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"WC" in French -- from French laziness, it's pronounced [ vay-say ]
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Hen Hanna
Dec 5, 2016, 4:50:35 PM12/5/16
to
I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
other than [I can care less]
( when what's meant is [I can't care less] )
and things like that
On Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 2:00:05 AM UTC-7, Adam Funk wrote:
>
> "WC" is pretty common in France, curiously, where it's pronounced "V C"
> (not "double-V C").
"WC" ------ >>> yes, it's frequently used in france. however, true to stereotypical french laziness, it's not pronounced double-vay say, it's instead pronounced vay-say.
_______________
The term is used in a song named "Cookie" by Jean Leloup (a very popular french artist from Quebec). You can hear it in the first line. He says "dans les "vay-say"". I think it s safe to say that the term is pronounced Vay-Say even though WC is not exactly pronounced that way.
Source(s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnNRzyeCFOw
HH
Patok
Dec 6, 2016, 1:09:20 AM12/6/16
to
Hen Hanna wrote:
> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
We occasionally have the designation "WC" in Bulgaria too, and here it is
> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
pronounced "veh tseh". I can assure you it is pronounced that way not because of
"laziness". I guess the reason would be the same in German. I don't know why the
French pronounce it that way, though, since the letter 'W' is indeed
"doo-bluh-vay" in French.
> On Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 2:00:05 AM UTC-7, Adam Funk wrote:
>
>> "WC" is pretty common in France, curiously, where it's pronounced "V C"
>> (not "double-V C").
>
>
> "WC" ------ >>> yes, it's frequently used in france. however, true to
> stereotypical french laziness, it's not pronounced double-vay say, it's
> instead pronounced vay-say.
>
> _______________
>
> The term is used in a song named "Cookie" by Jean Leloup (a very popular
> french artist from Quebec). You can hear it in the first line. He says "dans
> les "vay-say"". I think it s safe to say that the term is pronounced Vay-Say
> even though WC is not exactly pronounced that way.
>
> Source(s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnNRzyeCFOw
>
>
> HH
You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone.
*
Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn.
Athel Cornish-Bowden
Dec 6, 2016, 3:09:57 AM12/6/16
to
On 2016-12-06 06:09:59 +0000, Patok said:
> Hen Hanna wrote:
>> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
>
> We occasionally have the designation "WC" in Bulgaria too, and here
> it is pronounced "veh tseh". I can assure you it is pronounced that way
> not because of "laziness". I guess the reason would be the same in
> German. I don't know why the French pronounce it that way, though,
> since the letter 'W' is indeed "doo-bluh-vay" in French.
Not really, "WC" in French does not contain a diphthong. But your
> Hen Hanna wrote:
>> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
>
> We occasionally have the designation "WC" in Bulgaria too, and here
> it is pronounced "veh tseh". I can assure you it is pronounced that way
> not because of "laziness". I guess the reason would be the same in
> German. I don't know why the French pronounce it that way, though,
> since the letter 'W' is indeed "doo-bluh-vay" in French.
rendering the é as "ay" clearly implies that it does. A good reason to
use IPA.
>
>
>> On Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 2:00:05 AM UTC-7, Adam Funk wrote:
>>
>>> "WC" is pretty common in France, curiously, where it's pronounced "V C"
>>> (not "double-V C").
>>
>>
>> "WC" ------ >>> yes, it's frequently used in france. however, true to
>> stereotypical french laziness, it's not pronounced double-vay say, it's
>> instead pronounced vay-say.
>>
>> _______________
>>
>> The term is used in a song named "Cookie" by Jean Leloup (a very popular
>> french artist from Quebec). You can hear it in the first line. He says "dans
>> les "vay-say"". I think it s safe to say that the term is pronounced Vay-Say
>> even though WC is not exactly pronounced that way.
>>
>> Source(s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnNRzyeCFOw
>>
>>
>> HH
--
athel
>
>> On Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 2:00:05 AM UTC-7, Adam Funk wrote:
>>
>>> "WC" is pretty common in France, curiously, where it's pronounced "V C"
>>> (not "double-V C").
>>
>>
>> "WC" ------ >>> yes, it's frequently used in france. however, true to
>> stereotypical french laziness, it's not pronounced double-vay say, it's
>> instead pronounced vay-say.
