"folk" with an L

[Jonathan Lighter]

They had a great seacoast.

JL

On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "folk" with an L
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Quite right. I often forget it's the "Czech Republic", now. As for
> Bohemia being a country, I know that is before my time.
>
> Eric
>
> On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 11:09 AM, Charles Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: "folk" with an L
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > That is, from the country formerly known as "Bohemia"--formerly in the
> > country formerly known as "Czechoslovokia."
> >
> > --Charlie
> >
> >
> > ---- Original message ----
> > >Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:18:34 -0400
> > >From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> (on behalf of
> > Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak at GMAIL.COM
> >
> >)>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > >I believe the Polka (dance) is originally from Czechloslovakia--more
> > >specifically Bohemia. What's very strange is that it is, I think,
> > generally
> > >assumed to be Polish in origin.
> > >
> > >Two years ago, my young cousin, Magda, was visiting from Poland. People
> > were
> > >trying to impress her with their collections of Polka music, to which
> she
> > >replied, "That's not even Polish."
> > >
> > >Eric
> > >
> > >
> > >On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 6:38 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >> -----------------------
> > >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> > >> Subject:      Re: "folk" with an L
> > >>
> > >>
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>
> > >> FWIW, I've heard this cheer story for so long - ca. forty years - from
> > so
> > >> many different people from Norfolk that *I* believe it.
> > >>
> > >> OTOH, that there are Northern-white speakers who don't pronounce the
> "l"
> > in
> > >> the name of the dance is a real surprise!
> > >>
> > >> As for "polka-dot," I've never noticed anything special WRT the
> > >> pronunciation of it. It goes without out saying that the word "polka,"
> > for
> > >> all practical purposes, doesn't exist in BE. My wife points out that
> she
> > >> just recently bought a new, po[l]ka-dot nightgown. "Polka-dot" is so
> > rare
> > >> i=
> > >> n
> > >> my speech that I have no idea how it sounds unmonitored: po[l]ka-dot
> and
> > >> po[w]ka-dot both fall equally trippingly from the tongue.
> > >>
> > >> How can anyone tell what language "polka" is from, since the word is
> the
> > >> same in nearly every Slavic language? Historical dancistics, I
> suppose.
> > ;-)
> > >>
> > >> -Wilson
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >
> > >------------------------------------------------------------
> > >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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