Question. Why do we say "Happy NEW Year"? Why don't we say "Happy New YEAR"? The first sounds like "happy holiday", the second like "happy year", doesn't it?
AFAIK I pronounce the first word with the syllables exaggerated, then extend the vowels equally in both the second and third words: "Hap-py Neeeew Yeeeeaaaaar!"
(I'm fairly sure my way is also how people do it where I live, too, but I could be wrong.)
But I want the new year to be happy. Not the New Year. I'm talking of the entire year, not just the holiday, and have never thought of the greeting as being for the holiday.
Of course, saying happy new year over and over I'm wondering if maybe my emphasis is slightly on the year. So perhaps that's why.
Hm... I always said Happy New YEAR. But as I'm no native speaker, that probably doesn't count. After all, I'm influenced by German, where the stress in the equivalent phrase ("Frohes neues Jahr"> lies on the 'Jahr' (meaning year)... Then again, there's also 'Neujahr', i.e. 'new' and 'year' pulled together to form one word. In that case, the stress is on 'Neu'... but then it's one word, so that's alright. Hm.
Eh, I wouldn't say never. I read that "alright" has already been in use for a century, and though there are a lot of people who don't consider it correct, there are also a lot who do. Some also argue that "all right" and "alright" have two different meanings.
You can find some interesting comments on the subject here, even though the conversation went off topic quickly.
I like "alright". (So does Livejournal's spell check, by the way. Heh.)
(from my viewpoint, GenAm does a few funny things wrt stress patterns -- compare ROBINhood (second syllable reduced to a schwa at best but frequently to a syllabic n altogether) to RP Robin Hood (no lax vowel reduction, the two lexemes remain quite distinct)
:P is for poking your tongue out. It doesn't spell "I'm being frivolous" or whatever -- to me, it means you're taking the mickey out of the person whose opinion you're replying to.
AFAIK I pronounce the first word with the syllables exaggerated, then extend the vowels equally in both the second and third words: "Hap-py Neeeew Yeeeeaaaaar!"
(I'm fairly sure my way is also how people do it where I live, too, but I could be wrong.)
But I want the new year to be happy. Not the New Year. I'm talking of the entire year, not just the holiday, and have never thought of the greeting as being for the holiday.
Of course, saying happy new year over and over I'm wondering if maybe my emphasis is slightly on the year. So perhaps that's why.
Hm... I always said Happy New YEAR. But as I'm no native speaker, that probably doesn't count. After all, I'm influenced by German, where the stress in the equivalent phrase ("Frohes neues Jahr"> lies on the 'Jahr' (meaning year)... Then again, there's also 'Neujahr', i.e. 'new' and 'year' pulled together to form one word. In that case, the stress is on 'Neu'... but then it's one word, so that's alright. Hm.
Eh, I wouldn't say never. I read that "alright" has already been in use for a century, and though there are a lot of people who don't consider it correct, there are also a lot who do. Some also argue that "all right" and "alright" have two different meanings.
You can find some interesting comments on the subject here, even though the conversation went off topic quickly.
I like "alright". (So does Livejournal's spell check, by the way. Heh.)
(from my viewpoint, GenAm does a few funny things wrt stress patterns -- compare ROBINhood (second syllable reduced to a schwa at best but frequently to a syllabic n altogether) to RP Robin Hood (no lax vowel reduction, the two lexemes remain quite distinct)
:P is for poking your tongue out. It doesn't spell "I'm being frivolous" or whatever -- to me, it means you're taking the mickey out of the person whose opinion you're replying to.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 09:09 pm (UTC)"Hap-py Neeeew Yeeeeaaaaar!"
(I'm fairly sure my way is also how people do it where I live, too, but I could be wrong.)
no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 10:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 10:52 pm (UTC)Of course, saying happy new year over and over I'm wondering if maybe my emphasis is slightly on the year. So perhaps that's why.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 11:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 04:37 am (UTC)Then again, there's also 'Neujahr', i.e. 'new' and 'year' pulled together to form one word. In that case, the stress is on 'Neu'... but then it's one word, so that's alright.
Hm.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 04:39 am (UTC)All right is two words, never one.
(sorry, that's my pedantic pet peeve)
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:23 am (UTC)You can find some interesting comments on the subject here, even though the conversation went off topic quickly.
I like "alright". (So does Livejournal's spell check, by the way. Heh.)
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:57 am (UTC);)
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:13 am (UTC)Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 05:32 am (UTC)(from my viewpoint, GenAm does a few funny things wrt stress patterns -- compare ROBINhood (second syllable reduced to a schwa at best but frequently to a syllabic n altogether) to RP Robin Hood (no lax vowel reduction, the two lexemes remain quite distinct)
Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:10 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:14 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:20 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:29 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:33 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:35 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 08:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 09:09 pm (UTC)"Hap-py Neeeew Yeeeeaaaaar!"
(I'm fairly sure my way is also how people do it where I live, too, but I could be wrong.)
no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 10:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 10:52 pm (UTC)Of course, saying happy new year over and over I'm wondering if maybe my emphasis is slightly on the year. So perhaps that's why.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 11:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 04:37 am (UTC)Then again, there's also 'Neujahr', i.e. 'new' and 'year' pulled together to form one word. In that case, the stress is on 'Neu'... but then it's one word, so that's alright.
Hm.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 04:39 am (UTC)All right is two words, never one.
(sorry, that's my pedantic pet peeve)
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:23 am (UTC)You can find some interesting comments on the subject here, even though the conversation went off topic quickly.
I like "alright". (So does Livejournal's spell check, by the way. Heh.)
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:57 am (UTC);)
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:13 am (UTC)Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 05:32 am (UTC)(from my viewpoint, GenAm does a few funny things wrt stress patterns -- compare ROBINhood (second syllable reduced to a schwa at best but frequently to a syllabic n altogether) to RP Robin Hood (no lax vowel reduction, the two lexemes remain quite distinct)
Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:10 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:14 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:20 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:29 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:33 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 07:35 am (UTC)Re: Britishism
Date: 2005-01-01 08:04 am (UTC)