"Eye-rack" is for dumbkopfs

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Anytime I hear anyone say "Eye-rack," it's hard to avoid thinking that he/she is perhaps a bit of a rube...no offense. Xenophobic, midwestern or southern, doesn't quite get it, a football fan, possibly Republican or in the military. I used to think the correct pronunciation was "Eehr-rahq" until I met a French director who'd been to the region and said that world-traveller types pronounce it "Uhhr-raq." I don't say it that way to this day (it sounds affected), but "Eye-rack" is impossible. It's almost embarassing to bring it up, but so many people seem to pronounce it this way.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 29, 2007 at 8:11 PM

comment #1

Geoff says ...

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/iraq.html

Posted by Geoff at December 29, 2007 8:25 PM

comment #2

Stephe96 says ...

Anyone who spells "naturally" with three L's is likely an uneducated rube, too.

Posted by Stephe96 at December 29, 2007 8:33 PM

comment #3

Balthazar says ...

Zing.

Posted by Balthazar at December 29, 2007 8:34 PM

comment #4

intrinsicgold says ...

Jeff really seems to be jumping the shark at this point. He's almost achieving self-parody by now. He's in the "Small-Time Crooks" phase of his career.

Posted by intrinsicgold at December 29, 2007 8:35 PM

comment #5

alynch says ...

I think I'm going to sit this one out. The smartass insults towards Jeff pretty much write themselves.

Posted by alynch at December 29, 2007 8:38 PM

comment #6

Arran says ...

I think anyone who says "a-loom-in-um" is a rube.

Posted by Arran at December 29, 2007 8:42 PM

comment #7

T. Holly says ...

Yeah Jeff, take that bullseye off your forehead. I threw a rock, and I ran, is how I remember how to pronounce it.

Posted by T. Holly at December 29, 2007 9:01 PM

comment #8

scooterzz says ...

'anytime I hear anyone say "Eye-rack," I naturallly conclude that he/she is a bit of a rube. Under-educated, xenophobic, doesn't quite get it, a football fan, possibly Republican.'

seriously, doesn't this sound like a pissy little throw-away that would come from clifton webb or reginald denny (circa 1950)?.....

Posted by scooterzz at December 29, 2007 9:18 PM

comment #9

TyroneSlothrup says ...

What in the world is wrong with enjoying football? Wow. Anytime someone feels the need to put down another class of people, I wonder what their problem is with their self worth. BTW, just saw Once, and am blown away by it.

Posted by TyroneSlothrup at December 29, 2007 9:56 PM

comment #10

Richard_Stone says ...

I think anyone who writes AM as ayem is a rube.

Posted by Richard_Stone at December 29, 2007 9:57 PM

comment #11

le corbeau says ...

until I met a French director who'd been to the region and said that world-traveller types pronounce it "Uhhr-raq."

A Frenchman would tell you that everyone but Americans pronounces it like Inspector Clouseau. "Euhh want Uhhr-raq for my minkey..."

Posted by le corbeau at December 29, 2007 9:58 PM

comment #12

le corbeau says ...

Oh, and is there anything more smug than all those NPR sorts pronouncing Qatar to rhyme with "scatter" and not with "guitar"?

Posted by le corbeau at December 29, 2007 10:00 PM

comment #13

gpcreative says ...

My friend grew up in Qatar and it's pronounced like "guitar".

Posted by gpcreative at December 29, 2007 10:05 PM

comment #14

le corbeau says ...

Well, who would know better, a resident or Sylvia Poggioli?

Posted by le corbeau at December 29, 2007 10:13 PM

comment #15

MovieBob says ...

For that matter, if you're pronouncing it like the people who're actually FROM there, isn't it actually "Ehh-Dahk?"

Posted by MovieBob at December 29, 2007 10:38 PM

comment #16

Dirty Harry says ...

Actually for us rubes, "eye-rack" isn't a country, it's something we do when our first cousins don't wear a bra.

But that's probably something you don't learn in all those important films that end with a "Fin."

Posted by Dirty Harry at December 29, 2007 10:57 PM

comment #17

uboman says ...

I've served several months in Iraq and I've always heard it pronounced Eye-rack.

Mind you, I was also stationed at Qatar and the majority of military people pronounces the name 'Cutter'.
Not sure why.

Posted by uboman at December 29, 2007 11:00 PM

comment #18

Mr B says ...

What the hell is wrong with football?

Posted by Mr B at December 29, 2007 11:04 PM

comment #19

Bilge says ...

This from a guy who thinks Pakistan is in the Middle East?

Phfffft.

Posted by Bilge at December 29, 2007 11:15 PM

comment #20

BurmaShave says ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbvVkDE9wU

Posted by BurmaShave at December 30, 2007 12:35 AM

comment #21

Walter Sobchak says ...

...as if they didn't already display their rubishness by not choosing "Zodiac" as Best Film of the Year!

My smelling salts, please!

Posted by Walter Sobchak at December 30, 2007 1:16 AM

comment #22

Morpho! says ...

Yeah... lived there for a year. Eye-Rack is perfectly acceptable.

But I'm sure you know more about it than Eye.

