Say What?

A salvo from the pronunciation wars, and one from the "which country am I in again?" wars.

First, pronunciation. Those wacky Brits and their "r" sounds. I used to work with a guy from somewhere in the UK who kept talking about "Bob," and I didn't know Bob, but then I figured out he meant our coworker Barb. He called her Barrrrrrrrb for the next few years to avoid the teasing.

Last night, some official or other in London said of their several inches of snow, "We know this happens every morning in Canader." Eh?

On our current favorite show, Time Team, one of the experts is named Carenza. They would say "she's called Carenzer."

I guess they have leftover "r" sounds that they don't need for names like Barb and they use them up by sticking them onto trailing vowel sounds.

On to "which country am I in?" As some of you have gathered, I was in the U.S. for two weeks recently. While there, I had occasion to mention my late-November trip to the U.S. to spend time with my brother and his family.

In discussing this visit here at home, I had been careful to say, "I spent American Thanksgiving with my brother." With practice, it does become easier to remember to say it that way.

Therefore, in Tucson I had to edit myself again, this time to say, "I spent Thanksgiving with my brother." Saying "American Thanksgiving" would have seemed a bit precious, as if I wanted to remind everyone that I live in Canada and WE have a Thanksgiving, TOO.

Never mind that it's just an excuse for a long weekend in October, a time when people put up their Halloween decorations and drive to Duluth to see what's on sale. It's OUR Thanksgiving, and we are PROUD of it.

I know I've said this before, but it's still true: it's the holidays that get you, every time.