How do you say it??

[zipperfoot]

[QUOTE=sk_pacer;7650937]
It’s pronounced shaps here too, and shotguns is sometimes used as well.

Yep, we have our own way of saying things here - ‘furriners’…er…out of area people…always mispronounce Saskatchewan and Regina; we slur the former to (roughly) Sask-At-chew’n and Regina has a long I rather than the long E. A town in the SE is named Bienfait but is pronounced Been Fate and there are dozens of other place names that get massacred by people who didn’t grow up around here.[/QUOTE]

Here in Mid-MO, there’s the age-old debate as to whether it’s Missou-ree or Missou-rah. I once heard that people who were born here were the only ones who called it Missourah. This time of year with the heat, humidity and bugs, most of us call it Misery…

[SillyHorse]

Lifelong easterner here: Chaps. And AHvuhCAHdoe.

[NoSuchPerson]

Oh, yeah, in addition to the chaps and chinks, there are also armitas, which I had never heard of until about a year ago.

I’m also not entirely clear on what determines which one of the three one would chose to wear - assuming that there is some reason related to function and not just personal style.

And are chinks properly worn with the tall cowboy boots rather than the shorter ones or does it not matter?

[Antaeus]

[QUOTE=CDE Driver;7651056]
I think it’s interesting that those of us that say “shaps” are aware that some people pronounce it CHaps, but those of you that do say chaps aren’t aware of the shaps pronunciation.

Shotguns vs Batwings…
And then there are chinks![/QUOTE]

Ditto. My DH and I both say “shaps”, watched High Chaparral, and between us have Shotguns, Batwings, and Chinks ( pronounced CHinks )

[Zuri]

Chaps here in the Mid Atlantic.

I wonder if Ralph Lauren knows that some people call his clothing line “Chaps” like “Shaps”.

Very educational thank you! Had no idea there was another way to pronounce chaps!

[cowboymom]

I think the history of the word clearly explains that “shaps” is correct and chaps is not.

[sirbeastmom]

Another vote for “shaps” here, at least among Western riders.

[saddleup]

I live in the west, and when I hear someone call them CHaps (which rarely happens here, btw) it’s like fingernails on chalkboard to my ears.

[Beverley]

Shaps. Trust me on this, I’ m a Texan…

Edited to add, I never heard any of my Virginia hunter friends mispronounce it.

[NoSuchPerson]

[QUOTE=cowboymom;7651783]
I think the history of the word clearly explains that “shaps” is correct and chaps is not.[/QUOTE]

If you’re going to base “correct” on the way the word was pronounced in the source language, we’re all mispronouncing half the words in the English language.

[Megaladon]

Chaps here in PA. Never heard of shaps. I thought Spanish pronunciation did not have a ‘sh’ sound, rather always the ‘ch’ sound (like champu)?

[NoSuchPerson]

[QUOTE=Megaladon;7651947]
I thought Spanish pronunciation did not have a ‘sh’ sound, rather always the ‘ch’ sound (like champu)? [/QUOTE]

Hmmmm. The internet says:

The Spanish CH is easy to master for English speakers — it’s basically the same as the “ch” in English words such as “church” and “march.”

Unlike in English, the Spanish ch is always pronounced in the same way. Spanish cognates of English words where the “ch” has a different pronunciation are typically not spelled with a ch in Spanish. For example, the Spanish equivalent of “architect” is arquitecto.

The Spanish “ch” is pronounced like the “ch” in the word “chief.”

ch cheh Sounds like the ch in “cheese” in English.

[mswillie]

[QUOTE=billiebob;7650716]

It will be a cold day in hell before I say subs and pop instead of hoagies and soda.[/QUOTE]

No it’s subs and soda, not hoagies or pop.

And that city in PA that is home to a large Amish community is lank-a-ster, not lan-kast-er.

And I’ve never heard “shaps”. But I’m guessing it’s from chaparral which means I’m saying it wrong as “chaps”.

[Megaladon]

[QUOTE=NoSuchPerson;7651958]
Hmmmm. The internet says:[/QUOTE]

Yes, I think shaps sounds more French than Spanish, but what do I know, I’m not fluent in either language LOL!

[HotHorse]

Another for chaps here.

My current pet peeve word is “creek”. It drives me up a wall to hear it pronounced “crick”! (This from cowboys and wannabe cowboys)

[NoSuchPerson]

[QUOTE=HotHorse;7652132]
Another for chaps here.

My current pet peeve word is “creek”. It drives me up a wall to hear it pronounced “crick”! (This from cowboys and wannabe cowboys)[/QUOTE]

That’s just one more example of regional differences. “Crick” is commonly heard in some parts of the midwest, as well.

[walktrot]

[QUOTE=suz;7651223]
When I moved to Vermont I saw Chinese goulash on a menu and thought, ok, Chinese veg and sauce type thing sounds good for lunch.
Imagine my surprise when I was served elbow noodles with tomato sauce and ground beef!
And when I asked if I had the right food, the waiter was highly offended at my question.[/QUOTE]

In Maine it’s called American Chop Suey. In the grocery store you buy it in the frozen food aisle. It’s called Macaroni and Beef, and Stouffer’s makes it.

The teenager who has been riding my horse came indirectly under the influence of Buck when she spent some time riding with a Buck trainer (who hosts his Maine clinic biannually). Now I know why she refers to Shaps, Kinks, and McCarty.

[Sparrowette]

Okay, here’s another one.

I grew up hearing and saying BOH-sul. Yet these days I hear so many people say Boh-SAHL

BOH-sul is close to the Spanish pronunciation (in 2 syllable words, the accent is on the first syllable unless there is an accent on the second. Note PApa and paPA’. One is a potato and the other is Dad), and to my ears, Boh-SAHL sounds like an affectation.

[Wellspotted]

[QUOTE=billiebob;7650734]
Cowboymom has just described my grandma’s heritage–one big melting pot minus the Swedish. I still don’t know where she gets “catsup” from.

My Norwegian cowboy grandfather says both shaps and chaps, depending on if he’s talking to me or my grandma.

ETA NoSuchPerson, your mother’s face was probably similar to mine the first time someone offered to get me a sub. I also bite my tongue at what the local coffee shop calls a “Philly steak sandwich.”[/QUOTE]

“Catsup” is the older spelling of “ketchup.” It was pronounced “ketchup” but spelled “catsup.” I just noticed the other day that the bottle in my fridge is “ketchup” – I remember “catsup” from childhood! I was told it was originally from India; just saw an online article saying the Far East, so who knows?

http://graphic-design.tjs-labs.com/show-picture?id=1112889697

[bits619]

This thread is blowing my mind too! I say chaps with a ch, Mid-Atlantic raised & southeast resident here… I NOW know they probably should be 'sh’aps, but I’m pretty sure I’d get the hairy eyeball if I went around saying, “have you seen my ssssshaps? Anyone? I’m looking for my half ssssshaps!”

Makes me think of how every non horse person calls them ‘a$$less chaps’ (duh, all chaps are a$$less!) but in fact they should be saying it like “a$$less shaps”… Turns it into a tongue twister!

And thanks to this thread I’ve just said ‘avocado’ so many times it’s lost its meaning. Same with Lancaster. And I’m completely lost on the pronunciation of Saskatchewan, by a native or tourist!

Shaps.

…SMH