English questions

[Darren]

One of the candidates for Supreme Court here in Wisconsin, Janet Protasiewicz, has her last name pronounced /ˌproʊtəˈseɪwɪts/ most commonly here. While the /wɪts/ pronunciation of -wicz is not unusual here - I knew someone from elementary school through high school who pronounced it in her name that very same way, what gets me is the pronunciation of -sie- as /seɪ/ - I would have expected /ʃɛ/ or /sɛ/ given the typical pronunciation of Polish names here. Any thoughts?

Even worse, there's an australian politican called Palaszczuk who calls herself /pæləʃeɪ̯/.

[Travis B.]

Even worse, there's an australian politican called Palaszczuk who calls herself /pæləʃeɪ̯/.

Wut?

[anteallach]

Even worse, there's an australian politican called Palaszczuk who calls herself /pæləʃeɪ̯/.

Wut?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annastacia_Palaszczuk

This article says it's because her father was a teacher and the original pronunciation of his name was deemed to hard for the children in his school to say, so they came up with something "easier", though you'd have thought that they could find something which achieved that while having a less bizarre relationship between spelling and pronunciation.

[Travis B.]

Even worse, there's an australian politican called Palaszczuk who calls herself /pæləʃeɪ̯/.

Wut?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annastacia_Palaszczuk

This article says it's because her father was a teacher and the original pronunciation of his name was deemed to hard for the children in his school to say, so they came up with something "easier", though you'd have thought that they could find something which achieved that while having a less bizarre relationship between spelling and pronunciation.

Still. Anglicizing Polish names isn't that hard. They could have just gone with something more sane like /ˈpæləˌʃʊk/, which is quite reasonable for an anglicization.

[Zju]

Has anyone noticed a realisation of /u/ as [ʉ]? Could this lead to u > y in the future?

[Darren]

Has anyone noticed a realisation of /u/ as [ʉ]? Could this lead to u > y in the future?

Yes to both. I have something like /əʉ̯/ for GOOSE which leaves room for /ʊː/ THOUGHT/NORTH/FORCE/CURE in the high back space. I've also got /ɵː/ for NURSE, so it's conceivable that future Australian English will have something like /əʉ̯ ɵː/ → /øy̯ øː/ and /ʊː/ → /uː/.

[Travis B.]

Has anyone noticed a realisation of /u/ as [ʉ]? Could this lead to u > y in the future?

I have [y] as an allophone of /u/ after a coronal or palatal and not before a dorsal (after a coronal or palatal and before a dorsal I have [yu]). Note that my default realization of /u/ is [u] though.

The same applies with /ʊ/ and [ʊ ʏ ʏʊ] and /oʊ/ and [o̞ ɵ̞ ɵ̞o̞] for me.

[bradrn]

Has anyone noticed a realisation of /u/ as [ʉ]? Could this lead to u > y in the future?

Yes, this is the case in my speech, and standard in Australian English in general. It’s a pretty common sound change in general.

[foxcatdog]

Has anyone noticed a realisation of /u/ as [ʉ]? Could this lead to u > y in the future?

Yes, this is the case in my speech, and standard in Australian English in general. It’s a pretty common sound change in general.

Can confirm i have this as well.

[Raphael]

What's the meaning and origin of the term "wag"? Not in the sense of the acronyms "WAGs" for "wifes and girlfriends", but in the sense of quotes like "some wag joked that [...]"?

[Rounin Ryuuji]

What's the meaning and origin of the term "wag"? Not in the sense of the acronyms "WAGs" for "wifes and girlfriends", but in the sense of quotes like "some wag joked that [...]"?

It can mean something like "jokester", though I haven't heard it in ages. I mostly associate it with this (rather morbid) sonnet. The etymology is apparently somewhat obscure, but it may descend either from the verb, or waghalter, apparently meaning "gallows-bird, one destined to hang".

[Raphael]

It can mean something like "jokester", though I haven't heard it in ages. I mostly associate it with this (rather morbid) sonnet. The etymology is apparently somewhat obscure, but it may descend either from the verb, or waghalter, apparently meaning "gallows-bird, one destined to hang".

Thank you! I keep coming across it in non-fiction books about all kinds of things.

[Moose-tache]

The terms "chin wag" and "tongue wag" may have something to do with it, but that's just a guess.

[Raphael]

Why are some seemingly fairly different jobs all called "clerk"? Seems like the word can mean both a salesperson in a shop and a low-ranking office worker.

[Creyeditor]

Maybe its similar in use to 'Angestellter'?

[Raphael]

Maybe its similar in use to 'Angestellter'?

Yeah, that's possible.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

It apparently acquired a secondary meaning of person who can read and write, and came to be used for various office positions that required literacy, and broadened in scope from there.

[Raphael]

Where, exactly, is the line between batter and dough? I used to think it's simply, "If it's for cake, it's batter, and if it's for bread, it's dough". But now I've got the impression that there are some cakes whose starting goo is called "dough" and not "batter", too.

[bradrn]

Where, exactly, is the line between batter and dough? I used to think it's simply, "If it's for cake, it's batter, and if it's for bread, it's dough". But now I've got the impression that there are some cakes whose starting goo is called "dough" and not "batter", too.

I’d say batter is liquid, and dough is mostly solid.

[Raphael]

Where, exactly, is the line between batter and dough? I used to think it's simply, "If it's for cake, it's batter, and if it's for bread, it's dough". But now I've got the impression that there are some cakes whose starting goo is called "dough" and not "batter", too.

I’d say batter is liquid, and dough is mostly solid.

Then how do I know if a specific type of cake is made from batter or dough, if I've never baked it in my life, and haven't watched anyone else bake it, either?