- By Jim Evans
- Entertainment
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SMART TALK By Dr. Shirley Glibb
LIAISON: When speakers say "LAY-ih-zon," it sounds like what comes after Kyrie in the Mass. The Latin Mass, even though Kyrie eleison is a prayer in Greek.
However, our careless speakers have enough trouble with English, let alone other languages. The Institute for the Linguistically Impaired offers a free workshop in correct pronunciation (for example, "KYOO-po-la", "KOO-pon," and "poin-SETT-ee-ah") with all of our packages.
Anyway, our speakers mean to refer to a close connection, an affair or a person used as a go-between. That's a liaison, pronounced "lee-AY-zon" or, less preferably, "LEE-uh-zon."
A similar linguistic impairment is making dais rhyme with bias. The stage where the dignitaries sit is a "DAY-iss."
Perhaps our country's liaison with an unfriendly government is sitting there.
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