>>
>> _______________
>>
>> The term is used in a song named "Cookie" by Jean Leloup (a very popular
>> french artist from Quebec). You can hear it in the first line. He says "dans
>> les "vay-say"". I think it s safe to say that the term is pronounced Vay-Say
>> even though WC is not exactly pronounced that way.
>>
>> Source(s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnNRzyeCFOw
>>
>>
>> HH
--
Mr. Man-wai Chang
Dec 6, 2016, 6:47:55 AM12/6/16
to
On 6/12/2016 5:50 AM, Hen Hanna wrote:
>> "WC" is pretty common in France, curiously, where it's pronounced "V C"
>> (not "double-V C").
> "WC" ------ >>> yes, it's frequently used in france. however, true to stereotypical french laziness, it's not pronounced double-vay say, it's instead pronounced vay-say.
It's not French. Not just French. It's French **slang**, if not secret
>> "WC" is pretty common in France, curiously, where it's pronounced "V C"
>> (not "double-V C").
> "WC" ------ >>> yes, it's frequently used in france. however, true to stereotypical french laziness, it's not pronounced double-vay say, it's instead pronounced vay-say.
codes!
What is the full name of "WC" without your special style of abbreviation?
Don Phillipson
Dec 6, 2016, 8:34:57 AM12/6/16
to
"Mr. Man-wai Chang" <toylet...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:o268ep$g9r$2...@dont-email.me...
> What is the full name of "WC" without your special style of abbreviation?
WC = water closet, the English term for a pedestal toilet.
When French hotels started installing WCs in the late 19th century
they labelled the doors thus.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
news:o268ep$g9r$2...@dont-email.me...
> On 6/12/2016 5:50 AM, Hen Hanna wrote:
>> "WC" ------ >>> yes, it's frequently used in france. however, true to
>> stereotypical french laziness, it's not pronounced double-vay say, it's
>> instead pronounced vay-say.
>
> It's not French. Not just French. It's French **slang**, if not secret
> codes!
No: this is an abbreviation, not slang.
>> "WC" ------ >>> yes, it's frequently used in france. however, true to
>> stereotypical french laziness, it's not pronounced double-vay say, it's
>> instead pronounced vay-say.
>
> It's not French. Not just French. It's French **slang**, if not secret
> codes!
> What is the full name of "WC" without your special style of abbreviation?
When French hotels started installing WCs in the late 19th century
they labelled the doors thus.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
Patok
Dec 6, 2016, 1:38:16 PM12/6/16
to
Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
> On 2016-12-06 06:09:59 +0000, Patok said:
>
>> Hen Hanna wrote:
>>> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
>>
>> We occasionally have the designation "WC" in Bulgaria too, and here
>> it is pronounced "veh tseh". I can assure you it is pronounced that
>> way not because of "laziness". I guess the reason would be the same in
>> German. I don't know why the French pronounce it that way, though,
>> since the letter 'W' is indeed "doo-bluh-vay" in French.
>
> Not really, "WC" in French does not contain a diphthong. But your
> rendering the é as "ay" clearly implies that it does. A good reason to
> use IPA.
It is not "my" rendering, I copied it from here:
> On 2016-12-06 06:09:59 +0000, Patok said:
>
>> Hen Hanna wrote:
>>> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
>>
>> We occasionally have the designation "WC" in Bulgaria too, and here
>> it is pronounced "veh tseh". I can assure you it is pronounced that
>> way not because of "laziness". I guess the reason would be the same in
>> German. I don't know why the French pronounce it that way, though,
>> since the letter 'W' is indeed "doo-bluh-vay" in French.
>
> Not really, "WC" in French does not contain a diphthong. But your
> rendering the é as "ay" clearly implies that it does. A good reason to
> use IPA.
http://grammarist.com/french/french-alphabet-pronunciation/
The reason being that I have no idea how it is pronounced. I can read simple
French, but have no clue about its phonetics. You are right that IPA would be
better; in hindsight I should have looked for the French alphabet in IPA.
Hen Hanna
Dec 6, 2016, 2:10:25 PM12/6/16
to
On Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 10:38:16 AM UTC-8, Patok wrote:
> Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
> > On 2016-12-06 06:09:59 +0000, Patok said:
> >
> >> Hen Hanna wrote:
> >>> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
> >>
> >> We occasionally have the designation "WC" in Bulgaria too, and here
> >> it is pronounced "veh tseh". I can assure you it is pronounced that
> >> way not because of "laziness". I guess the reason would be the same in
> >> German. I don't know why the French pronounce it that way, though,
> >> since the letter 'W' is indeed "doo-bluh-vay" in French.
