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Thursday, March 30, 2006

Pronun-ceashun

I have a habit of rambling on at times with patients when performing procedures on them. It helps keep their mind off of the scalpel and from freaking out. My brain usually flies on autopilot during these diverting conversations, occasionally snapping to attention when I hear something strange, but mostly concentrating on the task at hand.

During one of these conversations, my patient started to direct the subject matter into the hassles of shopping at department stores. I followed the along, absorbed in removing the cyst, when all of a sudden my brain raised the red flag.

Tar-jay? Did she actually pronouce Target like Tar-jay? Like the way we mockingly call it to feel good about buying shoddily built trendy stuff? Tar-jay? She must have been joking around.

I look up, but she's just as much absorbed in her conversation as I was with removing her cyst. And I don't think she was joking around either. This 70 year-old woman must really think that's how you pronounce "Target".

I guess that's what happens when you live in Louisiana, where most names are Creole-French derivatives and has influenced the way people pronounce everything.