B.O.A.C. or Bo-ack?
Dec 24, 2020, 12:24 pm
#18
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Dec 24, 2020, 12:34 pm
#19
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Well, true that if the lyric's metre required two syllables instead of four, it would have been Bo-Ak.
But having a pronunciation guided by probably its most famous use in pop culture has been the way of the world for a long time. Like it or not.
Flew in from Miami Beach First class on Bo-ack
Didn't get to bed last night
On the way the I had to grab the paper sack
Man, I had a dreadful flight
Didn't get to bed last night
On the way the I had to grab the paper sack
Man, I had a dreadful flight
Last edited by rickg523; Dec 24, 2020 at 1:12 pm
Dec 24, 2020, 1:53 pm
#21
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Most non-native speakers I heard would say bo-ack.
British speakers (or, rather, former employees), would say B-O-A-C and B-E-A. How do I know? There was a hangar, somewhere in BA Engineering base over at LHR, with a crew room neatly divided in two parts. Engineers would either sit on one side or another and there was no way to get them to mingle. One day I asked what was going and why those on one side would never cross to the other (it wasn't a huge room, mind you). One of the old timers said "We're B-O-A-C crews here, them tossers over there are B-E-A". All the letters were spelt individually.
It was the early 2000s...
British speakers (or, rather, former employees), would say B-O-A-C and B-E-A. How do I know? There was a hangar, somewhere in BA Engineering base over at LHR, with a crew room neatly divided in two parts. Engineers would either sit on one side or another and there was no way to get them to mingle. One day I asked what was going and why those on one side would never cross to the other (it wasn't a huge room, mind you). One of the old timers said "We're B-O-A-C crews here, them tossers over there are B-E-A". All the letters were spelt individually.
It was the early 2000s...
Dec 24, 2020, 6:13 pm
#23
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Capt Hugh Dibley (veteran BOAC pilot) pronounces it B-O-A-C in this interview
https://www.aerosociety.com/news/100...dcast-special/
https://www.aerosociety.com/news/100...dcast-special/
Dec 24, 2020, 7:33 pm
#24
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Most non-native speakers I heard would say bo-ack.
British speakers (or, rather, former employees), would say B-O-A-C and B-E-A. How do I know? There was a hangar, somewhere in BA Engineering base over at LHR, with a crew room neatly divided in two parts. Engineers would either sit on one side or another and there was no way to get them to mingle. One day I asked what was going and why those on one side would never cross to the other (it wasn't a huge room, mind you). One of the old timers said "We're B-O-A-C crews here, them tossers over there are B-E-A". All the letters were spelt individually.
It was the early 2000s...
British speakers (or, rather, former employees), would say B-O-A-C and B-E-A. How do I know? There was a hangar, somewhere in BA Engineering base over at LHR, with a crew room neatly divided in two parts. Engineers would either sit on one side or another and there was no way to get them to mingle. One day I asked what was going and why those on one side would never cross to the other (it wasn't a huge room, mind you). One of the old timers said "We're B-O-A-C crews here, them tossers over there are B-E-A". All the letters were spelt individually.
It was the early 2000s...
It's hangover of unionised, typically ex nationalised industries where terms & conditions were never harmonised (at my company there are around 5 sets of T&Cs across train crew grades). A lot of it is more 'friendly' rivalry but working practices are in many ways vastly different across the company.
To answer the question, I've always said BOAC and have only ever heard it referred to as such. I suppose everyone has their own interpretation.
Dec 25, 2020, 3:27 am
#26
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Dec 25, 2020, 3:28 am
#27
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My friends mum was a airport ticketing agent for BOAC back in the day, and she always without fail refers to it as Bo-ack.
Dec 25, 2020, 3:42 am
#28
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In general abbreviations only become acronyms if that form is has ease and flow, or maybe sounds more attractive. For airlines of the BOAC vintage, that meant TAP as a word, but TWA and BEA as letters.
Elision and the lazy glide through BOAC makes Bo-ack feel contrived and awkward.
Elision and the lazy glide through BOAC makes Bo-ack feel contrived and awkward.