How to Say That? Dooly Noted - 65 Characters

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Electrons are not sentient or intelligent; they behave as particles divided among parallel branches based on conductance. The discussion humorously touches on the pronunciation of "duly," with various interpretations leading to confusion among speakers. Participants reflect on the quirks of English pronunciation, particularly between British and American English, noting how these differences can perplex learners. The conversation also highlights the historical evolution of the English language, influenced by various cultures and languages. Overall, the thread combines linguistic insights with light-hearted banter about language and pronunciation.
Femme_physics
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Dooly noted :)
 
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Do not think that electrons are sentient. They are not intelligent agents, they are dumb particles. They do not "take a short-cut because they don't want to deal with stuff", they are "divided among parallel branches proportional to their conductance".

But the second sentence makes my brain hurts. The first sentence makes it go "oh okay!"

Duly. (It may have been a deliberate error, but I have no way of knowing that and I make it a point to correct non-native speaker's mistakes, just in case)

Someone once corrected me to doolly, another to dooly, and now you're to duly. I think I'll just start using "m'kay" from now on :P
 


Femme_physics said:
Someone once corrected me to doolly, another to dooly, and now you're to duly. I think I'll just start using "m'kay" from now on :P

You should look it up in the Urban dictionary:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dooly

It's kind of funny! :smile:
 


I thought Dooly came from Eliza Doolittle or Sgt Bilko.

:smile:

Actually it's all the Yanks' fault.

Look how they pronounce 'new' (nu)

And for 'duly' they say dooly.

Of course the also say

Walk me out in the mornin doo (doo =dew)

So FP I deduce that you have been watching too many Hollwood movies in your off-dooty.
 
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Studiot said:
I thought Dooly came from Eliza Doolittle or Sgt Bilko.

:smile:

Nope! Nothing so "nice"! o:)

[edit] Note that's about meaning number 7! :devil: [/edit]
 


;)

ILS and Studiot posting in the same thread is a total orgasm. There, I said it!
 


There, I said it!

Yes but how did you pronounce it?
 


Femme_physics said:
But the second sentence makes my brain hurts. The first sentence makes it go "oh okay!"



Someone once corrected me to doolly, another to dooly, and now you're to duly. I think I'll just start using "m'kay" from now on :P
When I correct someone, it tends to be to the "proper" term, rather than slang or a culture reference of some kind.
Studiot said:
I thought Dooly came from Eliza Doolittle or Sgt Bilko.

:smile:

Actually it's all the Yanks' fault.

Look how they pronounce 'new' (nu)

And for 'duly' they say dooly.

Of course the also say

Walk me out in the mornin doo (doo =dew)

So FP I deduce that you have been watching too many Hollwood movies in your off-dooty.
Okay Mr. Yank-Hater, tell this fellow from Michigan how you pronounce "noo" and "doo".

I suppose you also take issue with "color", "humor", and "theater", hm?
 
  • #10


I don't hate anyone except my bank manager.

:smile:

When I correct someone, it tends to be to the "proper" term, rather than slang or a culture reference of some kind.

Have you considered the serious point behind my light hearted way of putting it?

If someone learning British English heard an American pronounce 'duly' or 'due', but didn't see it written, how do you think they might spell it? Phonetically according to the international phonetic alphabet?

Which brings me to an old kid's joke

Mississippi is a very long word. How do you spell it?

eye - tee

:smile:
 
  • #11


Didn't answer my question. How do you Brits pronounce "new" and "due"?
 
  • #12


Jiggy-Ninja said:
Didn't answer my question. How do you Brits pronounce "new" and "due"?

Not sure about "due" but I've heard Brits pronounce "new" as "nyew".
 
  • #14
You met her on the mountain, there you took her life?
You met her on the mountain, stabbed her with your knife?
Hang down your head Tom, dooley!
 
  • #15


lisab said:
Not sure about "due" but I've heard Brits pronounce "new" as "nyew".

Almost. The Oxford Eng. Dict. gives the pronunciation in the international phonetic alphabet as nju:

n as in next
j as the y is yes
u: as the oo in too

Duly is dju:li
Dooley is an Irish surname.

The IPA "j" is half of the difference between New York and Noo Yoik.

Hang down your head Tom, dooley!
Before the Urban Dictionary, that line was

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley!
 
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  • #16
We find these differences in pronunciation mildly amusing, but imagine the frustration of someone learning English as an adult and trying to work out what this sentence is all about:

Time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like an apricot.
 
  • #17
We can blame the French for most of the confusion. Anglo-Saxon was a nice logical spoken and written language, before William the Conqueror turned English into a complete mess of half Anglo-Saxon and half Old French.

This is why English often has two words for the same thing - like cows and sheep (Anglo-Saxon) turn into beef and mutton (Old French) when you eat them.

When the printing press was first invented, many of the first printers were Belgian or German, and they just made up the spelling of English as they went along - and once something is in print, then it becomes permanent.

Chaucer wrote a few rants about that - including issues like whether the plural of egg should be eggys or eighren (and the plural of child is still children, not childs - though some parts of the US split the difference with childers.)
 
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