> >
> > Not really, "WC" in French does not contain a diphthong. But your
> > rendering the é as "ay" clearly implies that it does. A good reason to
> > use IPA.
>
> It is not "my" rendering, I copied it from here:
> http://grammarist.com/french/french-alphabet-pronunciation/
>
> The reason being that I have no idea how it is pronounced. I can read simple
> French, but have no clue about its phonetics. You are right that IPA would be
> better; in hindsight I should have looked for the French alphabet in IPA.
>
[I can care less] kind-of makes sense,
and [I can't care less] [I couldn't care less]
requires too much (mathematical/logical) thought.
similarly,
e.g. The phrase [Nothing could be further from the truth]
is almost as complex as an Epsilon-Delta proof
(ε, δ)-definition of limit
re: [I can care less]
>>> Isn't English a wonderful language? What you're saying is absolutely true. The phrase originally was "I couldn't care less", but that was long ago and it changed over time through over-use. People got so used to using the phrase they stopped listening to the words themselves. There are a number of phrases like that.
------- great point! about [stopped listening to the words themselves]
that also explains [ vay-say ]
HH
Hen Hanna
Dec 8, 2016, 4:41:05 PM12/8/16
to
On Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 10:38:16 AM UTC-8, Patok wrote:
> Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
> > On 2016-12-06 06:09:59 +0000, Patok said:
> >
> >> Hen Hanna wrote:
> >>> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
> >>
> >> We occasionally have the designation "WC" in Bulgaria too, and here
> >> it is pronounced "veh tseh". I can assure you it is pronounced that
> >> way not because of "laziness". I guess the reason would be the same in
> >> German. I don't know why the French pronounce it that way, though,
> >> since the letter 'W' is indeed "doo-bluh-vay" in French.
> >
> > Not really, "WC" in French does not contain a diphthong. But your
> > rendering the é as "ay" clearly implies that it does. A good reason to
> > use IPA.
>
> It is not "my" rendering, I copied it from here:
> http://grammarist.com/french/french-alphabet-pronunciation/
>
> The reason being that I have no idea how it is pronounced. I can read simple
> French, but have no clue about its phonetics. You are right that IPA would be
> better; in hindsight I should have looked for the French alphabet in IPA.
>
https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/WC
> > On 2016-12-06 06:09:59 +0000, Patok said:
> >
> >> Hen Hanna wrote:
> >>> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
> >>
> >> We occasionally have the designation "WC" in Bulgaria too, and here
> >> it is pronounced "veh tseh". I can assure you it is pronounced that
> >> way not because of "laziness". I guess the reason would be the same in
> >> German. I don't know why the French pronounce it that way, though,
> >> since the letter 'W' is indeed "doo-bluh-vay" in French.
> >
> > Not really, "WC" in French does not contain a diphthong. But your
> > rendering the é as "ay" clearly implies that it does. A good reason to
> > use IPA.
>
> It is not "my" rendering, I copied it from here:
> http://grammarist.com/french/french-alphabet-pronunciation/
>
> The reason being that I have no idea how it is pronounced. I can read simple
> French, but have no clue about its phonetics. You are right that IPA would be
> better; in hindsight I should have looked for the French alphabet in IPA.
>
WC \ve.se\ (ou \we.se\ en Belgique)
note 2 interesting points!
I think it's sometimes written as VC in France.
(or used to be )
What's a good proverb (any language) meaning
[Even a pesky, nitpicking comment is better than nothing ] ?
HH
Hen Hanna
Dec 9, 2016, 3:39:13 PM12/9/16
to
it's a bit curious that the designation
"WC" (or VC) was/is so common in France.
and Bulgaria and Japan and ....
Athel Cornish-Bowden
Dec 10, 2016, 3:01:09 AM12/10/16
to
On 2016-12-06 19:10:24 +0000, Hen Hanna said:
>
> On Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 10:38:16 AM UTC-8, Patok wrote:
>> Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
>>> On 2016-12-06 06:09:59 +0000, Patok said:
>>>
>>>> Hen Hanna wrote:
>>>>> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
>>>>
>>>> We occasionally have the designation "WC" in Bulgaria too, and here> >>
>>>> it is pronounced "veh tseh". I can assure you it is pronounced that> >>
>>>> way not because of "laziness". I guess the reason would be the same in>
>>>> >> German. I don't know why the French pronounce it that way, though,>
>>>> >> since the letter 'W' is indeed "doo-bluh-vay" in French.
