A season of hooves on roofs
By DAN LANGFORD
As we enter this Christmas season, I want to comment on typical Southern (or at least Georgian) pronunciation of two words — hoof and roof. The letters “oo” have two distinct pronunciations in English — a short, clipped pronunciation like in “foot” or “cook,” and a deeper, drawn-out pronunciation like in “loot” or “boot.” I’ve heard a few people over the years (none of them native Georgians) who pronounced hoof and roof with the short clipped sound of the double-o. That just sounds funny to Southerners. I’ve never met a Georgian yet who didn’t use the “loot” or “boot” sound when pronouncing the two words.
Both, as it turns out, are correct. Webster’s online gives both pronunciations for both words. Interestingly, it prefers the “loot” sound for “roof,” but the “foot” sound for “hoof.” I don’t suppose it really matters, but I personally prefer what sounds right to me — the “loot” sound for both. Regardless, the important thing is that you be asleep when hoof sounds clatter across your roof the night of the 24th of this month, or Santa might not stop.