Pronunciation Question

[tealin]

Obviously, I've been rereading Monstrous Regiment ... but I've been seized by doubt:

Polly's family name, Perks – is it pronounced like a plural of perk, or is it like clerk, derby, and Berkshire in that the 'er' is pronounced like 'ar,' thus making it 'Parks' and much easier for Strappi (and assorted others) to turn into 'Parts'? I tried finding some sample clips of the book on tape but the only one I found was a big stretch of internal monologue with no mention of names at all.

Help?

EDIT: Thanks karwei – yet another yawning gap of uncertainty has closed in my life. :)

Comments

[poisonedwriter.livejournal.com]

As a side note, I've never heard derby and clerk pronounced with an "ar" sound.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

I think it's a British thing. For a few years, I was in or closely involved with a perennial production of A Christmas Carol, where Cratchit is referred to as Scrooge's 'clark' (which I thought was a position distinct from what a North American would call 'clerk' and hence had a different name) and was surprised to read the book and find it spelled 'clerk.' On the other hand, I had always heard the 'er' pronunciation of 'derby' and was fuddled when I started hearing 'darby.' So now, I can never know for sure!

My turn

[(Anonymous)]

As opposed to a perennial production of Christmas Carol (one that is always showing), the one of which you write is an annual (performed every year)production.

A²

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Argh, yes, you're right ... I was confused by plants.

[disneyboy.livejournal.com]

Tonight on Oprah: "I WAS CONFUSED BY PLANTS"!! A young Canadian animatrix tells her baffling story...stay tuned!

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

LOL – add to that that at first I thought you said 'pants' ... which is true too, thanks to listening to way too much BBC. OH the transatlantic differences in language. Does the speaker mean underwear or trousers? I CAN NEVER KNOW FOR SURE!

This has got "Best Seller" written all over it

[disneyboy.livejournal.com]

"Confused by Pants: The Tragic Autobiography of Twirly Noodle"...can I ghost-write this for you? I think we could both become millionares.

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]

a. Lasting an indefinitely long time; enduring: perennial happiness.
b. Appearing again and again; recurrent. See Synonyms at continual.
3. Botany: Living three or more years.

n.
1. Botany: A perennial plant.
2. Something that recurs or seems to recur on a yearly or continual basis.

As I think Tealin was saying that a production of A Christmas Carol recurred year after year, which is correct in terms of definition 2b. After all, a perennial flower, like a chrysanthemum, isn’t one that blooms continously throughout the year, but continually year after year, right?

Theoretical Grammar

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

But I was using it as an adjective and not a noun, and def 2b is very clearly n. If I was adjectiving a noun, would that definition cross over as well, or since there is a preexisting adjective form of 'perennial' would it be restricted to the established definitions?

Re: Theoretical Grammar

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]

Def 2b is very clearly n

Re: Theoretical Grammar

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]