...and sometimes W
I remember a substitute teacher I had in second grade. She was determined to instruct us, not merely maintain order, as was the usual goal. She asked us what letters were vowels. "A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y," we shouted in unison.
"And sometimes...?" she encouraged us.
"Y" we called out in irritation. She repeated her entreaty and we responded in kind. With a knowing smile, she informed us that there indeed was another sometimes vowel: W. This was news to us and we were skeptical. As she segued into fun math tricks, I pondered if she could possibly be right.
The next day, a classmate queried our regular teacher about this issue. The vowel status of W was apparently news to her as well, but not wanting to disparage a fellow educator, she made an equivocal response and changed the subject.
Although I have occasionally wondered if W could upon occasion act as a vowel, I have doubted the veracity of the teacher's assertion — until now.
The word for today, courtesy of Wordsmith.org, is "cwm"; it is pronounced "koom," (which rhymes with room). According to the wordsmith, W acting as a vowel occurs in the Welsh language. Another Welsh word that has migrated to English is crwth (pronounced krooth). It is "an archaic stringed musical instrument," associated with Welsh music.
By the way, cwm is "a steep bowl-shaped mountain basin, carved by glaciers." (It is also reportedly the ticker symbol for Salesforce.com, as well as the airline designator for "Commander Mexicana.")
[Regular readers of this blog may recall this is not my first entry about W, when I lamented for W as the only non-monosyllabic letter in the English alphabet.]
"And sometimes...?" she encouraged us.
"Y" we called out in irritation. She repeated her entreaty and we responded in kind. With a knowing smile, she informed us that there indeed was another sometimes vowel: W. This was news to us and we were skeptical. As she segued into fun math tricks, I pondered if she could possibly be right.
The next day, a classmate queried our regular teacher about this issue. The vowel status of W was apparently news to her as well, but not wanting to disparage a fellow educator, she made an equivocal response and changed the subject.
Although I have occasionally wondered if W could upon occasion act as a vowel, I have doubted the veracity of the teacher's assertion — until now.
The word for today, courtesy of Wordsmith.org, is "cwm"; it is pronounced "koom," (which rhymes with room). According to the wordsmith, W acting as a vowel occurs in the Welsh language. Another Welsh word that has migrated to English is crwth (pronounced krooth). It is "an archaic stringed musical instrument," associated with Welsh music.
By the way, cwm is "a steep bowl-shaped mountain basin, carved by glaciers." (It is also reportedly the ticker symbol for Salesforce.com, as well as the airline designator for "Commander Mexicana.")
[Regular readers of this blog may recall this is not my first entry about W, when I lamented for W as the only non-monosyllabic letter in the English alphabet.]
Posted by Peter DeHaan at 8/14/2009 2:27 PM 
Categories: People, Humor
Tags: spelling pronunciation words Peter DeHaan blog author Peter DeHaan Peter DeHaan Musings Musings of Peter DeHaan
Categories: People, Humor
Tags: spelling pronunciation words Peter DeHaan blog author Peter DeHaan Peter DeHaan Musings Musings of Peter DeHaan
Do you sometimes wonder, Peter, whether you have too much time on your hands ... or need to get a life? {:~} These are admirably pithy observations of yours but the point ... eludes me. The point is, I suppose that what you write about has impressed you in some way - but that way doesn't come across here [to me] with as much profundity as to make them meaningful in other than in a superficial way: w as a vowel - it took you back to a childhood memory; it is an interesting fact - but is there anything else about it - its impact on you; why you chose to write about it? I wonder if there is a deeper level you;re trying to access in taking the time to share your thoughts?
You seem to enjoy thinking about things. New ways of thinking about things is a progressive - would it be of interest to you to develop the way you think? this isn't a sales pitch, I ask out of interest.
You give a lot to others through your charities - would you be receptive to the universe giving you something back?
Or is that too scary a question?
... Something for you to think about.
.
Reply to this