Wordcraft Home Page    Wordcraft Community Home Page    Forums  Hop To Forum Categories  Potpourri    Vould you vant something vhimsical?
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
Vould you vant something vhimsical? Login/Join
 
Member
Picture of shufitz
posted
From Anecdotes of the English language [etc.] by Samuel Pegge (1844):
    . . . But, after all, the most striking and most offensive error in pronunciation among the Londoners, I confess, lies in the transpositional use of the letters W and V, ever to be heard where there is any possibility of inverting them. Thus they always say, weal instead of veal; and winegar instead of vinegar; while, on the other hand, you hear vicked for wicked-—vig for wig; and a few others.
    . . . The following little dialogue is said to have passed between a citizen and his servant:
    Citizen.—Villiam, I vants my vig.
    Servant.—Vitch vig, Sir?
    Citizen.—Vy, the vite vig in the vooden vig-box, vitch I vor last vensday at the westry.
 
Posts: 2666 | Location: Chicago, IL USAReply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
Or, as the famous movie star waterfowl Greta Grebeo said, "I vant to be a loon!


It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. -J. Krishnamurti
 
Posts: 6187 | Location: Muncie, IndianaReply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of arnie
posted Hide Post
That particular aspect of pronunciation in London seems to have died out in the 19th century. Dickens has some of his characters using it, but I've not come across it in any 20th century writing.


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
Posts: 10940 | Location: LondonReply With QuoteReport This Post
  Powered by Social Strata  
 

Wordcraft Home Page    Wordcraft Community Home Page    Forums  Hop To Forum Categories  Potpourri    Vould you vant something vhimsical?

Copyright © 2002-12