Buh-tocks (was Re: finite ...)

[Geoff Nathan]

I've never pronounced it any other way, and always thought the reduced vowel in the second syllable was a British affectation (I first heard it pronounced with a schwa in The Life of Brian--those who know the movie will recognize the context). Geoff Geoffrey S. Nathan Faculty Liaison, C&IT and Professor, Linguistics Program http://blogs.wayne.edu/proftech/ +1 (313) 577-1259 (C&IT) +1 (313) 577-8621 (English/Linguistics) ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Neal Whitman" <nwhitman at AMERITECH.NET>
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 11:33:26 AM
> Subject: Buh-tocks (was Re: finite ...)
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Neal Whitman <nwhitman at AMERITECH.NET>
> Subject: Buh-tocks (was Re: finite ...)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I thought this pronunciation was a Forrest Gump thing. Has anyone
> heard it from before 1994?
> Neal
> On Jul 31, 2012, at 12:04 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >
> > Unless you train yourself to think, "Oh, it's only language-change
> > in
> > progress," you're going to find yourself in tears.
> >
> > Millions of oafs heard that misuse of "finite" and it's probably
> > going
> > to become as ubiquitous as "buh-tocks," a pronunciation that I've
> > now
> > heard used even by physicians.
> >
> > --
> > -Wilson
> > -----
> > All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
> > to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> > -Mark Twain
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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