Klarinet Archive - Posting 000917.txt from 2000/04

From: "Jim Youngman" <youngman@-----.au>
Subj: RE: [kl] Flute players
Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 08:03:51 -0400

Dee Hays wrote:
>
> In addition, some people, including some scholars and
> musicians, in the US
> are beginning to consider the word "flautist" somewhat
> pretentious. After
> all the English word for the instrument is flute not the Italian word
> "flauto," from which flautist derives. The underlying
> patterns of English
> would permit the word flutist to be coined at any time to
> represent a person
> who plays the flute.
>
In Australia and, I guess, in the UK, "flautist" is the normal use. It is
not considered pretentious. An alternative in common use would be "flute
player". To our ears "flutist" sounds strange. The Macquarie Dictionary,
which is the generally accepted Australian standard, lists "flautist" as
being derived from the Italian "flautista". It lists the word "flute" as
deriving from the Middle English "flowte" from the Provencal word "flauta"
from the Latin "flatus". None of this is to suggest that any of the above
are wrong, only that "flutist" rings dissonantly upon this antipodean
auricular protrusion. :)

Jim

Home page under construction at http://members.optushome.com.au/youngman

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