"Authentic pronunciation" (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Hmmmm. It makes sense when you put it that way.

JL

On Tue, Oct 5, 2010 at 8:31 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "Authentic pronunciation" (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 5:49 PM -0400 10/5/10, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >For a number of years, the preferred media pronunciation on both Fox and
> CNN
> >seems to have been "Ont."
> >
> >One of those things I notice. I can't even tell you the last time I heard
> >one of a leading telejournalists say "ant."
> >
> >As it was explained to me by a know-it-all some thirty-five years ago,
> "Ant"
> >is "insulting because an ant is an insect and an Ont isn't."
> >
> >I couldn't argue with that logic. (Actually I could have but didn't want
> >to be bothered.)
> >
> Yeah, makes as much sense as insisting that "two" be pronounced /two/
> because "to" is a preposition, and "too" is an adverb, and "two"
> isn't.
>
> LH
>
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