2 thoughts on “I didn’t know it had a name.”

  1. Howdy McQ!

    Ah RP or BBC English.

    An interesting story.

    Some time ago George Bernard Shaw sat on the committee which decided how words were to be pronounced on the BEEB. During his tenure he was involved in a debate over the word “canine.”

    GBS held out for “kay-nine” as the pronunciation, which the other members insisted the the proper pronunciation was “kaa-nine”.

    GBS argued that he believed that they should follow the practice of professionals in deciding on the pronunciation of such words, and his dentist pronounced it “kay-nine.”

    One of the other members said, “you must have an American dentist.”

    To which GBS replied, “Of course! Why do you suppose I still have my teeth at my age!”

    Which begs the question, in Recieved Pronunciation is it “jay-9” or “Jaa-9?”

  2. LOL. After getting over the surprise that you found my blog, I realized you’re exactly the sort of person who would know about this.

    btw, I seem to remember J.D. and I briefly pronounced it like “Jah-NEEN” — as in the girl’s name “Janine”— in the early days.

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