Someone once told me (in the days before it became possible to easily check whether this might be an urban legend) that the Spanish pronounce the letter 'c' as a 'th' sound because there was once a King of Spain (Ferdinand?) who spoke with a lisp, and his subjects duly copied him. Had this been true, it would have been an example of a change in language caused by what linguists call prestige borrowing, although I don't know if the Spanish subjects would have copied the lisp for prestige, or because they expected the Spanish inquisition if they didn't.
The other day, listening to the radio, I was surprised to hear a Government spokesman (whose name unfortunately I missed) speaking about the future for nucular power in the U.K. I don't think this mispronunciation of 'nuclear' is common here, and it sounded quite awkward coming from an otherwise well-spoken Englishman. Was he trying to borrow some prestige from that great nuculariser George Dubya? Or perhaps he's a fan of Homer "You know boys, a nucular reactor is a lot like a woman" Simpson.
Who knows? As Homer said: "English? Who needs that? I'm never going to England!"
About Me
- Andy Bridle
- Wales, United Kingdom
- In the words of Manu Chao: "Me gusta la moto, me gustas tú. Me gusta correr, me gustas tú. Me gusta la lluvia, me gustas tú. Me gusta volver, me gustas tú. Me gusta marihuana, me gustas tú. Me gusta colombiana, me gustas tú. Me gusta la montaña, me gustas tú. Me gusta la noche, me gustas tú."
Calabash Music
