Speaking as a editor, I love that Digger’s reason for not using “It” as a name was that “it’d play havoc with the pronouns.” I didn’t know wombats were so concerned with grammar 🙂
US southern slang, my foot. In nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain “et” was considered the correct pronunciation of “ate” and pronouncing it “eight” was a vulgarism.
It worked backwards for me. Even thought i have watched the Lion King thousand of times since i was a child, i did not make the conection with the movie while reading this part of the comic. It was until I have read Digger, that re-watching the Lion King I couldn’t help but think of this Ed.
I never properly thanked people on this page for educating me on the British use of the “et” pronunciation. Being a resident of the American South, I had no idea that one of our colloquialisms had such noble origins (or at least parallelism)!
I can’t help but further wonder, now, if Digger (or perhaps Ursula?) was influenced by fond memories of someone else earlier in her life named Edward.
Well, if it was good enough for Digger when she thought she was a rock, then it must be good enough for a Hyena.
Should have been Jim (regarding the earlier “I’m a wombat, not a lungfish” comment). Or Bob.
Speaking as a editor, I love that Digger’s reason for not using “It” as a name was that “it’d play havoc with the pronouns.” I didn’t know wombats were so concerned with grammar 🙂
Is it coincidence that “Ed” sounds like “et”, a (US) southern slang word meaning “eaten”? 😉
@Rachel: proper attention to pronouns is perfectly practical. (Pardon the un-wombatish alliteration … )
😉
US southern slang, my foot. In nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain “et” was considered the correct pronunciation of “ate” and pronouncing it “eight” was a vulgarism.
*raises hand* Uh, I live in northern england and I’ve said et instead of eaten/ate my whole life…
Doesn’t anyone else think of Ed the hyena from the Lion King?
It worked backwards for me. Even thought i have watched the Lion King thousand of times since i was a child, i did not make the conection with the movie while reading this part of the comic. It was until I have read Digger, that re-watching the Lion King I couldn’t help but think of this Ed.
XD Is Digger remembering the time as Edward the rock?
Rereading this from the perspective of early November 2010, it’s wonderful how powerful this simple scene really is.
I never properly thanked people on this page for educating me on the British use of the “et” pronunciation. Being a resident of the American South, I had no idea that one of our colloquialisms had such noble origins (or at least parallelism)!
I can’t help but further wonder, now, if Digger (or perhaps Ursula?) was influenced by fond memories of someone else earlier in her life named Edward.
I only realized on this reread that “Ed” sounds like “it”.
(*hopes intensely that previous readthroughs used JET73L and not Jechtael or even Jeyara*)