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Saturday, January 16, 2010
Three simple questions
- What is it with tomato sauce and it's incontrolable urge to nestle itself on my clothes?
- Why do I find Charley Boorman so attractive?
These are only two of the questions I ask myself almost daily.
Recently another question has been added to the headache-provoking list:
- How does one pronounce Evie?
We, hubs and I, pronounce it with both E and ie sounding like e. Which, we think, is the English way. In Dutch we would pronounce it like Avee. But we prefer the, what we think is, English way. But since 'nameplategate' and one or two of you native English speakers commenting that at least Evi is pronounced the same as Evie, I'm totally confused.
I'm no longer fussed over the art of avoiding tomato sauce spekcled clothes. (I have tried wearing an apron, but the sauce never lands on the apron. Always on the clothes.)
And Charley Boorman's attractiveness has been shoved to the background, which is quite an achievement, because I dó consider him to be one of my many future husbands, one should always keep dreaming.
Evie/Evi has taken over.
And I ask you, dear readerfriend, how dóes one write Evie the way we pronounce it?
Because I would say, but I am not a native English speaking person, that one would pronounce Evi as in Levi, with the i sounding like... well... i.
And Eve would be pronounced as Eev. Or not?
I can think of Evy, but would that not also be pronounced as Levi?
And suddenly, literally as I'm writing this, the light in my brain switches on. We should probably write it as Charley, but in stead of Charl - Ev, so Evey.
Life can be so simple. Although Charley can of course also spelled as CharLIE. And you wouldn't pronounce the LIE of Charlie as 'lie' now. Or would you?
( 'Char' and 'lie'? But that is a whole other can of worms.)
Have you lost me yet? Or have I lost you? It all makes sense to me, but I'm still not sure how one should write Evie to be pronounced as Evee. Could it be thát simple? But the spelling of Evee doesn't look as good as Evie. And in Dutch one would pronounce Evee as... uhm... well, with both E and ee sounding like 'a'. Not as in Ava though.
Are you still here? Gosh. So, just to sum this quite confusing piece of 'writing' (ahum) up:
three simple questions:
1) why does tomato sauce always land on my shirt,
2) what makes Charley Boorman such an attractive guy,
3) how should we write Evie/Evee/Evey/Evi/Eve to be pronounced the way we do?
If you could only answer question number 3, I'd be very happy ;-)
(Oh, hehe, and I just let hubs preread this piece before hitting the 'publish' button and he spoke the following winged words: "who the fuck is Charley Boorman?")
(And I dó know there are far more important problems in this world. For instance: why is it that journalists and camera crews always manage to get to troubled places in this world easier and earlier than aid workers and - goods?)
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E.V. is the quickest, shortest way of pronouncing her name for an English bod like me, but Evie does the same job, as would Eevee. No idea what double e's might do in other languages - I have enough trouble myself, coping with English quirks and foibles in the spelling department! LOL :)
ReplyDeleteI had to Google "Charley Boorman" since I had never heard of him before, so now I know what he looks like, but I cannot understand what you find so attractive about him, except perhaps his teeth.
ReplyDeleteTomatoes have their own thing going and I am totally unaware of their proclivities.
Two years ago if I had seen the name Evie I would have pronounced it Eh-vee, but since my daughter's husband's brother's youngest daughter's name is Evie and everyone related to her pronounces it Eee-vee, I am at a loss. The nickname for our Chevrolet automobile is Chevy, but no one pronounces it Chee-vee, at least no one that I know; it is now and has always been Cheh-vee. Then there is a poem called Miniver Cheevy by Edward Arlington Robinson (maybe I will put it on my blog one day) that is pronounced Chee-vee, which augurs well for the Eee-vee pronunciation if you you spelled your horse's name Evy, but since you spell it Evie I would now tend to say Eee-vee because of my daughter's husband's etc., but Evi, the misspelling on the stable nameplate, still looks like Eh-vee to me. But what do I know?
Are you now more thoroughly confused now than ever?
