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For my friend UK on the topic of a "No'thEaster"
Clarification = Below in italics is a post from someone (not me) on the topic of a nor'easter, who'm my friend UK says is correct in the pronunciation of the word. And since UK and I like a good fun arguement on any subject, I had to post my thoughts in amongst this as well.
There is no argument that the term Nor’easter is commonly used. That is precisely the problem, and unfortunately it is now pervasively used to identify a coastal storm with northeasterly storm force winds. Less then storm force and it would be a northeast gale but today’s weather people and others no longer consider this.
The word Nor’easter is slang.
Slang: vocabulary, idiom, etc., that is not appropriate to the standard form of a language or to formal contexts, may be restricted as to social status or distribution, and is characteristically more metaphorical and transitory than standard language.
Today’s “modern” dictionaries are loaded with slang. They are influenced by popular use, and with little commitment to preserve the language. The original meaning or hundreds of words has been altered thus making it difficult and often impossible to interpret old text and documents using the distorted word meanings. For someone doing research it is a pain in the neck!
The Google search results posted by Keeper are completely irrelevant because the search compared a slang word spelled correctly (nor’easter) to a spelled pronunciation (no’theaster) of the correct word (notheaster) from which this slang was derived.
I offer the following from my Google search:
Nor’easter -- 27,900, Northeaster --11,300,
Nor’east -- 6,600, Northeast --7,120,000
Summary:
Total Nor’s 34,500
Total North’s 7,131,300
The North’s have it over Nor’s by margin of 207 to 1.
I rest my case.
Concerning NOAA of course they use slang but not the guy on the local NOAA weather station. But he has been replaced by a computerized voice. As for the WC weather clowns dancing around on camera, I would not consider them to be the ultimate authority on the English language.
Ok UK, I get the point, but here's mine - if a No'thEaster starts down here in the south, then we're free to call it whatever we wanna! Say yours with a Main accent and you get it "No'thEaster" say it with a southern accent you get "NorEaster" and since the folks at the WC are in Atlanta, that makes 'em a part of the Southern climate!
And at the NOAA Q & A page on this topic we have:
Q: What is a Nor'easter or Northeast Winter Storm?
A: From the Mid-Atlantic Coast to New England, the classic storm is called a Nor'easter. A low pressure area off the Carolina coast strengthens and moves north. Wind-driven waves batter the coast from Virginia to Maine, causing flooding and severe beach erosion. The storm taps the Atlantic's moisture supply and dumps heavy snow over a densely populated region. The snow and wind may combine into blizzard conditions and form deep drifts paralyzing the region.
Now notice how it says it is off the CAROLINA coast? So I'm sorry if it sounds too much like Norwester in your accent, but in ours it doesnt come close to sounding that way!
Hugs to you UK ;> (I'm sure some of my other NORTHERN bloggers will side with you so no worries!)
Clarification = Below in italics is a post from someone (not me) on the topic of a nor'easter, who'm my friend UK says is correct in the pronunciation of the word. And since UK and I like a good fun arguement on any subject, I had to post my thoughts in amongst this as well.
There is no argument that the term Nor’easter is commonly used. That is precisely the problem, and unfortunately it is now pervasively used to identify a coastal storm with northeasterly storm force winds. Less then storm force and it would be a northeast gale but today’s weather people and others no longer consider this.
The word Nor’easter is slang.
Slang: vocabulary, idiom, etc., that is not appropriate to the standard form of a language or to formal contexts, may be restricted as to social status or distribution, and is characteristically more metaphorical and transitory than standard language.
Today’s “modern” dictionaries are loaded with slang. They are influenced by popular use, and with little commitment to preserve the language. The original meaning or hundreds of words has been altered thus making it difficult and often impossible to interpret old text and documents using the distorted word meanings. For someone doing research it is a pain in the neck!
The Google search results posted by Keeper are completely irrelevant because the search compared a slang word spelled correctly (nor’easter) to a spelled pronunciation (no’theaster) of the correct word (notheaster) from which this slang was derived.
I offer the following from my Google search:
Nor’easter -- 27,900, Northeaster --11,300,
Nor’east -- 6,600, Northeast --7,120,000
Summary:
Total Nor’s 34,500
Total North’s 7,131,300
The North’s have it over Nor’s by margin of 207 to 1.
I rest my case.
Concerning NOAA of course they use slang but not the guy on the local NOAA weather station. But he has been replaced by a computerized voice. As for the WC weather clowns dancing around on camera, I would not consider them to be the ultimate authority on the English language.
Ok UK, I get the point, but here's mine - if a No'thEaster starts down here in the south, then we're free to call it whatever we wanna! Say yours with a Main accent and you get it "No'thEaster" say it with a southern accent you get "NorEaster" and since the folks at the WC are in Atlanta, that makes 'em a part of the Southern climate!
And at the NOAA Q & A page on this topic we have:
Q: What is a Nor'easter or Northeast Winter Storm?
A: From the Mid-Atlantic Coast to New England, the classic storm is called a Nor'easter. A low pressure area off the Carolina coast strengthens and moves north. Wind-driven waves batter the coast from Virginia to Maine, causing flooding and severe beach erosion. The storm taps the Atlantic's moisture supply and dumps heavy snow over a densely populated region. The snow and wind may combine into blizzard conditions and form deep drifts paralyzing the region.
Now notice how it says it is off the CAROLINA coast? So I'm sorry if it sounds too much like Norwester in your accent, but in ours it doesnt come close to sounding that way!
Hugs to you UK ;> (I'm sure some of my other NORTHERN bloggers will side with you so no worries!)
posted by Wench` at 12:20 AM
1 Comments:
http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=108684&z=34
Mr. Halsted said that all you have to do is “stand on a dock or a deck anywhere between New Bedford and Nova Scotia and listen to a few working seamen” and you’ll hear the difference. “It’s ‘nor’west’ and ‘sou’west,’ ‘no’theast’ and ‘s’utheast’ — but never ‘nor’east’ (or, god forbid), ‘sou’east.’”
He explained that the custom of sounding the “th” when the wind direction is easterly and omitting it when the it blows from the west arose in the days of sail. Captains and helmsmen needed to shout and repeat commands in howling weather and make sure they were clearly understood. “‘Nor’west’ and ‘Nor’east’ might sound the same when shouted along the iced-up deck
of a New Bedford scalloper or a Gloucester longliner beating home from Georges against a winter gale. But ‘Nor’west’ and ‘Nawtheast’ would sound distinctly different.”
I knew I read the argument somewhere.
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