Haven’t you heard of terrible Tim?

by chuckofish

“He eats lions for breakfast, and leopards for lunch, and gobbles them down with one terrible crunch. He could mix a whole city all up in a mess, he could drink up a sea or an ocean, I guess.”*

Well, it’s Terrible Tim’s birthday today and the mischievous lad is turning 25! Obviously, he’s long over nursery rhymes, so pardon my sentimentality, but it is a little mind-blowing that my youngest has achieved this milestone already — time’s winged feet and all that. I am happy to say that he has not lost the twinkle in his eye or his sense — like Scaramouche — that the world is mad. Here’s hoping that this year brings him all manner of happy adventures and blessings!

The rhyme quoted above seemed fitting not only for the name mentioned, but because it reminded me of tongue twisters and they reminded me that the DH and I spent last evening lost down the rabbit hole of odd pronunciations. The way humans torture words into sounding completely different from their spellings is mystifying to say the least. Consider, for example, the name Featherstonhaugh. Who, I ask you, would ever imagine that it is pronounced Fanshaw? Or what about the perfectly straightforward seeming Menzies? In Scotland the name is often pronounced Mingis (rhymes with sing)! Similarly, Talliofaroe becomes Tollifer, Wildboarclough becomes Wilbercluff and Dalziel is pronounced Dee-el. It’s almost as if the denizens of different countries do this on purpose to trick unsuspecting foreigners into making fools of themselves. Pronunciation is like a verbal secret handshake. Are you a member of the club or an ignorant plebe?

Everyone must grapple with this particular kind of diversity at some time or another. It can certainly be baffling and frustrating. My advice? Get interested and before you travel abroad (or, indeed, into parts of this country where people speak with a different accent) take the time to find out about how the locals pronounce their names.

Have a glorious weekend and if you can’t go out and have fun, stay home and learn something new!

*Mother Goose Rhyme