Thanks for dropping by my blog today. I thought Germany was Deutschland, not Duitsland, but again, what do I know?
Truth be told, you're the ones who named her, then gave her the nickname. So it stands to reason that you may pronounce it any which way you choose. But it also stands to reason that as others read it they may pronounce it another way. I know than this isn't the definite answer you want. However because of the inconsistencies of of the English language it is the best I can produce.
ReplyDeleteBTW - I have been calling her Evie [pronounced E.V.}.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAs an Englishwoman, I'd definitely spell it Evie and pronounce it 'ee-vee' all with long 'e's. or E.V. would sound the same. Just as you wish.
ReplyDeleteEve - would be pronounced 'eev' as in 'sleeve'
Evey - would depend on regional accent, and might sound like 'heavy'.
Evy - the same applies. Some will pronounce it as in 'heavy'. Or even 'E-vye' which would rhyme with 'E why'
Evi - Well, I would say 'Ee-vee' to rhyme with 'see me', but it would also be possible to pronounce it 'E-vye' as above.
I had the same problem when we came to write 'Renie', my Princess' name. Short for Irene, 'Renie' looked right to me, to be pronounced 'Reen-ee' to rhyme with 'see me'.
I didn't want to put two 'e's in the middle, which would have made it plainer, because it's the 'rene' from 'Irene' with the pet sound 'ie' (pronounced 'ee') on the end instead of the single 'e'.
But lots of people called her 'Renny' if they saw it written first, or spelled it differently if they had to guess from what it sounded like.
The answer to the tomato sauce question is the same as 'why does gravy always land on my shirt' and the answer is 'I don't know'!
As to Charley Boorman, I had to look him up too. And the answer to that question is 'I don't know', too. LOL!
In English (I don't know about Dutch), pronunciations are changed by the number of consonants, and by a silent E (for example, hop, hope, hopped, hoped) but your Evie/Evi puzzle has to do with with more vowels, not more consonants, doesn't it now?
ReplyDeleteAfter much consideration, I think I would pronounce Evie as Eee-vee, and Evi and Eh-vee, but under no circumstances would I pronounce it Ee-vye, even though it rhymes with Levi, which actually can be pronounced as either Lee-vye or Leh-vee....
I'm clearing this up a lot, don't you think?
We could always go back to talking about tomatoes.
Jinksy,
ReplyDeleteif only we had thought of that brilliant solution: E.V. Only for a name it looks a bit... ET-ish ;-)
Rhymeswithplague,
your latest comment makes more sense to me and is less confusing than your first two. Progression!
Talking about tomatoes: some say tomato and some say tomato, some say potato and some say potato.
IT,
yes yes, I know, but I'm glad my all of my blogreaders seem to pronounce it the way we do, which for some sad reason is quite comforting.
Jay,
I was counting on you to come up with the best clarification ;-)
Gravy and tomato sauce must be related. And our shirts too!
Charley Boorman's attractiveness will probably stay a mystery forever ;-)
I,too, am smitten with Charley Boorman. It's okay for me to drool over him while I watch "the Emerald Forest", where he's 18 years young, because we're the same exact age (18 in 1984. It's not weird at all to find him attractive. As for "Evie/Eve/whatever", who cares? That's the name of Ewan McGregor's wife and I don't care for her moon pie face.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteOh yippee, we have found someone who actually knows who Charley Boorman is. Even if you are an anonymous person: you've got taste!
Weird coincidence that Ewan's wife is called Evie or Eve or whatever.
Carolina, my name is Molly, I live in the US, have adored Charley for years, and am wishing I wasn't broke. Did you hear about his upcoming live shows? Sort of a travel-logue with Q&A about his adventures. He'll be speaking with the audience and giving autographs, and I cannot possibly afford to visit the UK to attend one of the shows. Info on where and when is on his blog. Oh, bugger this horrible economic melt-down!
ReplyDeleteThat is the beauty of the English language, you can get it all wrong and still be understood. I took it as "eevee" . . .then the Irish spell it Aiofe . .go figure! Oh, I prefer Ewan McGregor but Charlie has a nice smile.
