Meming under duress

[muckefuck]

List 4 5 things that bug you - things that others may find trivial. Then tag 7 of your friends.

Since when do I need a goddamn meme to prompt me to do this? Okay, aadroma, I'll do it because you're so sweet I find it hard to deny you anything, but it dies here. I absolutely refuse to pass on chain letters of any kind.

1. Don't say "bruscetta" There is no such thing. The word is bruschetta. The h after the c tells you that it's still "hard" (i.e. /k/) even though it comes before a "soft" consonant. I know a lot of English-speakers pronounce the sch like in German, but though I try to be as descriptivist as possible, this is something I simply can't abide.
2. Don't mess with my braid I don't care how inviting it looks, don't yank, tug, twirl, or bat it about. What are you, some mutant hairless bipedial feline? You wouldn't tweak my nose without asking, would you, so why are you playing with my hair?
3. Don't block the way Sidewalks, corridors, stairways, etc. in public places usually accommodate two abreast; some allow for three or more. What is your reason for walking or standing so that I can't get past you without squeezing by or asking you to move? Being deep in conversation, either face-to-face or on the phone, is no damn excuse. Show some awareness of your surroundings and a little consideration for others, people!
4. Don't make fun of my stammer Ever since I was little, my mind has worked faster than my mouth. Now and again, this causes me to trip over my tongue. Just let it pass. I'll never understand what the hell imitating a stammer at that moment is supposed to be--acknowledgment of human weakness? Friendly teasing? I don't find it friendly; in fact, it pisses me off so much that I remember distinctly ever single time a good friend has done this to me and I still hold it against each of them.
5. Don't introduce me as "Dan" It's not my name. My given name has two syllables; my preferred nickname is "Da". The latter is fine for informal occasions, the former for formal. I don't care if someone spontaneously shortens my name to "Dan", but I don't want anyone telling them to call me that.

I feel so much better now. Thank you for not listening.

Comments

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

In that case you are confused.

proper noun n. A noun belonging to the class of words used as names for unique individuals, events, or places. Also called proper name. (AHD, 2nd ed.)

What is "bruschetta" the proper name of? Is there a Signore Bruschetta the dish is named for? No; like the names of most pasta, it's just an ordinary word given a culinary meaning (probably originally a diminutive of brusca "horse brush; rising staff"). Besides, if I were being truly pedantic, I wouldn't accepted a retroflex /r/, a flapped /tt/, or a final shwa, but I have no trouble accepting these minor adaptations to the phonological system of English.

IKEA is a completely different case. It's the name of a unique individual (in this case, a corporation, which constitutes an individual person under the law). With persons, the rule is: Whatever they say is correct. The Standard German spelling pronunciation of Anheuser would be ["an%hOYz6], but the owners of the eponymous brewery say ["{n%haIzr\=]. So that's the final word (at least as far as the name of that corporation is concerned; some persons with the surname Anheuser may pronounce it differently and their pronunciation is correct with regard to them).

Furthermore, as I alluded earlier, the correct pronunciation of a name can vary with language. When speaking German, I germanise the pronunciation of my full name rather than insisting that German-speakers conform to the English pronunciation (or, rather, pronunciations, since my father and his relatives pronounce it differently than the rest of us). My adopted Sinitic name is pronounced completely differently depending on whether the language being used is Standard Chinese, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, and so forth.

So, to answer your initial question, in German I would say /i:"ke:a/, but in English I say /ay"kiy@/--which is the only pronunciation I've ever heard from English-speakers. If authenticity is your goal, be prepared for endless misunderstandings, since, if I'm not mistaken, in the Swedish pronunciation the /k/ is a fricative rather like the German Ich-Laut. (As for your deleted comment, of course it's Linux with a short I since (a) it's a proper name and (b) it was named for Linus Torvalds, who pronounces his given name with short I.)