Klarinet Archive - Posting 000934.txt from 2000/04

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] flute players
Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 08:04:08 -0400

Nobody has yet mentioned the *real* reason "flutist" and "flute player"
replaced "flautist" in most parts of the U.S.A. All the other reasons sound
so...reasonable because adults carefully invented them in order to make sure
they never needed to explain the *real* reason. The *real* reason was that
when a teacher said "flautist" with typically sloppy North American
pronunciation to class of ten-year-olds, the darlin' moppets would either
suppress snickers if the teacher was strict or burst into rowdy laughter if
the teacher was lenient. I can attest to this reaction from personal
experience in grade school band. The director, an Italian American, began
his teaching career by saying "flautist" and insisting on it as the only
*correct* pronunciation, but swiftly abandoned it in favor of "flutist" after
several incidents in which he confronted a room full of kids using either
(approved method #1) cupped hands in our armpits or (approved method #2) our
carefully-taught embouchures to imitate (how shall I say this within the
obscenity guidelines of this list?) indelicate noises associated with basic
bodily functions.

Lelia

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