Every year around this time, the Rockford Choirs are shaken with the latest “battle” an ongoing “war” between Mrs. and Mr. Scott. “Oh no,” they say, “Mrs. and Mr. Scott are fighting about Christmas again.” Even our kids, now, take sides in the argument.
We are arguing about the pronunciation of the word “Christmas.” Mrs. Scott defaults to a schwa sound (ˈkɹɪsməs) while I say it rhymes with “Swiss Miss.” (‘kɹɪsmɪs)
The truth, as always, is more complicated. We both agree that it can be pronounced multiple ways, depending on context. I think that whenever the second syllable isn’t sustained, it should be short-i, and whenever it is, it should be a schwa.
Indeed, in Shades of Blue right now we are mirroring the pronunciation of the New York Voices, who use different pronunciations in the same performance.
My wife doesn’t really have a default – she tackles pronunciation on a case-by-case basis.
So we’re basically in agreement! Why is it still a “fight?”
This is a great moment every year for students to start to think about nuances of pronunciation, and how things they don’t necessarily notice can be sites of important decisions. It won’t sink in if you’re discussing whether to use Italian or Germanic Latin for an Ave Verum Corpus, but this context is tangible to many students.
It’s also a great place to expand students’ thinking about cognitive dissonance – about the ability to do one thing in one context and another thing someplace else. Until you are forced to consciously sing a word differently in different contexts, you are likely to not even think about your pronunciation at all.
Our “war” reaps tangible benefits in the learning of our students – which is why we’ll probably be waging “battles” for the rest of our careers.
Jokingly, my kids might ominously intone, “Can this marriage be saved?” Indeed it can – and with our students learning along the way!