Losing the . . .

 

Losing the . . .

No, I’m not losing the plot, at least, no more than usual. It’s the letter that comes between ‘f’ and ‘h’ that is proving elusive on my keyboard. I note, however, that it has decided to come out to play now that I’ve mentioned it. Just like a naughty child, seeking attention, it gives the lie to my complaint.

It reminded me of accents, dialect, whatever you like to call them, and some of the regional differences in speech. In some parts of the UK, ‘g’ is given extra value, so that words like ‘singing’ are pronounced ‘sing-ging’ and ‘hang’ becomes ‘hang-uh’. It sounds attractive, to my ears, anyway.

In other areas, ‘g’ is commonly dropped, particularly at the ends of words, so that ‘walking’ becomes ‘walkin.’ That manner of speaking was considered ‘upper-class’, and jokes were made about the Lord of the Manor ‘huntin’, shootin,’ and fishin’. Now, that trait is commonplace in some regions.

In my part of the world, there is an unusual pronunciation of words beginning with ‘str’. ‘Str’ becomes ‘shtr’ so that ‘street’ is pronounced ‘shtreet.’ It’s a ‘shtrange’ quirk.

Anyway, my ‘g’ has returned . . . for now!