What is the difference between ‘danseuse’ and ‘dancer’? (A Jainulabdeen, Chennai)
First, let us deal with the pronunciation of ‘danseuse’. The word consists of two syllables; the first vowel sounds like the ‘o’ in ‘don’ and ‘con’. The second syllable, which has the stress, is pronounced like the word ‘sirs’. Though this word of French origin frequently appears in our newspapers, not all standard dictionaries list it. Native speakers of English use the word to refer to a female ballet dancer. In India, however, ‘danseuse’ is used to refer to a woman who is an exponent of any form of classical dance, not just ballet. It could be Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Odissi, and so on. If you are wondering what the male ballet dancer is called, it is ‘danseur’. The word ‘dancer’, on the other hand, is not gender specific; it can be used with anyone who dances — male or female. The form practised by this individual need not be classical.
Uma, the aging danseuse, collapsed during the performance.
Harish and Achala want to be dancers when they grow up.
Which is correct — ‘me either’ or ‘me neither’? (Hiba, Calicut)
Native speakers of English use the two expressions in informal contexts when they wish to agree with something that someone has said. For example, if your friend says, “I don’t like the new teacher/boss” and you wish to agree, you could say, “Me either” or “Me neither”. In formal contexts, you would be expected to say, “I don’t like him/her either” or “Neither do I”. These four expressions are used in response to a negative statement.
“Renu isn’t planning to see the movie.” “Me neither/either.”
“I don’t trust politicians.” “Me neither/either.”
If the speaker has said something positive, and you wish to agree with him, then you say ‘me too”. In formal contexts, one normally says, “So do I” or “I do too”.
“Janaki loves that show.” “Really? Me too!”
“The VC wants to talk to the students.” “So do I!/I do too!”
As for the pronunciation of ‘either’ and ‘neither’, some people pronounce the ‘ei’ like the ‘y’ in ‘by’, ‘my’ and ‘sky’. Others pronounce it like the ‘ee’ in ‘seep’, ‘beep’ and ‘sheep’. No matter how you pronounce the ‘ei’, the stress is on the first syllable.
How is the word ‘bonhomie’ pronounced? (L. Priyanca, Pune)
There are different ways of pronouncing this three-syllabled word — in all cases, the ‘h’ is silent. As far as the vowels are concerned, some people pronounce the first one like the ‘o’ in ‘lot’, ‘not’ and ‘dot’, and the second like the ‘a’ in ‘china’. The final ‘ie’ sounds like the ‘i’ in ‘sit’, ‘bit’ and ‘knit’. The word, in this case, is pronounced ‘BO-ne-mi’ with the stress on the first syllable. It is also possible to pronounce the first ‘o’ like the ‘a’ in ‘ask’, ‘bask’ and ‘task’, and the final ‘ie’ like the ‘ee’ in ‘feet’, ‘sheet’ and ‘meet’. In this case, the word is pronounced ‘bo-ne-MEE’ with the stress on the third syllable. ‘Bon’ in French means ‘good’ and ‘homme’ means ‘man’; the word was originally used to mean ‘cheerful fellow’. Nowadays, it is used to refer to a good-natured or friendly individual — it could be a man or a woman.
At times, Sheetal’s cheerful bonhomie gets on my nerves.
For a change, the two captains exuded bonhomie.
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I got kicked out of ballet class because I pulled a groin muscle... it wasn’t mine. Rita Rudner
The author teaches at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. upendrankye@gmail.com
