WALLAH!

Last week, I heard Paula Faris, one of the irritating women of The View, pronounced voila like "wallah".

My brother screamed, "CRINGE!  Is she from Fayette County?"  I have written previously in Sue's News about that mispronunciation here in Fayco.

I had thought this particular mispronunciation was uncommon but then I heard a woman being interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning about Q-Tips also say "WALLAH!".

Looking on the internet, I learned that the mispronunciation is indeed widespread and it seems to have started in the 1990s and is now considered by some to be "acceptable" in "informal" use.

My-oh-my!

Listen below to YouTube:

There IS an actual word WALLAH:  it is of Hindu origin and means someone involved with a particular occupation or activity such as "a clothes wallah";  it is pronounced WAH-la.