please note: linguists worthy of respect do not arrogate to themselves the power to decide such matters. they study what people say and write, amd accept them as the sole and final arbiters of correctness. if we ilxors conclude that 'whoa' is correct, then linguists cannot override us.
― Respectfully Yours, (Aimless), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 05:01 (three years ago) link
Okay that’s fine. I should just let people have their fun with this stuff. Ultimately some things just aren’t about what the truth is. Hey mods please feel free to delete my posts in this thread!
― “Big” Don Abernathy, Wednesday, 23 December 2020 05:02 (three years ago) link
And other threads
― Looking for Cape Penis house (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 05:51 (three years ago) link
No!!
― “Big” Don Abernathy, Wednesday, 23 December 2020 06:03 (three years ago) link
you're new here? feels like you've been around a long time. like an old friend, or a favorite pair of socks.
― superdeep borehole (harbl), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 12:54 (three years ago) link
I've never said either out loud tbh, but "Woah!" in the company of human beings seems appropriate, but I think you would say "Whoa!" to a horse, the -hw sounds seems to make more sense in the latter case. I would probably write "Woah!" because "Whoa!" looks a bit odd.
― Eggbreak Hotel (Tom D.), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 13:07 (three years ago) link
Hwoa, surely?
― Wet Pretzels and Other Soggy Snacks (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 13:43 (three years ago) link
Wo - it's one syllable, two less letters. save us all time plz this planet hasn't got long
― Looking for Cape Penis house (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 13:51 (three years ago) link
Hwoa only if you are about to tell us about the spear-Danes
― american primitive stylophone (zchyrs), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 13:54 (three years ago) link
I come from a place where /hw/ hasn't completely died out.
― Eggbreak Hotel (Tom D.), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 14:09 (three years ago) link
Everyone is probably too busy to do it but I get a sense from the recent posts that if this poll were run and voted on again that “woah!” would run away with it.
― “Big” Don Abernathy, Wednesday, 23 December 2020 17:07 (three years ago) link
"whoa", and the back-up when it needs to use the restroom is "wo"
"woah" is back in toledo washing dishes
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 23 December 2020 17:09 (three years ago) link
but yes, i am way too busy to use ilx right now lol
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 23 December 2020 17:10 (three years ago) link
I maintain, as upthread, that 'woah' =
https://j.gifs.com/m26OYx.gif
― Wet Pretzels and Other Soggy Snacks (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 17:17 (three years ago) link
i just want to add that i am definitely NOT too busy to use ilx right now, i was just being sarcastic. these are the issues that matter
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 23 December 2020 17:18 (three years ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/ykXXqFu.png
case closed
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 23 December 2020 17:19 (three years ago) link
I think you would say "Whoa!" to a horse
When spoken in human company, "whoa" (as I've heard it used) expresses surprise, but it also carries with it the implication of "slow down and give me a moment to absorb that".
― Respectfully Yours, (Aimless), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 17:21 (three years ago) link
it also carries with it the implication of "slow down and give me a moment to absorb that".
sometimes it does. but it can also mean "no no, stop that!", whether to a horse or to another person. i'm thinking back to various times in my life when i have witnessed something horrible that should immediately stop. it's tough to recall particulars, but i remember shouting variants of "whoa whoa whoa no! no!"
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 23 December 2020 17:23 (three years ago) link
Big Don Afterthought going full Sidney Powell
― early-Woolf semantic prosody (Hadrian VIII), Wednesday, 23 December 2020 17:23 (three years ago) link
"whoa" may be a more generalized word for me, though - almost more like a sound or a feeling, sometimes. whoa flies out of my mouth left and right, in many contexts
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 23 December 2020 17:24 (three years ago) link