Observe a tree
There's a student-y neighborhood called Observatory near where we live, and we've been spending a lot of time there, because its student-y prices are right in our price range, even if the student-y students make us feel a wee bit old.
But the name of the neighborhood presents some problems for us. Here, people pronounce it "observe-a-tree." Of course, we would pronounce it "observe-a-tory." But, in the interest of being understood, shouldn't we pronounce it "observ-a-tree" too? Even if it sounds exceedingly snotty to our ears?
I don't want to go back to the U.S. as one of those annoying ex-ex-pats who thinks a few months out of the country qualifies them to have some sort of weird continental accent. But what if calling the neighborhood "observe-a-tree" opens up some sort of linguistic floodgate, and I return home calling the bathroom the "loo," the elevator the "lift," and the letter "z" by its full name, "zed"?
(As an aside, soccer is still called soccer in South Africa. I've asked around, and have yet to find anyone who knows why. But for you, dear readers, I will keep investigating the matter.)
I think I've found the solution, though. I realized some people have a nickname for this student-y neighborhood, and I've proposed that we call it by that name to avoid permanent injury to our charming American accents.
The nickname? It's: "Obs."
But the name of the neighborhood presents some problems for us. Here, people pronounce it "observe-a-tree." Of course, we would pronounce it "observe-a-tory." But, in the interest of being understood, shouldn't we pronounce it "observ-a-tree" too? Even if it sounds exceedingly snotty to our ears?
I don't want to go back to the U.S. as one of those annoying ex-ex-pats who thinks a few months out of the country qualifies them to have some sort of weird continental accent. But what if calling the neighborhood "observe-a-tree" opens up some sort of linguistic floodgate, and I return home calling the bathroom the "loo," the elevator the "lift," and the letter "z" by its full name, "zed"?
(As an aside, soccer is still called soccer in South Africa. I've asked around, and have yet to find anyone who knows why. But for you, dear readers, I will keep investigating the matter.)
I think I've found the solution, though. I realized some people have a nickname for this student-y neighborhood, and I've proposed that we call it by that name to avoid permanent injury to our charming American accents.
The nickname? It's: "Obs."
posted by Erik at 11:55 pm
2 Comments:
Dude, I love it. Every time I read one of these, I chuckle and then read the post out loud to Dana. Keep 'em coming.
I figured I'd respond in a comment, rather than an email cus I feel kind of bad that nobody is leaving comments. So my Saturday morning gibberish is offered for all in San Fran and Va. and Brooklyn to read. Or am I the only one reading.
So, I say hold strong on the accent. In fact, given both of your affinity for Brooklyn, I say dig deep for your best Brook-lin accent. I think then it would be "Observe - a - tree" with a lot harder emphasis on the tree. Keep up the posts. Your writing is very entertaining.
SK
Thanks for the pity post, man.
But when real Brooklynites say "tree," don't they mean the number between two and four?
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