Re: [Paddlewise] How do YOU pronounce "Clapotis"?

From: Steve Cramer <cramer_at_coe.uga.edu>
Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 11:40:17 -0400
Wes Boyd wrote:
> 
> Joyce, Thomas F. wrote:
> >This useful term originated in French, where it sounds something like
> >"clah-poh-tee." ...  How do YOU say it?
> 
> Clap-it-wa -- but I'm not sure if that's how it's prounounced, either.
> That's my version of what I got from a couple Francophone Canadian kayakers
> around a campfire one night, but I have an absolutely dead ear for
> languages so could have easily screwed it up.

If you pronounce it clap-it-wa, you have to spell it clapitois. The
French word is clapotis, and in general use translates as "lapping," as
in "The waves lapping on the shore." Has a nice gentle feeling used that
way, totally unlike some clapotis you may get into. Shostakovich has a
piece by that name, but I've never heard it.

Around here, we say kla-POH-tis, which I find a rather ugly sound.

Try a Google search on "clapotis" and you'll find some interesting
stuff...

-- 
Steve Cramer
Director
Test Scoring and Reporting Services
University of Georgia
Athens, GA
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Received on Tue Apr 09 2002 - 08:40:36 PDT

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