Posted by Morpho! at December 30, 2007 1:33 AM

comment #23

Dan Revill says ...

Come for the film, stay for the comedy!

Posted by Dan Revill at December 30, 2007 1:45 AM

comment #24

Larry says ...

Pronunciation, even of place names, is a matter of local custom. Eye-rack is the preferred American pronunciation, though there's a certain amount of variation. Saying ee-rock almost sounds affected. We also prefer to pronounce the "s" in Paris. SFW?

If you talk to an Oxford graduate, you'll likely hear him pronounce the "x" is Don Quixote--does that make him an idiot?

Posted by Larry at December 30, 2007 2:19 AM

comment #25

Stephe96 says ...

And by the way, I'm sure you won't be able to find a single educated liberal football fan in the blue state of Massachusetts this weekend, right? GO PATS!!!

Posted by Stephe96 at December 30, 2007 3:05 AM

comment #26

J. Huff says ...

Since when did it matter how a local country pronounces its own name? Japan is "Nippon" in Japanese, Moscow in Russian is "Moskva" or "Moskvi" depending on the usage...and so forth. It's a fool who judges people by the color of their state or their pronunciation of a country rather than the depths and warmth of their respective hearts.

Posted by J. Huff at December 30, 2007 6:04 AM

comment #27

p.Vice says ...

In America we also pronounce "Jeffrey Wells" as "Stoo-pid Ass-Hole".

Posted by p.Vice at December 30, 2007 7:06 AM

comment #28

goodvibe61 says ...

uboman: Jeff equates being a sports fan with being a second rater. He did a rant about football in particular awhile back, about how it draws a lack of sophistication and all that.

I hadn't read anything funnier or less informed about sports in quite some time.

Give it to Wells, he sticks to his guns! Even if he's shooting blanks...

Posted by goodvibe61 at December 30, 2007 7:29 AM

comment #29

T. Holly says ...

BurmaShave, that video is insidious propaganda. But I'm speechless over the testicle obsession at the end, all I could do was laugh.

Posted by T. Holly at December 30, 2007 8:10 AM

comment #30

Jay T. says ...

A football fan? Don't be a fucking idiot Jeff... Why don't you look at the largest NFL markets instead of making a broad assumption for a change? When you see that, you'll realize how off-base you are.

Posted by Jay T. at December 30, 2007 8:52 AM

comment #31

Jay T. says ...

Meanwhile, don't forget about the iRack... http://www.funnyhub.com/videos/pages/introducing-the-irack.html

Posted by Jay T. at December 30, 2007 8:53 AM

comment #32

christian says ...

Do you also say Eye-gor?

Posted by christian at December 30, 2007 9:50 AM

comment #33

T. Holly says ...

Good one. Gets i-Ran in there too.

Sometimes I think I'd like to fake being into sports. Anyone know an easy way to do this?

Posted by T. Holly at December 30, 2007 10:00 AM

comment #34

Wrecktum says ...

I agre with Wells. Saying Eye-rack makes you seem uneducated. Or at least undereducated.

Posted by Wrecktum at December 30, 2007 10:18 AM

comment #35

dixiedugan says ...

I'd love to comment more on regional dialects, but I need to get some laundry wharshed.

Posted by dixiedugan at December 30, 2007 11:52 AM

comment #36

Sean says ...

"Midwestern or southern, doesn't quite get it, a football fan, possibly Republican or in the military."

Whenever I read poorly constructed sentence fragments strung together in a blog entry, I think that the writer is a rube. Whenever I read condescension towards people over pronunciation, I think the writer is a shithead.

Literally every sentence you wrote in this post has a blatantly obvious grammatical error, Wells; perhaps before you declare how everyday pronunciation errors lead you to believe that you're smarter than everybody, you should work on grammar 101. Or hire an editor.

Posted by Sean at December 30, 2007 1:06 PM

comment #37

Hash says ...

Isn't Wells a college dropout anyway?

Posted by Hash at December 30, 2007 1:39 PM

comment #38

Dave says ...

Everyone I work with calls it Eye-Rack. Everyone I work with happens to be in the military, and most of them have been there, multiple times.

Alas, the fact that most of my co-workers have master's degrees is meaningless to judging their education, given how they're in the military and all. Hell, I think a few of them come from the Midwest, and may have even voted Republican once or twice.

Stop being such an ass, Jeff.

Posted by Dave at December 30, 2007 2:33 PM

comment #39

Jack Price says ...

If it wasn't for Clint Black's "Iraq and Roll" nonsense, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

Posted by Jack Price at December 30, 2007 2:39 PM

comment #40

Dan Revill says ...

Jay T, that was pretty good. Thanks for the share.

Posted by Dan Revill at December 30, 2007 2:47 PM

comment #41

George Prager says ...

They also know when their daughter is having her period because their son's dick tastes funny.

Posted by George Prager at December 30, 2007 3:02 PM

comment #42

Sean says ...

The especially funny part is that Jeff is listening to a French director on how to pronounce the anglicized version of the country's name. If you want the "correct" pronunciation, try "none of the above".

Posted by Sean at December 30, 2007 3:12 PM

comment #43