Golf, Goff, Gowff, Gawlf

Hastings Standard, Volume VIII, Issue 3095, 6 August 1903, Page 3

Golf, Goff, Gowff, Gawlf

After stating that he is distressed by the English mispronunciation of the word " nolf," a Scotch correspondent of the Times suy.s: "My firafc school was at Bfc Andiews and t there I was arcoiifJi-t tbosa who played and talked of gulf. Amongst gentlemen who had b-aii in England or India, and were free from a pronounesd Scotch accent, v. as called gofe. By tho caddies aad those who spoka oroad Scotch it was called gotvf, as it is still by them called. The phrase folk olay golf' was pronounced by aentlnnu-n ' foka play gofe' (golf rhyming with loaf) ; by the caddies ' fowk play gowf.' There w« a third pronunciation u°ed, but it was an affectation—goff. Tho'e who so pronounced wore supposed to sp'» k English, and this peculiar dialect was greatly admired ,oy iny especially by those who were incapable of acquiring it, -!'! wss known to them as • Edinburgh :■';. :;!i~b.' Could they t!nve forerct.:-! a : , .: t." 'ictual future tnispronuijciotioij o." h • English on takicg up tha game tv.. i;U b&ve bean, with whjD joy would they have called it ' gawlf.' It wouid have soemtd to them 'so Fugiish.' But such pronunciation is entirely oppoaed fo the rule of English orthography, which rule is that ' i ' before ' f ' or ' '/, ' or ' m * i* silent if the vowel preceding it hi ' a ' (uh) o? l o ' (oh) ; but laust be sounds if tho preceding vow>-l bs ' e' or 'i' or ' u.'