I recently was thinking about the correct pronunciations of the terms "karate" and "tae-kwan-do." As I understand it, "karate" is pronounced "kuh-raw-TAY." Which sounds pretty emphatic to me. I mean, if someone were to say to me "Kuh-raw-TAY!" I would understand them to mean: "I kick butt NOW!" At which point I would prepare myself for some intense pain.
Tae-kwan-do, on the other hand, seems more tentative. As I hear it, it comes out "TIE-kwan-do," with a bit of an upward inflection on the last syllable. Which sounds pretty much like a question. This is someone saying to me, "I kick butt now?" At which point I bring in my lawyer. "Mr. Martial Arts Person, I'm Johnny Cochran. I just have some pre-pugilism forms for you to sign here. Pretty standard stuff. No contact in excess of 2 foot-pounds. Absolutely no contact to Mr. Healy's facial area and any deformation of Mr. Healy's facial area will result in indemnities not to value below $10,000--that's US, by the way. Furthermore, any contact in the progeny-sensitive-areas will result in immediate forfeiture of all your common stocks, liquid assets, and complete Simpson's DVD collection. Now if you'll just sign here, here, and here on line five, initial here, place a thumbprint here, and turn over your firstborn, I think you may proceed."
Now, there's self-defense for you: the litigious arts.
Posted by Clifton at January 24, 2003 12:43 PM | TrackBack