those
of us for whom /E[nasal]/ and /I[nasal/ have fallen together  as
/I[nasaal]/? There were when I was a child. Or those who break  /aen/
(Ann) into [i at n], as is common in the Boston  area?

-Wilson




I love puns! and the first thing I tho't on reading about it here was,
"Clever..."
I do make a distinction in pronouncing the two words, however. The  'hw' most
certainly should be enunciated, I feel, here in STL or elsewhere. One  sort
of breathes the sound - as in whether/weather.
But it's a clever pun, allowing for artist's license taken. Or whatever
license was taken.
GH



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