[LMB] Pronunciations

[Mark A. Mandel]

--- Sylvus Tarn <sylvus at rejiquar.com> wrote:

> On Sun, 2006-05-21 at 14:16 -0700, Mark A. Mandel wrote:
> > * (If anyone is about to take offense at the word "dialect"... don't.
> > Just... don't.  
> 
> Surely no-one on this list would do so?

It's a matter of education (nowise synonymous with intelligence or
politeness) and the use of a technical term. Merriam-Webster Online
defines it thus:

1 a : a regional variety of language distinguished by features of
vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and
constituting together with them a single language <the Doric dialect of
ancient Greek>
 b : one of two or more cognate languages <French and Italian are Romance
dialects>
 c : a variety of a language used by the members of a group <such dialects
as politics and advertising -- Philip Howard>
 d : a variety of language whose identity is fixed by a factor other than
geography (as social class) <spoke a rough peasant dialect>
 e : REGISTER 4c f : a version of a computer programming language
2 : manner or means of expressing oneself : PHRASEOLOGY

But for many people, usages like the 1d example, "spoke a rough peasant
dialect", are their main or only exposure to the word, and they associate
the term with "uneducated" or "rural" or "nonstandard". And from that it's
a logical step to "I don't speak a dialect, I speak good English!"

DIGRESSION AHEAD:

By way of comparison, I daresay there are people on this list to whom
"schizophrenia" means something like "multiple personality syndrome", less
technically called "split personality". While the Greek root "schiz-" does
mean "to split", in this word it refers to a divorce from reality; see
definitions below. If I were using the word in a post (as opposed to
mentioning it, as I am here [DIGRESSION^2: 'mention' here is another
linguistic term, which includes discussion of the word as word]), I would
consider the distinction to be worth pointing out in view of this
widespread misunderstanding.

-- Dr. Whom, Consulting Linguist, Grammarian, Orthoepist, and Philological
Busybody


MWOL:

schizophrenia:
1 : a psychotic disorder characterized by loss of contact with the
environment, by noticeable deterioration in the level of functioning in
everyday life, and by disintegration of personality expressed as disorder
of feeling, thought (as in hallucinations and delusions), and conduct --
called also dementia praecox

OED Online:

A mental disorder occurring in various forms, all characterized by a
breakdown in the relation between thoughts, feelings, and actions, usu.
with a withdrawal from social activity and the occurrence of delusions and
hallucinations. [They add: "Used in the U.S. with a broader meaning than
in Britain." But it still does not go anywhere near MPD. -- MAM] 


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