http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/frys-english-delight Just another bbPress community en-US Thu, 23 May 2013 15:15:51 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/search.php http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/frys-english-delight#post-291347 Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:05:33 +0000 Lyndafinn 291347@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ <p>I can only enjoy Stephen Fry on CD and come late even to that as I am in NZ and we have to wait until the BBC releases things in our country. So when I received English Delight I was probably the last person in the world to listen to it &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_razz.gif&quot; title=&quot;:P&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; <br /> I heard Sue Mcgregor (of Woman&#39;s Hour fame) say that &#39;Ms&#39; in her passport stood for &#39;Miss&#39;.<br /> I&#39;m 66 and well remember the fuss &#39;Ms&#39; made when first introduced but to my recollection it was not another indication of &#39;Miss&#39; at all. Far from it.</p> <p>The appellation &#39;Mrs&#39; was seen as somehow superior to the slightly derogatory &#39;Miss&#39; with its connotations of spinsterhood and, as someone shudderingly put it &#39;the inability to catch a man&#39;.<br /> So to avoid this differentiation and the clear prejudice attached to it, &#39;Ms&#39; was brought in.</p> <p>This seems to make sense to me, as Ms, for Miss, does not.<br /> Does anyone have any thoughts? &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_biggrin.gif&quot; title=&quot;:D&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/frys-english-delight#post-290193 Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:08:07 +0000 Ermintrude Sneezepuddle 290193@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ <p>I may not be looking in the right place, but I can&#39;t find series 4 on CD. I bought the first 3 series from iTunes, went to get #4 and.....not there. Have they switched to audiobook only just so they can charge more? &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_sad.gif&quot; title=&quot;:(&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/frys-english-delight#post-177185 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:43:58 +0000 exoskeleton 177185@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ <p>I like your idea about pronunciation, but I'm not sure for me anyway it was the first version. for example, one landmark near where I grew up had a kind of ambiguous pronunciation. there was a vowel sound that varied slightly depending on who you were speaking to, though I don't think it was along any sort of cultural boundary. I remember sometime deciding that one of the versions sounded "better" and I became committed to it, even though I had probably used the other one when I was younger because it was slightly easier to say.<br /> that's a bit convoluted but I'll leave it as is in case someone can get anything out of it.</p> <p>I'm also reminded of <a href="http://popvssoda.com:2998/countystats/total-county.html">how devoted different regions of America to the words pop, soda, and coke to mean carbonated, high fructose corn syrup-laden drinks</a>. my parents moved to my hometown as adults, so they used the term they grew up with, and I learned that around the house. then in school, all the kids were using a different word, and I decided that was "cooler" and made the switch. I live near a soda/pop boundary, which I think is just so fascinating.</p> <p>btw...I've never traveled anywhere where English wasn't widely spoken, but I would be a little concerned to receive instruction on such a life-and-death activity as suiting up for scuba diving! &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_lol.gif&quot; title=&quot;:lol:&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/frys-english-delight#post-176259 Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:57:31 +0000 Amphidromic 176259@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ <p>I am enjoying the current series and have reactions to the latest two episodes.</p> <p>Last week on the pronunciation of words. I have a theory that we adopt the pronunciation that we first hear (or are conscious of hearing) of a word. What I cannot understand is why we (and I include myself) become so committed to that pronunciation. Thereafter if I hear it said any other way, I get indignant and question the intelligence of the speaker... Why?</p> <p>Then, on 'hello'. I became aware of the universality of the word when I visited China last year. Practically everyone I passed, said 'Hello'. It almost surprised me every time: How did they know I spoke English? Then I looked at myself. </p> <p>But the highlight was when I went scuba diving (long story) and I was briefed as to how to dive, entirely in the word 'hello'. Bits of equipment and bits of me were pointed to and actions mimed, each gesture accompanied by the explanation 'hello'. </p> http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/frys-english-delight#post-91831 Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:14:01 +0000 IdeaCollector 91831@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ i agree with Fryphile...hmm I have those...I should listen to em. http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/frys-english-delight#post-91807 Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:38:28 +0000 Fryphile 91807@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Sounds like the three part radio program he narrated about Metaphor, Quotations, and Cliches. Think it was on BBC Radio 4. http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/frys-english-delight#post-91795 Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:33:24 +0000 ladyfromhamburg 91795@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Amazon Germany announces a new audio CD called 'Fry's English Delight' for next June (BBC audiobooks). Does anyone know a bit more about this?