Is it a 'hooper' swan or a 'wooper' swan? (1 Viewer)

[Guizotia]

I thought I heard Rory McGrath on Three Men in more than One Boat call a Whooper Swan a 'Hooper Swan', and wasn't corrected by their local birder guide.

That's not right is it? Aren't they named after their call which sounds like a 'whoop' i.e. 'woop'?

 

[robinm]

I must admit I always say hooper and I cannot recall hearing anyone say wooper.

 

[Guizotia]

So does the sound this swan makes actually sound like 'hoop', or does it sound like 'woop' but the pronunciation of the name has been corrupted? Or am I wrong in thinking it is named after the sound of it's call?

 

[nickderry]

I've always said 'hooper' after being corrected as a child. I suppose it's pronounced the same as whooping cough.

 

[Chewbaxter]

Yep - it's "Hoop" Not "Woop"...

Mind you, this is coming from someone who hets told off for desctibing public transport as a "buzz" as opposed to a "bus"... still, I often get let off the hukk for it.

Reeto - off to read me boook...I had a loook at it earlier... all about roooks - or is it rukks?

Mad stuff pronunciation eh?

:t:

Neil.

 

[Moraybirdlover]

IMHO I would call them "Hooper" swans, But I have heard Americans referring to Whooping Cranes as "Wooping Cranes" so perhaps that is where the confusion arises.

 

[StokeOwl]

Definitely Hoop..er.

The noise they make doesn't sound like hoop or a woop to me. It sounds like a broken car horn! I strongly suggest you never go and spend a morning in the company of Whoopers if you have a hangover.

Here's a link to some other pronunciations.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~sbpoley/pronounce.htm

 

[Guizotia]

Thanks! Yes the example of Whooping Cough is a good one.

 

[david kelly]

The most common pronunciation I've heard is Whooper, ie both w and the h are pronounced. I have, however, noticed that many English accents do not pronounce words the way they should be by missing out letters and adding them in e.g. "I drove my ka, a Vectrar, to the cinemar".

The best pronuciation I've heard was someone who called them Whopper Swans!

David

 

[Nightjar61]

IMHO I would call them "Hooper" swans, But I have heard Americans referring to Whooping Cranes as "Wooping Cranes" so perhaps that is where the confusion arises.

I've only heard people call them "Hooping" Cranes, and I therefore say "Hooper" Swan.

Dave

 

[richardwp]

Tory MPs go for whipping not a "hipping", so it's "wooper" for me. It's clearly related to the call, however inaccurate, and you whoop (woop) rather than "hoop" with joy whenever you see one, don't you? There are 7 currently on the Somerset levels - 3 adult and 4 juveniles.

 

[timwootton]

I'm in the W-hooper camp, too. Always called them that. In fact (having just said it out loud a few times just to check) I think I say it 'hW-hooper' where the 'W' is pronounced with a preceeding 'h' - as in the pronunciation of 'whose'.

 

[Adey Baker]

The most common pronunciation I've heard is Whooper, ie both w and the h are pronounced. I have, however, noticed that many English accents do not pronounce words the way they should be by missing out letters and adding them in e.g. "I drove my ka, a Vectrar, to the cinemar".

The best pronuciation I've heard was someone who called them Whopper Swans!

David

I think you might be opening up a whole new can of worms here

 

[Barred Wobbler]

W(h)ooper always has been and always will be as far as I'm concerned. "Hooper" is like fingernails down a blackboard to my ears.

As said above, people w(h)oop with delight, they don't hoop.

 

[mikfoz]

I think you might be opening up a whole new can of worms here

Or should it be wu-herms?

It's hooper.

 

[Sandra (Taylor)]

I must admit I always say hooper and I cannot recall hearing anyone say wooper.

I agree too. Never heard it called 'whooper'

 

[steve_zodiac]

During the eighties the voice on Birdline Midlands always refered to them as Wooper Swans.

 

[Hotspur]

Im a hooper man myself and cant remember wooper being used by anybody ive met.

 

[dantheman]

Is this another of those north/south, Scone/scon type debates??

I remember getting laughed at for calling them wooper swans when I first met other birders when I started at sheffield uni, and never heard any proper birders call them woopers since

 

[david kelly]

Im a hooper man myself and cant remember wooper being used by anybody ive met.

Feckin' southern illiterate barstewards!

How do you pronounce white, is it wite or hite?

No it's feckin' white!

Is it Wale or Hale?

No it's a bluidy Whale!

Neither the W nor the H are silent.

If yer Ingils teachers ur deid they'll be whurlin' in their graves.

I'll be awa' tae ma beid noo!

David