[SUB](an excerpt from my mental abuse of people who post on another forum I visit)[/SUB]
Also, “wha laa” is a meaningless phrase. It doesn’t exist. To quote the great Inigo, “I do not think that word means what you think it means.”
“Voilà” is, I believe, the word you’re looking for. Please, please, PLEASE, for the love of all things holy, if you don’t know how a word is spelled, either look it up or don’t freakin’ use it!
Furthermore, it should be Voilà Voilà, Washington.
Also, it is not “viola,” as I have occasionally seen on these august boards. The viola is a musical instrument often played by such un-fascinating people as the lady I went out with on Mediocre Date #6 last year.
I occasionally say “viola” just to be different. I used it yesterday in a thread, and then immediately was besieged by people admonishing me for not saying “voila.”
Ahhh, the power of the internet. All the thoughts with none of the inflection.
I could be wrong, but I imagine you are being whooshed. Many, MANY people pronounce it “walaa” simply because they know it’s incorrect, and they’re trying to be funny or clever.
So it’s not so much that they don’t know how it’s spelled, it’s that they’re doing it on purpose. I’d suggest some thicker skin.
Can I share with you an email I got today? Emphasis mine:
This was supposedly written by an office professional. One who obviously needs a proofreader.
Then there are the people who pronounce “beaucoup” as “boo-coo.”
Q: What did the idiot say when he won the lottery?
A: Walaa! Boo-coo bucks!
Y’all missed the memo…
“Woot!” is now the official choice of surprised expression.
Correction: It should be “Walaa! Boo-coo buck**’**s!”
Shit. Damn English degree follows … uh, I mean follow’s, me everywhere!
Whadayamean there’s no such word as “Walla”?
(OK, so the site’s in Hebrew and you can’t read it… but the name appears in English as well. Oh, and it’s probably the #1 or #2 Portal in Israel, so it very definitely exists)
And the word “Walla!” is actually basterdized Arabic, meaning (at least as used in Hebrew), well… something like “Woot!”
This post has been brought to you by “Truth is Stranger than Fiction”
Dani
In the South, my relatives often referred to having “boo-coos” of things.
“He got boo-coos and boo-coos of presents for Christmas, didn’t he?”
It wasn’t until 10th grade French that my brain connected the two.
Moi, je m’en fîche. Cet argotisme anglais «wa la» m’amuse bien. Quoique je sache bien que c’est «voilà,» j’aime bien dire «wa la» parfois. Mais jamais quand je parle français, bien sûr!
À l’autre main, je ne dis jamais «boucou,» comme on dit. Je ne dis jamais «beaucoup» quand je parle anglais non plus; j’ai horreur de cet argotisme. Je comprend que ce n’est que ton bête noir, Lightnin’. Malgré que je haïs «boucou,» je peux supporter «wa la.» Je parie que Munch a raison: il s’agit de développer de la chair plus épaise. Quand-même, j’ai beaucoup de bêtes noirs linguistiques, moi, et j’arrive à peine de les excuser moi-même!
Sans doute je n’ai point t’aidé. Désolé. Je te conseille de suivre mon exemple: quand quelqu’un doit utiliser un de ces choses agaçantes, donne-le une chataîgne! Ça ne va pas arrêter ces cochonneries, mais tu sentiras plus content!
I was recently told that a point was mute.
Hey… I’m fascinating. Really, I am. Well, okay, at least I try to be.
Anybody who says “walaa” is prolly a real looser…
Well? The point wasn’t actually speaking, was it?
Yeah, my skin crawls when I hear someone say: wha-LAH!
But… to put a scientific spin on this, adults often do not hear sounds that are not native to their language. The consonant pair “vw” simply is not found in English, and so some people might not hear (or not hear well) the actual french pronunciation.
Reminds me of when I was in China trying to learn a few words.
Chinese person: Say [what sound to me like] “ZHR”
me: “ZHR”
CP: No, it’s “ZHR”
me: “ZHR”?
CP: Let’s try another word…
That one has caused me to shove my paw into the air during a meeting.
It’s moot which rhymes with boot which I’ll insert in your toot unless you arrest this obstreperous vitiation of the language.
On Married - With Children, Kelly and Bud succeed in picking a lock.
Kelly (opening the lock): Viola!
Bud: That’s “voilà,” Kel.
Kelly: Look, I failed Spanish, all right?