15 November 2010

Sherman's "French" quarter

Today's unbearable error is brought to you by the letter B.
B, as in Bastogne, Brussels, or Beleriand; B as in baby, berry, or bog; B as in bubbly, boisterous, or buoyant.

B.



There is a neighbourhood located off Gallagher and Loy Lake which I've driven by several times in my 4 years in Sherman. Its streets are named after various regions or cities in France.
Now, I've no quarrel with the French (generally speaking); I quite like their wine, writing, and weather (at least in Normandy!). No, my quarrel is with street signs in foreign languages most of us don't know how to pronounce.
Imagine my consternation as a young teen, hearing that there was a traffic accident at "mar-SELL" Avenue in Dallas. Even then, I knew enough to know that "Marseilles" was French, and certainly not pronounced "mar-SELL"!

Can't imagine my consternation? No trouble, I hope to give you some consternation of your own:
There is a street sign in the aforementioned neighbourhood in Sherman which reads "Burgandy Dr." This is beyond me. How some poor soul should manage to name a street for a region in France, and misspell that region is entirely plausible. What I find completely implausible is that no one said, "Wait, we ought to check the spelling before we erect this sign which will denote our avenue of residence, because we don't speak French and might have misspelt it."
And don't even get my started on the fact that Burgundy is also a colour, which should make it even more accessible in a simple dictionary.

B.
Better to check your spelling, than to botch the whole affair, and leave us all bewildered by your horribly bad inscription.

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