01 February 2008

Rogue diphthongs

'...younger New Zealanders will be utterly gobsmacked if you suggest that the words 'near' and 'square' don't rhyme. An assertion which, in turn, may make people of a certain disposition demand the reinstatement of compulsory military training and/or the death penalty.

For myself, I do differentiate between 'near' and 'square' -- although I can usually guess what shabbily-dressed young people are trying to say. I've even become acclimatized to television advertisements for a company called "Ear New Zealand" (apparently they also have a fleet of planes)'

- David Haywood, Southerly

[The rest of the article (see link above) is bloody funny, with examples of our ever-mutating incomprehensibility]
 
 

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