I need a word for...

[deird1]

...the really odd sensation of not realising that two things are the same thing.


This has happened to me before, many times. For instance: after decades of hearing Americans talk about Rice Krispies, I saw a box on a tv show, and suddenly realised that they were the same thing as Rice Bubbles. (I'd been picturing something more like Cornflakes, but made from rice.)


And, most recently, I watched an American show with the subtitles on. Which meant that, when "Tamara" came on screen, I could see that people were calling her "Tamara".

I have, apparently, spent years watching tv shows with people called Tamara.

The thing is, though, that in Australia, I'd say "ta-MAR-ah". In America, it seems to be "TAM-ra".

For years and years, I have seen character after character called Tamra, and never ever realised that it was actually just a different pronunciation of Tamara. And now I'm a bit weirded out.

Comments

[kerkevik_2014]

Rice Bubbles?

How on Earth did Australia end up calling Rice Krispies that?

What was the show called?

And invent a word; see how many people pick it up, and whether it gets into the OED :-)

Now THAT would be something to tell the grand-kids :-)

kerk

[zeborah]

Because they're bubbles made out of rice. That they're also crisp is true but not really germane because there are all sorts of other ways to make rice crisp: the really interesting thing is that they're bubbles.