"Fung guy"

[Tom Zurinskas]

> But nearly nobody takes Latin anymore in school,

How about that.  And it used to be mandatory for college prep in high school.  So what changed?  Kids must be more interested in real languages.

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL5+
see truespel.com



----------------------------------------
> Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:35:26 -0400
> From: jharbeck at SYMPATICO.CA
> Subject: Re: "Fung guy"
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: James Harbeck
> Subject: Re: "Fung guy"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm used to hearing "fung guy" and not used to hearing "fun jye", and
> I'm inclined to believe the joke adverted to ("What did the mushroom
> say to his date? -- How d'you like going out with such a fun guy?"
> and variations) is quite responsible for it. I don't imagine the
> Italian (funghi) has any real effect, or people would be saying it
> "foong-gee". But I suspect -- though I'd need to actually try this on
> people -- that most people I know would react to "fun jye" as a
> mistake.
>
> But nearly nobody takes Latin anymore in school, either, and people
> seem in general to be pretty damn uncertain about all sorts of things
> about it. (At least those too young to have had concerted exposure to
> it.) Those who _do_ take it learn the classical pronunciation, too,
> which is "foong gee", just to muddy the waters.
>
> James Harbeck.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
_________________________________________________________________
Bing™ brings you maps, menus, and reviews organized in one place. Try it now.
http://www.bing.com/search?q=restaurants&form=MLOGEN&publ=WLHMTAG&crea=TXT_MLOGEN_Local_Local_Restaurants_1x1

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