ReplyDeleteI want the freaking answer to number one, it's a universal issue if great importance.
ReplyDeleteI was pronouncing correctly, no spelling change needed... :)
Molly,
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you!
Would you go to the UK just to meet Charley? Gosh, you ARE smitten. Or just plain mad and a possible stalker. Yikes! But, assuming you are a harmless and far braver person than I am (I wouldn't have the courage to say something to him if he'd walk past me, VERY small chance of that happening by the way), I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you to find a fortune and be able to visit Charley's show. And when you do, say hi to him from me ;-)
Baino,
I'm convinced the Irish alcohol consumption is linked to their way of spelling things. Aiofe or Siobhan just being two examples.
Ewan is just too good looking for me ;-) It must be Charley's smile and the mad look in his eyes, which we shall call a 'twinkle' *sigh*
Life With Dogs,
Perhaps tomatoes just don't like being cooked.
I'm glad to see that we weren't wrong about the 'Evie-issue' and everyone pronounces it the way we intended. Phew!
It occurs to me that I pronounced Evie as "Eh-vee" for years because of a singer named Evie Tornquist, but now that your Evie does it the other way, I am a convert. Only if your Evie goes into the concert and recording business would there be any confusion. Unless she shared the stage with Charley Boorman, of course.
ReplyDeleteYES-- with Charley B it IS the twinkle in his eyes that gets to me. And as for being brave enough to talk with him - as long as you've purchased one of his books or DVDs and you ask him to sign it - that seems like a pretty fair exchange to me. He will make money and you will have a chance to look directly into those mad beautiful eyes.
ReplyDeleteRhymeswithplague,
ReplyDeletethe chance of Evie getting on stage with Charley is a very slim one. I don't know if we should be happy or sad about that.
You are quite mad, did you know that?
Molly,
good tip! He will probably not be visiting the Netherlands, but I'll be checking his site. You never know. Should I be the first one to meet him, I will say hi to him from you. Heck, I'll even invest in a DVD for you and let him sign it. My gift to you, my fellow Charley Boorman admirer.
Our youngest granddaughter is called Eve and sometimes Evie = E Vee. Evie is the correct spelling for E Vee. I should know - not only am I English (as well as British) but I am also a teacher and teachers are NEVER wrong ;-) (or if they are they say something inane like, 'I wondered how long it would be before you spotted my deliberate mistake!)
ReplyDeleteBoorman's tour dates will be at 31 different locations in the UK, between 22nd Feb thru 28th March. Hey, I loved the Netherlands when I visited in 2000. I went there to experience the New Year Eve's of 1999. Very exciting. My special favorites are Jenever Oude and extra oude goudse kaas - yummy. I hope to visit your country again one day.
ReplyDeleteWhy, thank you, Miz Brinkman, for the lovely compliment! You did mean it as a compliment, didn't you? Of course, coming from someone whose entire country is known for wearing wooden shoes, it might be a case of the pot calling the kettle black (old English saying)....
ReplyDeleteJabblog,
ReplyDeleteThank you Miss ;-)
Molly,
Oude Jenever: yuck!
Extra oude Goudse kaas: yummy!
I'd recommend a glass of very old Ximenez sherry with that.
Rhymeswithplague,
Yes and have you seen the silly hats we Dutch always wear?
Oh Carolina, you have me laughing me arse off!! I kept wondering "who is Charley Boorman" but didn't want to ask for fear of appearing ignorant, and then I found it hysterically funny that your hubby asked who he is...
ReplyDeleteAnd I DO wonder how the media always manages to get to the troubled areas quicker than the aid workers -- doesn't seem quite right, does it? I guess it just goes to show how the world turns.
Oz Girl,
ReplyDeletehehehe, and I'm really surprised that you all don't know who Charley B. is.
Hubs doesn't know anyone, so that wasn't a surprise.
Tomatoes have their own thing going and I am totally unaware of their proclivities.
ReplyDeleteWork From Home