Episode 32 - It's Not Lupus
Jan 23, 2017 17:59:15 GMT -6
Eugene Tea and SPOOKYthingsgobumpintheBright like this
Post by trlkly on Jan 23, 2017 17:59:15 GMT -6
Alias's pronunciation is not "Eh-LEE-Us," but 'Ah-LEE-Us,' it's mean to be a short A, but not an E sound of any sort.
Ehlonna is supposed to be 'eh-LOAN-nuh' not 'ah-LOAN-nuh.' Dialects, of course, will color the opening vowels in different ways, but that's how the names are supposed to go as far as I can tell (and I can speak with authority about Alias, given that I set the name
Ehlonna is supposed to be 'eh-LOAN-nuh' not 'ah-LOAN-nuh.' Dialects, of course, will color the opening vowels in different ways, but that's how the names are supposed to go as far as I can tell (and I can speak with authority about Alias, given that I set the name
Well, if you want to go pedantic, I'll go all linguist on ya
The issue isn't dialects, per se. It's something that's true in nearly all English dialects. It's known as unstressed vowel reduction. In simple terms, most unstressed vowels in English are made to sound more like "uh." What's even more interesting is that, even though there are still sometimes sometimes some distinctions, they are often in free variation--meaning you use one where the other would make sense.
In short, you have all said "uh-LAH-nuh" many, many times. And everyone, including you, have said "ih-LEE-uss" or "eh-LEE-uss." (Though I admit you are more careful about saying "uh-LEE-uss."). It's not like there's someone named Elias or Alana who you need to distinguish between. It's just gonna happen.
That said, my main point was just that the names Elias, Alana, and Alonna are existing names. So, if you here something that sounds like them, you're more likely to try and spell them that way. And I kinda thought it was funny.
Heck, the first two don't even get the red squiggly underline from my spell checker. Is it any wonder that chart spelled your name as Elias?
(If you've never heard of Elias, it is the Greek form of Elijah, as used in the King James Version of the New Testament. Hence, it became a relatively popular name in English.)
Anyways, hope that's not being too pedantic. I'm kinda like Alias (and you, skitch?) and feel the need to explain myself thoroughly. There's a reason I got him in the "Which Dice Funk character at you?" quiz.
You can look up "Stress and vowel reduction in English" on Wikipedia for more info. (Unfortunately, the article on "Free variation" is rather sparse and unhelpful.) I didn't link it because I don't know if Guests can use links.