Back to school 8 September 2003, 21:29

Puzzled by a recent search engine referer, “jacques shakespeare bathrooms”, I googled around to see if there is perhaps an up-and-coming bathroom designer known as Jacques Shakespeare. At least until I realized that it’s just the Coles notes people again! Someone was looking for some background for the pun on a jakes (a toilet) with the name of the character of Jacques (kind of a sidekick) in As You Like It.

When it comes to foreign words, names and phrases, apparently the British (or English) ear has been made of tin since the seventeenth century, despite some recent improvement! Case in point: the Jacques example called to mind a seminar professor’s gentle correction of a British-born classmate (in speaking of Lord Byron’s Don Juan), who was pronouncing Juan in a Spanish way. The period pronunciation was actually “Don JOO-uhn”, whereas we now say “Don WAHN”.

A similarly embarrassing mistaken student pronuncation was corrected by our Victorian Novel prof on the subject of Jane Eyre. The name of St John Rivers, Jane’s sometime arch-nemesis, is actually pronounced “Sin Jin”, and not at all like a major city in New Brunswick.

The present rage for fidelity to foreign pronunciation amongst TV news announcers (“ZHAHK Coo-STOA”) contrasts with Shakespeare’s English, in which “Jacques” was indeed pronounced very similarly to “jakes”. Considering Elizabethan/Jacobean plumbing, it’s a disgusting allusion indeed. Perhaps potty humour had a certain special power in those times.

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  1. # And then like 2556 days ago Darren goes:

    You know... I think I might just use that as my "chic designer" name from now on. That's me. Jacques Shakespeare. (or Shakspear. or Shakespere. Even old Willie didn't always get it right)

    — Darren · 2556 days ago · #

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