erastes

Depends where you're from, hon. [poke] If it's written in the POV of a British character, then you're correct. If it's in the POV of an American character, then "(w)rath" and "hung" are correct, and the other way would be wrong.

Angie

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diannefox.livejournal.com

Is "hung" correct here in the US? I could've sworn it wasn't, but I'm willing to be corrected. :)

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well, i'm english, and watching an english character say RATH is galling.

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alankria.livejournal.com

I pronounce it 'rath'. How old was the character? Chances are I've been influenced either by American pronunciations in general or by my parents' occasionally non-British pronunciations, while older generations are probably more likely to use the traditional English/British pronunciation.

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Well you are very bad! LOL.

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Depends on the character, actually. These days, an American character has to be pretty well educated on language and usage to say "hanged" when someone's getting their neck stretched. If we're talking about dialogue (which I'm assuming we are) then most characters these days are going to say "hung." It's a characterization thing, but unless you write a lot of Ivy League class people (or writers :) ) "hung" is going to be correct for American characters most of the time.

Angie

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diannefox.livejournal.com

Good to know. :)

I don't think I've ever actually run into that problem in a story. That's what I get for not writing about executions!

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Do any states actually hang people anymore...? It might be a mostly-moot point nowadays, unless the story's set somewhere else, or you've got a vigilante execution.

If it's a historical, even by a few decades, then more people will know to say "hanged" and so it's not a problem. :)

Angie

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yeah but this was an english character, so ...GRRR.

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In that case, definitely Grrr! :D

Angie

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sionnain.livejournal.com

"hung" is going to be correct for American characters most of the time.

I'm an American, and I've definitely heard/read it as 'hanged' more than 'hung', with the exception being The Highwayman by Johnny Cash, heh. :D

I think, anyway? OH MAN NOW I AM GOING TO BE VIGILANT TO SEE WHICH I NOTICE. *grins*

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It might vary by region; it'd be interesting to do some kind of a survey. I've heard "hung" more often than "hanged," which sounds kind of posh and a bit pretentious to me. Of course, that's what I use ;) but then I'm a bit pretentious when it comes to language.

My point (which I probably haven't made very well) is that when you're writing dialogue, or narrative in deep third where narrative should be in the style of the POV character, what's correct or incorrect isn't as important as what people like Character Bob actually use. "Hanged" is still correct, but it's not what your average person uses in speech, any more than your average person has any clue when to use "whom" instead of "who," as someone else pointed out somewhere else in the thread. Heck, I didn't know how to use "whom" either until I took Latin; how many Americans have had that particular opportunity for grammatical enlightenment...? :)

There'll be differences between groups, though -- probably regional, maybe by social class, definitely with educational level. Although even people with advanced degrees aren't always going to speak correctly. I certainly had to bleed all over memos and reports for scientists and engineers and managers with degrees up to the doctoral level, back when I was doing clerk/secretary stuff. And then there are always going to be individuals who, regardless of what group they're in, ran into a piece of info and make use of it, or who know what's proper but prefer to talk down a little for whatever reason. The trick is to figure out how Character Bob thinks and feels and knows, and therefore how he speaks, when you're writing him.

Oh, and where he is and whom he's speaking to could change it too; plenty of people speak more correctly when talking to a work or social superior, or to an older relative, or to a clergy person, than they do when they're hanging with their buddies, frex.

Angie

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No, it's "hanged." But a lot of people get it wrong.

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diannefox.livejournal.com

"Roth" is actually a British pronunciation, "rath" is also correct. (But "hanged" is a pet peeve of mine, too.)

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I know it's English. I'm English. The character who said it wrong was english.

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semioticwarrior.livejournal.com

And some meat is well hung.

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trust you to lower the tone! lol!

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sasha-davidovna.livejournal.com

It's definitely "rath" in my corner of Middle America, but I'll have to think about hanged vs. hung. I certainly have seen people use them interchangeably but I'm not sure which is considered correct over here.

