Re: CHAT: Japanese English (was Re: Correction, I hope,of M/C URL)

Barry Garcia wrote:
>
> CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU writes:
> >A scythe? What a beautiful word! It's pronounced /sait/? /saiT/?
>
> Hmm i think it would be /saiD/. I´m not too sure if it really is a scythe
> because I think a scythe is short handled, and the grim reaper (death)
> carries around something similar with a long handle (which i thought had a
> different name, but I may be correct).
Nope, the scythe ([sAiD] is correct) is long-handled.  The short-handled
implement with the curved blade is a sickle.  There's a drawing of a scythe
at http://www.m-w.com/mw/art/scythe.htm .

> The etymology according to my dictionary is: (ME sith, OE si(g)the;  c.
> Icel sigth; spelling by pseudo-etymological assoc. with L scindere to cut,
> cf. scissors). I think by coincidence the words scythe and Scythia look
> related.
I'm curious about the etymology of "faux" in this sense.

BTW, "Scyth" [sIT] is the people and "Scythia" [siTija] the nation.
In general, "sc" before a front vowel is /s/ in English, although a
few words have adopted a spelling pronunciation.  One of the shibboleths
is "schism", which is traditionally [sIzm] but now usually pronounced
[skIzm] by people who have read it before they heard it.  Sometimes /S/ is
used instead, as in "schedule" /SEdjul/; in America this is /skEdZ@l/.

It is said that Eisenhower was talking to Montgomery about /skedZ@lz/,
until Monty asked "Where did you learn to pronounce /SEdjul/ like that?"
Ike replied, "In grammar /Sul/."

--

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