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The Public Shaming of England’s First Umbrella User

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Re: The Public Shaming of England’s First Umbrella User

#81

Post by DonaldFisk »

pjc50 wrote: post #66
pjc50 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> sounds be as close as possible to the actual letters used in the word So you'd pronounce "ghoti" as "fish" then?

Well, this got downvoted into the ground by people who aren't familiar with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti The point is that the "letters used in the word" are a really bad guide to pronunciation of English. They're not consistent across words or the place of the letter within the word. It's just consistent enough to make people think that might be the case. Then you get placenames like "Loughborough", "Worceste…

I recently had to put up with a satellite navigation system mispronouncing around 90% of place names. The (mis)pronunciations were clearly based on spelling, but the system developers weren't trying very hard, or didn't know the spelling-sound correspondences or how to encode them. A rule-based approach would get it right most of the time, and exceptions can be handled by table look-up. (Obviously you check whether it's an exception first before applying rules.) I've done this before, for words rather than place names.

Re: The Public Shaming of England’s First Umbrella User

#82

Post by Symbiote »

CheckHook wrote: post #69
k-mcgrady wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> "I'm always surprised how I seem to be the only person carrying an umbrella in London when it rains." Weird, I'm always surprised at how almost every seems to have an umbrella ready to use in London.

Yeah, working in central London and there's always an abundance of umbrellas in use when it rains, really not sure what this commenter is talking about.

Do they have tour company logos on? In some parts of central London, there's an abundance of rain ponchos, but that's unusual clothing for a Brit.

I think to really get a representative feel of average London, it's necessary to survey somewhere like Ealing or New Cross.

Re: The Public Shaming of England’s First Umbrella User

#84

Post by Declanomous »

NathanKP wrote: post #74
CalRobert wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Dublin, I think it's considered, if not rude, at least not the height of courtesy, to use an umbrella in dense areas where you will be bumping in to people and essentially pushing your water on to them. However, my feeling is that the real lunacy here is having very narrow pavements (sidewalks) carrying dozens or hundreds of people while having streets, which might be carrying ten or twenty people along the same s…

The same crowded street problem happens where I live in NYC, but it generally works out as people get into a rhythm of either raising their umbrella up over the level of the other person's umbrella or lowering it down below the level of the other person's umbrella. But then in NYC you develop a much closer "personal bubble" when you have to endure being crammed onto the train like a sardine during rush hour, so in co…

Screw the personal bubble, I'd prefer it if short people would avoid stabbing me in the head with the ribs of their umbrella. If you can't lift your umbrella high enough to go over the tallest person in the crowd, you should buy a rain coat instead.

Re: The Public Shaming of England’s First Umbrella User

#85

Post by Chris2048 »

f_allwein wrote: post #8

"In the minds of many Brits, umbrella usage was symptomatic of a weakness of character, particularly among men. Few people ever dared to be seen with such a detestable, effeminate contraption. To carry an umbrella when it rained was to incur public ridicule." This sentiment is very much alive today. I'm always surprised how I seem to be the only person carrying an umbrella in London when it rains. Especially bankers…

British comedian, Jimmy Carr:

"

l'm not gay. Unless you're from Newcastle, and by "gay" you mean "owns a coat".

"

Re: The Public Shaming of England’s First Umbrella User

#86

Post by gergles »

pjc50 wrote: post #66
pjc50 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> sounds be as close as possible to the actual letters used in the word So you'd pronounce "ghoti" as "fish" then?

Well, this got downvoted into the ground by people who aren't familiar with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti The point is that the "letters used in the word" are a really bad guide to pronunciation of English. They're not consistent across words or the place of the letter within the word. It's just consistent enough to make people think that might be the case. Then you get placenames like "Loughborough", "Worceste…

Where the letters ARE in the word does have meaning and makes them a better guide to the pronunciation of English than you're letting on, in my opinion. The wikipedia article agrees:

> However, linguists have pointed out that the location of the letters in the constructed word is inconsistent with how those letters would be pronounced in those placements, and that the expected pronunciation in English would sound like "goaty"; [ˈɡəʊti].

Re: The Public Shaming of England’s First Umbrella User

#87

Post by selimthegrim »

seizethecheese wrote: post #10
f_allwein wrote: post #8

"In the minds of many Brits, umbrella usage was symptomatic of a weakness of character, particularly among men. Few people ever dared to be seen with such a detestable, effeminate contraption. To carry an umbrella when it rained was to incur public ridicule." This sentiment is very much alive today. I'm always surprised how I seem to be the only person carrying an umbrella in London when it rains. Especially bankers…

This is definitely alive in Portland, OR. There's a pride in handling the rain.

Nike sells a Portland themed T shirt with "Shut Your Umbrella" below its logo.

Re: The Public Shaming of England’s First Umbrella User

#89

Post by jdavis703 »

I've always found umbrellas annoying. When walking down city streets they get in the way of trying to pass people. Sometimes people unfurl them without looking to see if there's enough space, and people let them dry off on public transit seats, making them a soupy mess for the next rider who wants a seat.

Re: The Public Shaming of England’s First Umbrella User

#90

Post by Houshalter »

Lio wrote: post #52
kbart wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt that it's to show ones manliness. When you are used to rain (I bet everyone that lived in London for more than a week is), you know when it's not strong enough to get you wet and when it's really time to take your umbrella or get a shelter. I usually carry an umbrella, but use it only when I see that otherwise I'm going to get soaked. Walking down a crowded street with an umbrella is often simply too much of…

The thing is it doesn't actually rain that much in London. I mean it rains a bit but reputation for rain is far in excess of the reality if you were to compare it with many north American cities. Have a look at http://www.worldclimate.com/ to compare. London is pretty dry.

It's not the total amount of rainfall but the number of rainy days. IIRC it rains about 30% of days in March.
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