It suddenly became obvious that my family has their own unique pronunciation for certain words. I suppose I've known this for a long time but never admitted it to myself. Not that there's anything wrong with that... Now I just wonder what other words have our own little family twist on them.
Let me give you the example that got me wondering. Perhaps you can relate to listening to "old-timers" talk about buildings that are no longer there, or businesses that used to have a different name, or giving directions that include turning at a corner where such-and-such used to be. I've gotten used to that, and we all see the humor in it. One such locale in our family has long been "Higher Knotts." I used to walk down the street and catch the bus by Higher Knotts. It's that new place down where Higher Knotts used to be. It came up in conversation again, so my niece and I were making good-natured fun of the "mythical" Higher Knotts. My mom started to tell me something about the Ott that owned it and who he was related to or something when it hit me: Ott. As in, a name. Ott. Then she said the other name was H-E-Y-E-R, and seemed to be wondering why I looked so confused. After hearing about this place for more than 40 years, it had literally just been spelled out for me. It wasn't "Higher Knotts." The place they'd always talked about was "Heyer and Ott's." Duh. Enunciation matters, people!
I shouldn't be surprised. There's a little town nearby. I'd always heard it called Brokol. Luckily, once I could read and cared to pay attention to highway signs I saw that it's actually Brokaw. For whatever reason, my folks pronounced it differently, probably because their folks pronounced it differently, probably because... I long ago gave up trying to understand.
Then there's the story of the time my uncle sent one of my cousins to the store to get some off-n-off. She cheerfully went off on her errand. When she couldn't locate such a product, she even asked a clerk for help. Not surprisingly, there didn't seem to be such a product in the store. Imagine her shock when her dad told her, without a trace of hometown family accent, that he simply wanted something to pour in his coffee: half-and-half. That one got repeated at Christmas dinners for years.
The last one that comes to mind is sort of a shorthand version of grace if you're really hungry and don't want to say a long prayer before you eat. My uncle used to rattle off what sounded like Ah bahleeber fahter ahmen. It sounded German, and I always assumed it meant something along the lines of I believe in the Father, amen. After briefly looking around online this evening, I've learned there actually is a mealtime prayer: Abba lieber Vater, amen. It looks like it loosely translates to Father, dear Father, amen. Huh. Who knew that wasn't just a made-up family prayer?
Enunciation can be important to effective communication. But sometimes, it seems, the family that mumbles together stays together.
So for you, dear uncle... Before I drink any coffee with off-n-off, I'll be sure to say Ah bahleeber fahter ahmen.
I shouldn't be surprised. There's a little town nearby. I'd always heard it called Brokol. Luckily, once I could read and cared to pay attention to highway signs I saw that it's actually Brokaw. For whatever reason, my folks pronounced it differently, probably because their folks pronounced it differently, probably because... I long ago gave up trying to understand.
Then there's the story of the time my uncle sent one of my cousins to the store to get some off-n-off. She cheerfully went off on her errand. When she couldn't locate such a product, she even asked a clerk for help. Not surprisingly, there didn't seem to be such a product in the store. Imagine her shock when her dad told her, without a trace of hometown family accent, that he simply wanted something to pour in his coffee: half-and-half. That one got repeated at Christmas dinners for years.
The last one that comes to mind is sort of a shorthand version of grace if you're really hungry and don't want to say a long prayer before you eat. My uncle used to rattle off what sounded like Ah bahleeber fahter ahmen. It sounded German, and I always assumed it meant something along the lines of I believe in the Father, amen. After briefly looking around online this evening, I've learned there actually is a mealtime prayer: Abba lieber Vater, amen. It looks like it loosely translates to Father, dear Father, amen. Huh. Who knew that wasn't just a made-up family prayer?
Enunciation can be important to effective communication. But sometimes, it seems, the family that mumbles together stays together.
So for you, dear uncle... Before I drink any coffee with off-n-off, I'll be sure to say Ah bahleeber fahter ahmen.
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