I have NEVER heard a Canadian pronounce it "uh-BOOT", as several have implied.
A common pronunciation is to add just a bit more "u" vowel sound, so it
=sounds= more like "uh-boot" (or "hoose") to those who are used to hearing "uh
BOWT", as in "ouch". But it is actually just that the duration of the "u"
sound is very slightly longer. What non-Canajian speakers do is over-emphasize
the difference so as to create a stereotype.
I think the influence is Scottish more than anything else, eh? People think of
present day Canada as being founded by the English and French, which in
actuality from a cultural viewpoint it's closer to Scottish and French. I
won't go down the road of the real founding cultures, the aboriginal nations of
Canada, lest I stir up major OT traffic.
Earl
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
On 11/30/2004 at 11:39 PM Piers Hemy wrote:
>I had never heard of Robertson heads either until the reference here a
>week
>or so ago (thank you List)
>
>But on the other hand, if I am unsure whether someone is of US or Canadian
>origin, I make sure to listen for the magic word "aboot" which in my
>experience is a clincher. I had no idea that it was a 'feature'
>known-about
>in Tennessee, and of course it doesn't mean that every Candian pronounces
>it
>that way, but everyone that I have come across who does pronounce it that
>way *has* turned out to be Canadian.
>
>--
>Piers
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
>Of Garth Wood
>Sent: 30 November 2004 20:37
>To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [OM] Re: Philips; cross-point; posi-drive; Robertson
>
>--snip
>
>> I never heard of a Robertson fastener until this all got started.
>> Must be a closely-kept secret of the Frozen North. I mean, the folks up
>> there tend to call a house a hoose and pronounce "about" like one of
>> those things I wear one per foot when I go hoofing it off road. No
>> telling what they call a good screw.
>
>--snip
>
>I'm not sure where the mispronunciation B.S. comes from -- I've never
>pronounced "house" like anything else than "howse" or "about" like anything
>else but "abowt," and I was born and raised in Central Canada (but now live
>in the West, Thank God Almighty ;-) ). I've never *heard* them
>pronounced
>any differently, either, 'cept when our friends to the South claim we do.
>My suspicion is that there's an enclave of Cape Bretoner/Newfoundlander
>types that interact with the denizens of New England and produce the, uh,
>interesting pronunciations in question.
>
>--snip
>
>
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