I have something important to ask you.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Is there an ‘h’ at the end of ‘bla’?

An eagle-eyed reader (hi, Dad) had the front to question the spelling in my last post. Apparently, spell-check agrees. WHATEVER.

To my mind, it's all about context. “Bla bla bla” mimics pointless chatter. “Feeling a bit blah” denotes melancholy or boredom. Are there two bla(h)s, maybe?

They sound different in my head. “Bla” has a nice Scottish ring to it – that flat, short “ah” sound, like the “ba-” in “battered Mars bar” – while “blah” seems to lend itself to a long, drawn-out, Home Counties sort of vowel, or perhaps a Texan twang. Try it. Bla. Blah. Bla. Blaaahhh.

This is the kind of thing that rattles around my brain. Thanks, Dad, for asking the question. I'm sticking to my guns, but you are entirely welcome to disagree.

I will now segue effortlessly into an entirely different topic by mentioning that the man in that picture up there has a beard. You know who else has a beard? Fin. You know something else about Fin? Three years ago today, reader, I married him.

Our first three years of marriage have seen a fair amount of bla-bla-bla and the occasional, unwelcome dollop of blah, but I wouldn't have swapped them for the world. Happy anniversary, Kais. Love you.


Bla bla bla by Villaraco on Society6

SEE ALSO:

15 boats moored

  1. I completely agree....with you. Bla bla bla bla bla.

    But I feel blah, so blah to you too.

    And scene.

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  2. I always think both are blah. But then it all has a long drawn out home counties sound when it comes from me (I did grow up in Berkshire) so that might be why.

    Happy Anniversary to you two! xx

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  3. Oh what a cute way to end a post, happy anniversary. I now have blah bla blah blaaah ringing around in my head - and no answer to your question. I always thought it was blaH either way, but you've confused me enough to make me question myself...

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  4. Happy Anniversary.

    I think blah for both but again possibly it's an English thing.

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  5. Happy anniversary. I have no idea if its bla or blah.... In Spanish of course it's bla, so it does not seem weird at all to me.

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  6. Happy anniversary! I'd spell it blah, but I never realised there were two types of bla/blah. I'm such a philistine :)

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  7. Happy anniversary! And, I'm totally with you on the bla versus blah thing!

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  8. Happy Anniversary!

    I'm Team Blah I'm afraid although you argued your point very eloquently.

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  9. Happy anniversary! Here's to many more years filled with more happiness and joy, and less and less bla/blah :)

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  10. Um, CHEERS, YOU GUYS. xoxo

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  11. Happy anniversary Kirsty! :)
    x

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  12. A soft white bread roll from the south-east of Ireland is called a 'blaa.' So you can add that to your list!

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  13. My dads most consistent comments abut my blog are about my spelling... Happy anniversary x

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  14. Happy anniversary! I love your discourse about the different types of 'blah'. Where does 'bleh' fit in, I wonder....

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