We say this all the time, but some of our best questions come directly from listeners.
For instance, Professor Anne Curzan attended an event at Hooked Bookstore in East Lansing recently and was asked by several members of the audience about the correct pronunciation of "homage."
"Homage" was borrowed into English from Anglo Norman circa the 1300s. It originally referred to a male tenant’s public acknowledgement of himself as a vassal of his lord. In other words, a declaration of “feudal allegiance.”
While that meaning is clearly obsolete, we still use “homage” today to refer to an “acknowledgement of reverence” or “expression of high regard or respect. This is the meaning in the phrase “to pay homage.”
Pronunciation of “homage” is generally a matter of whether you prefer to pronounce the “h.” Many standard dictionaries list both “OM-idj” and “HOM-idj” as equally acceptable.
“Homage” can also refer to a tribute, such as a piece of art or music, that shows respect for someone by incorporating their style or content. For example, “The fashion designer’s spring line was an homage to Oscar De La Renta.”
Many standard dictionaries note that “oh-MAZH” is a relatively common pronunciation with this particular meaning, and there’s some chance that it reflects a reborrowing from French.
This week we decided to tackle a second question, which came from our listener Kelly Feehan:
“Someone I was speaking to recently used the phrase ‘to a tee.’ I started to wonder what exactly 'tee' is in reference to and couldn't really come up with an explanation.”
To hear what Professor Anne Curzan had to say about that tee, listen to the audio above.
