Wanton/wonton

Sep 20, 2007 11:35

Okay so we all know them and loathe them: the silly spellings that can really stop you in your tracks screaming *NOooooooooooooooooo* Chinese munchies at inappropriate times as a case in point ( Read more... )

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Comments 7

rivier September 20 2007, 11:49:33 UTC
::raises hand cautiously::

Um, I believe that's because 'Plass' IS the correct spelling, in English - it's 'Plas' only in Welsh. If the story is being narrated from a non-Welsh POV (and arguably, if it's simply written in English), then 'Plass' is correct and spelling it 'Plas' would be like referring to 'Caerdyff' rather than 'Cardiff' etc.

See Wiki (not perfectly reliable, but the easiest reference point I could get my hands on at work - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl_Plass )

Mind you, if I see anyone else writing a TW story where the characters are drinking 'whiskey, I will start screaming myself!

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mad_jaks September 20 2007, 12:26:49 UTC
Oh hello

1) I think wiki sometimes needs its bumps felt. Try sticking plass in a dictionary - you get a lot of hits sure but for *Norwegian* words. If I was going to translate Plas to English I'd use Place.

2) Even if wiki is correct - which OMG NO, WRONG I don't care what anybody says - it's surely like using a title/name? Especially when they use Plas with a capital. You wouldn't write *gropes for an example* comes up with German street names. In published fiction you'd read normally read Friedrich Strasse not Frederick Street even if the author refers to, what we'd call, Cologne as Cologne and not Köln.

And to me whisky is whisky if it is Scottish - lovely stuff
and whiskey if it is Irish - bit peaty for my liking and so not what the team are ever going to be drinking in any of my fics.

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mad_jaks September 20 2007, 12:38:46 UTC
Okay now I'm going to have to go root elsewhere as re-reading that wiki entry it appears that the Welsh street sign (if it exists) would actually read Plass because of the whole Norwegian thing... OH I'm so confused.

Plass really does set my teeth on edge - maybe I had better just call it 'the square'

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redwolf September 20 2007, 12:39:52 UTC
Happily I've missed the Plas misspellers. And I'm going to agree with you on using the local spelling if you're in the area, to Anglicise it would be wrong.

It's the lose/loose ones that I need to kill. It's always young Americans and I can only assume it's a local pronunciation thing, but where I come from they really don't sound alike and it just screams stoopid.

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mad_jaks September 20 2007, 13:03:26 UTC
Though it does look like I'm going to have to eat some kind of pie as it does appear that the Welsh did indeed name it Roald Dahl Plass - though in Welsh that's Plas Roald Dahl.
Strange people the Welsh - but I do love them.

but where I come from they really don't sound alike
Have you ever done one of those 'What american accent do you have?' My eyes are normally out on stalks: 'don' and 'dawn' can't ever possibly sound the same and neither can 'stock' and 'stalk' *dies*

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padawanpooh September 20 2007, 18:46:16 UTC
Ah...the fun of being an English teacher. The typos...they HURTSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

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mad_jaks September 20 2007, 18:49:54 UTC
Will send painkillers with fic ;)it is of the punctuation not good :S

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