Strolling Down the [AV]

Strolling Down the [AV] Strolling Down the [AV] Strolling Down the [AV] By Maeve Maddox Just when I thought I’d developed a thicker skin regarding linguistic innovation! I was listening to classical music on my local NPR station the other morning when the DJ launched into some public service announcements. The first time she said [av] for avenue I wasn’t sure I’d heard correctly, but then she mentioned another address that included the word avenue. Again she said [av]. And then, leaving no doubt whatever, she pronounced a third address as Central [av]. Say it isn’t so! I need the help of you readers on this one. Googling won’t help me figure out if this is a trend or merely a local aberration. Please let me know if you have heard anyone pronounce the abbreviated form of Avenue as anything other than [ÄÆ'vÉ™-nÃ… «] or [ÄÆ'vÉ™-nyÃ… «] For the record, avenue, abbreviated Ave. or Av., came into the language as a military term meaning â€Å"a way of approach.† Now it refers to a wide street lined with trees or, in some cases, a street having a planted median. In British usage an avenue is the roadway leading from the gate to the front of a country house, like the lovely tree-shaded approach to Manderly in the movie Rebecca. I suppose I shouldn’t be too astonished. The word versus, abbreviated vs. or v. is now universally pronounced [vee]. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)Empathy "With" or Empathy "For"?150 Foreign Expressions to Inspire You