Schpelling

[Anthony Grant]

Yes, John, 'prat' does mean that.  it's an old word for the posterior,
preserved in 'pratfall', and the metaphorical extension t refer to
someone ill-regarded is not exclusive to UKEng.   The cominc potential
of the phonetics software Praat has not gone unnoticed in the UK, even
to a Dutch-user such as myself.  I wonder where the surname Pratt comes
from?

Anthony

>>> John.Koontz at colorado.edu 03/08/2004 00:02:27 >>>
On Mon, 2 Aug 2004, Rankin, Robert L wrote:
> > Are you interested in trying to schedule the Praat short course
for
> > sometime next month?

Isn't prat British slang for something like "incompetent bungler"?  We
need training for that?

The aa reminds me of the period in which the CU PLains Center offices
were
in the INSTAAR (Inst. for Arctic and Alpine Research) Building and
Bob,
visiting to work on the CSD, would insist that the INSTAAR sign next
to
the stairway in the lobby was actually Dutch for "Entrance Stairway."

Another linguistic joke associated with the CSD is Willem de Reuse's
insistence that Le Francais, a popular breakfast (braakfast?) venue
just
off campus, was to be pronounced Le Frankay, because there was no
cedilla
under the c.  Incidentally, Le Francais has been reduced to a bakery
only
and moved into cheaper digs somewhat in an industrial park.  The
restaurant is now a Le Peep.

My own favorite Le Francais memory is passing by on my way home from
work
one evening and seeing the owner struggling to drag out a heavy box of
day
old bread.  He was a stout old gentleman, so I asked if he needed any
help.  He looked me over, sized up my ratty old coat, and said, "No,
but
if you are hungry I will give some anyway."  That was one of several
incidents that caused me to replace that coat.  Another was leaving it
all
day in mid winter by the heavily frequented postal counter in the
Bookstore and coming back in the evening to find it still there. I
knew
then that it was completely worthless.