Thank God for Brit/American pickers is all I can say! It's amazing how much the little differences can trip you up. I still forget sometimes when I'm talking to Brits that a sentence like "he likes to walk around the house with no pants" has a very different meaning to you! :)

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Or, "can i borrow a rubber?" to an American would raise some eyebrows.

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Just so long as you don't return it when you're finished...

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tiggothy.livejournal.com

Note to Self: pronounce that word "roth" when near E.

(because yes, I pronounce it otherwise at times. Then again, I live in a world with aminals, ciminas, and scary-planes)

otoh, I completely agree about the "hanged"/"hung". Always makes me think of an old (I think it was from the '70s) Giles cartoon - busy street scene, headline on newspaper seller's stall is "Will Parliament be hung?"; caption: "In my day we spelled it h-a-n-g-e-d"

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baritonejeff.livejournal.com

While I immensely like and prefer the British pronunciation, in standard American English(?) it's pronounced "rath".

As for "hanged", you're spot on, and that drives me crazy too.

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yes but I'm not American! The show I was watching wasn't American and the character wasn't American! So he should not have said Rath.

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baritonejeff.livejournal.com

Pardon me.

I most definitely should have assumed that the blanket statement "It's pronounced ROTH" actually meant that you were referring to a British character on a British show, and not have let it slip my mind that you are British.

Silly me.

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gehayi.livejournal.com

Now, see, I was always told that "wrath" and "wroth" are two different words--both meaning the same thing, but one was still in use and the other (except for fairy tales and the Bible) wasn't:

So you could talk about someone being being full of wrath, or wrath being one of the seven deadlies, and that would be pronounced RATH.

But if you were reading a Bible story, it would be written as, "The Lord God was WROTH with his chosen people." And that would be pronounced ROTH. (I figured the words looked different and sounded different because one was a noun and the other was a verb.)

There's a scene in A Feast for Crows (p. 450) where a mother reprimands her daughter for the hanged vs. hung thing:

"Outlaws killed him," sobbed Lady Amerei. "Father had only gone out to ransom Petyr Pimple. He brought them the gold they asked for, and they hung him anyway."

"Hanged, Ami. Your father was not a tapestry."

Edited Date: 2010-10-01 12:15 am (UTC)

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Nope. Wrath is pronounced Wroth - here.

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And "wroth" is pronounced...?

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m-barnette.livejournal.com

I think your eggs are getting 'sick' since it says the shells are soft. Might want to hide them for a day or so.

In the US it would be Rath of Khan, and hung, not hanged. We're weird, but you already know that about us folks from this side of the pond.

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mysid.livejournal.com

Agree with you on the pronounciation of "wrath"--short "a" is the way to go in the USA; disagree on the "hanged/hung". "Hanged" is correct in America for executions and suicides, but most Americans do get it wrong in conversation. (Sort of like "who/whom". We're taught when "whom" should be used in school, but it's a rare American who uses it in conversation.)

Edited Date: 2010-10-01 06:03 am (UTC)

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Everyone keeps telling me that it's that way in America - and I know this! I wouldn't be making a fuss if I was watching an American show.

Thanks for the heads up about the eggs, I think I'm giong to have to kill them all anyway as I've run out of freezing.

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sionnain.livejournal.com

I wouldn't be making a fuss if I was watching an American show.

Ahhh! From your post, it appeared you were watching Wrath of Khan, the Star Trek movie, and that is what inspired your--dare I say it? hee!--and that's an American film. Which may explain why the Americans on your flist were all telling you that, heh. What show were you watching? More things need the word 'wrath' in them, IMHO. :D

And I have always known the word as "hanged" but perhaps I am just brilliant? Y. *giggles*

For my regional RAWR pet-peeve--the word y'all is NOT SPELLED YA'LL. It's a contraction of You All, not Ya Ll. That drives me batty. :D

Edited Date: 2010-10-01 03:23 pm (UTC)

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