Why the English Language is Substandard


I was listening to Culture Drew's Reggae Niceness show on KSPC (Claremont, California, 88.7 MHz FM) when he announced an intriguing art exhibit at the Wignall Gallery:

Drive Time
August 15 – September 24, 2005

Artists’ Reception: Wednesday, August 24, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Artists: Sean Duffy, Karl Haendel, Annetta Kapon, Helen H. Kim, Myung Hwan Lim, Michael Markowsky, Barbara J. May, Ruben Ochoa and Marcos Rios, John Richey, Dustin Shuler, Jesse Webber

In Southern California we spend a lot of time inside our cars--driving, stuck in traffic, commuting-- time spent between places and between states. Drive Time brings together contemporary artists working in sculpture, video, drawing and photography who look at driving and our relationships with our cars in experimental and poetic ways.


This exhibit is right up my alley (pardon the pun), and I'll try to go to it if I can.

However, when the exhibit was announced, the deejay said that the Wignall Gallery was at "Chaff"-ey College, with a short a. Those of us in the area (and in Mildura, Australia) know that the word "Chaffey" is pronounced with a long a.

Can you blame the DJ? The word is spelled "Chaffey," and if you look at it, it LOOKS like it should have a short A.

From the Ontario Empoblog

Comments

Anonymous said…
Well, being the DJ in question, I don't think I can blame Culture Drew too much for the slip-up. The problem with proper nouns is that they don't often adhere to strict pronunciation guidelines. Then again, this is the case with plenty of other words as well. Thanks for not being too hard on the DJ. =)
Monday, April 10, 2006 3:24:00 PM
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