August???

[Lalliella]

Hmm

I can’t say the sound in good/food the way the coop ad narrator did a few years ago, ’good with food’. I try from time to time as a sort of challenge to myself, but it always goes pear shaped. I don’t know what regional accent he had though...

So in phonics uss is prounced differently to uss. Yes that makes sense.

So in phonics uss is prounced differently to uss

Whilst being aware of the distinction in some accents between book and buck I had no idea that the same distinction happened with wuss and fuss. The dictionary pronunciation suggests this at least.

Is the midlands north or south in language terms or a mix of both, or it’s own thing? I’ve always thought of it as vaguely in the middle which I hope was a logical approach...and always assumed it has its own regional accent? I’ve spent most of my time in the U.K. in the South West but moved up North recently. The only real regional accent (I should probably say dialect, shouldn’t I? I’m guessing that would be more correct in linguistic terms) I’ve had experience of in daily use, barring those on telly/radio or in films, is West Country. Bristol/Bath.

(Bear with me for what’s a very silly question, I’m sure - I cannot remember maps for the life of me and always end up with just a big blank space in my mind’s eye!)

@ancientgran there is so much variation in British spelling/pronunciation, because it has such a rich mix of linguistic heritage! I find it fascinating, and endlessly interesting.

I'd say Midlands is its own thing but more North than South. There's all sorts of pockets of weirdness around though, e.g. like people who say bus and buzz the same way

Interesting! And where is the long ‘oo’ used, where they would say book and cook and I’m guessing probably cous cous as well, to sound broadly like the ‘oo’ in coo, as in what a dove does?

(See, would be so much easier if I could just remember and use the IPA!)

I would normally ask DH all these things (he’s a bit like an encyclopedia, which in large part is why I married him!) but he’s in a meeting now, inconsiderate man!

Yes more north than south generally, esp East Midlands. And yes it's in the middle, hence the name MIDlands.

[quote Ninkanink]@ancientgran because they don’t sound the same, as evidenced here with the recordings:

Wuss

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/wuss?q=Wuss

Fuss

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fuss?q=Fuss[/quote]
I'd say my wuss is more like the American one for context of it rhyming with Gus and pus and puss

Heh yes, that’s what I’ve always based it on, seemed logical enough...but then I suddenly thought to myself today that maybe it was actually down to some quirk of the English language that I wasn’t aware of! Seemed perfectly possible given the potential pitfalls of assumptions regarding English linguistics!

Midlands esp Black Country Def has its own quirks,
You pronounced to rhyme with thou
Going pronounced goo-in
You are said as yam
Etc

images.app.goo.gl/kVT1c6EL1jUm5iC26

If I've done this right should be a map showing where oo as in foot and u as in strut sound the same

@CandlesBlanketsandTea
I agree with you. Generally I dislike names that are not standard, it is like calling a child Monday or Tuesday

I can't help laughing at all the pronunciations of different words in different dialects. For what it is worth I originate from the North East of England but now live in the middle of the country. In the North East Gus, puss and pus and wuss are pronounced as in bus.

in the Midlands wuss is pronounced as in loose (like woose).
So yes in the North East a child with the name August could well get bullied if the name was shortened to Gus. I quite like the name but as others have said children can be cruel and change names in order to tease or bully. I love the name Hawke!

It's a fabulous name.

in the Midlands wuss is pronounced as in loose (like woose) which side? It Def rhymes with oi Gus, you big wuss here in the Black Country

@SleepingStandingUp

in the Midlands wuss is pronounced as in loose (like woose) which side? It Def rhymes with oi Gus, you big wuss here in the Black Country

I'm from the East Midlands and it's definitely not pronounced "woose" here either!

Gus rhymes with fuss. Wuss rhymes with puss. Not that that will add any clarity on a thread with two hundred accents.

@TangerineGenie

So in phonics uss is prounced differently to uss

Whilst being aware of the distinction in some accents between book and buck I had no idea that the same distinction happened with wuss and fuss. The dictionary pronunciation suggests this at least.

Makes you wonder about phonics though. Teacher points to uss and asks how to pronounce it, then points to uss and children are told no uss isn't the same as uss.

I'm from the midlands and never heard wuss pronounced woose.

Black Country you and thou definitely sound the same.

Yes no wonder so many children struggle with spelling... Tbh a mix of sight reading and phonics would probably be far more successful for the average child. But now I’m putting on my early education hat and that’s a discussion for another day...

We do sight reading, they're red words. Like where which you can't sound out and bizarrely put

Yes...but I think a lot of the simpler, more supposedly ‘straightforward’ words should also just be taught by sight (since they’re not actually all that straightforward in terms of pronunciation either), although at least pronunciations of groups of words would correspond to each region’s dialect so it does sort of work. But doesn’t work all that well now where people often don’t live in the region where they grew up, so a child might have a parent who pronounces things differently to their teacher, and so on).

Eh, I probably haven’t explained that all that well.

That does make sense, I think we have all quote local staff so at least they're not confused by Mom

Op why would you call your children names you think are boring? August sounds lovely.