Re: RARA-AVIS: Skiffy as in hi-fi: Mark after Juri

From: foxbrick ( foxbrick@yahoo.com)
Date: 29 Oct 2007


--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, DJ-Anonyme@... wrote:
>
> Juri wrote:
>
> "Now, in Finnish "sci-fi" is actually pronounced "skiffy", which
version
> I've seen some English-speaking people use."
>
> Skiffy? That's just spiffy!
>
> Similarly, I found it very odd when I first heard the UK pronunciation
> of UFOs as U Foes (in a Graham Parker song). Here, we spell out the
> initials.

Damon Knight in his critial writing collected in IN SEARCH OF WONDER
(who wrote very little CF per se, but his borderline sf/fantasy "You're Another" is also pretty bleakly memorable CF as well, once it sinks in...as is the prefatory story to the novel A FOR ANYTHING, though the rest of that novel itself disappoints me, as a sort of Heinleinian PRISONER OF ZENDA-style sf adventure) encouraged people who Must use Ackerman's term "sci-fi" to at least pronounce it "skiffy," hence the ironic use of "skiffy" by many Anglophone pros and fans. I used it here in the last week, which might've got Juri to thinking along these lines.

Todd Mason, who enjoys the fact that people use UFO as synonymous with Alien Visitation, rather than as anything that one can't identify that seems to be flying. I don't remember "U-foes" (sounds hostile) fromt he old UK tv series UFO, but my memory of that series is pretty hazy, for which I'm probably grateful.



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