>>>
>>> Not really, "WC" in French does not contain a diphthong. But your> >
>>> rendering the é as "ay" clearly implies that it does. A good reason to>
>>> > use IPA.
>>
>> It is not "my" rendering, I copied it from here:
>> http://grammarist.com/french/french-alphabet-pronunciation/
>>
>> The reason being that I have no idea how it is pronounced. I can read
>> simple> French, but have no clue about its phonetics. You are right
>> that IPA would be> better; in hindsight I should have looked for the
>> French alphabet in IPA.
>>
>
>
> ( pls Don't worry too much about the pesky nitpicking comment. )
If "pesky nitpicking comment" is directed at me, please explain why you
>
> On Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 10:38:16 AM UTC-8, Patok wrote:
>> Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
>>> On 2016-12-06 06:09:59 +0000, Patok said:
>>>
>>>> Hen Hanna wrote:
>>>>> I'm wondering.... Do we have this kind of laziness in English ?
>>>>
>>>> We occasionally have the designation "WC" in Bulgaria too, and here> >>
>>>> it is pronounced "veh tseh". I can assure you it is pronounced that> >>
>>>> way not because of "laziness". I guess the reason would be the same in>
>>>> >> German. I don't know why the French pronounce it that way, though,>
>>>> >> since the letter 'W' is indeed "doo-bluh-vay" in French.
>>>
>>> Not really, "WC" in French does not contain a diphthong. But your> >
>>> rendering the é as "ay" clearly implies that it does. A good reason to>
>>> > use IPA.
>>
>> It is not "my" rendering, I copied it from here:
>> http://grammarist.com/french/french-alphabet-pronunciation/
>>
>> The reason being that I have no idea how it is pronounced. I can read
>> simple> French, but have no clue about its phonetics. You are right
>> that IPA would be> better; in hindsight I should have looked for the
>> French alphabet in IPA.
>>
>
>
> ( pls Don't worry too much about the pesky nitpicking comment. )
think using "ay" to represent a French sound that is quite different
from "ay" in English is perfectly OK. Also, please don't use
abbreviations like"pls" in a news group about English usage. These
abbreviations (including "sth" and "sb") are _never_ used except in the
context of English as a Foreign Language.
>
>
> [I can care less] kind-of makes sense,
>
> and [I can't care less] [I couldn't care less]
> requires too much (mathematical/logical) thought.
>
> similarly,
> e.g. The phrase [Nothing could be further from the truth]
> is almost as complex as an Epsilon-Delta proof
>
> (ε, δ)-definition of limit
>
> re: [I can care less]>>> Isn't English a wonderful language? What
> you're saying is absolutely true. The phrase originally was "I couldn't
> care less", but that was long ago and it changed over time through
> over-use. People got so used to using the phrase they stopped listening
> to the words themselves. There are a number of phrases like that.
> ------- great point! about [stopped listening to the words themselves]
>
> that also explains [ vay-say ]
> HH
--
>
> [I can care less] kind-of makes sense,
>
> and [I can't care less] [I couldn't care less]
> requires too much (mathematical/logical) thought.
>
> similarly,
> e.g. The phrase [Nothing could be further from the truth]
> is almost as complex as an Epsilon-Delta proof
>
> (ε, δ)-definition of limit
>
> re: [I can care less]>>> Isn't English a wonderful language? What
> you're saying is absolutely true. The phrase originally was "I couldn't
> care less", but that was long ago and it changed over time through
> over-use. People got so used to using the phrase they stopped listening
> to the words themselves. There are a number of phrases like that.
> ------- great point! about [stopped listening to the words themselves]
>
> that also explains [ vay-say ]
> HH
athel
Patok
Dec 10, 2016, 6:35:48 AM12/10/16
to
reacted to it, instead of explaining how it happened. And it is nitpicking,
because the question of whether the vowel is "ay" or not, a diphthong or not,
was totally tangential to the real issue we were discussing. And that was, in
case you missed it, whether the French pronounce "W" as "V", like the Germans
do, or add a "double", as in English.
Athel Cornish-Bowden
Dec 10, 2016, 8:14:44 AM12/10/16
to
That is absolute nonsense.
--
athel
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