Affectation

The Word of the Day for October 17 is "affectation."

affectation: (noun)
1. A show, pretense, or display.
2. a. Behavior that is assumed rather than natural; artificiality.
b. A particular habit, as of speech or dress, adopted to give a false impression.

Synonyms: affectation, pose, air, mannerism

Usage: "Radical chic" is merely an affectation of radical left-wing views and the fashionable dress and lifestyle that goes with them; it seems to be all talk and no walk.

Relevance to my life: Although I am from Connecticut, I have only met one person who truly exemplifies that affectation of speech sometimes called Connecticut Lockjaw. I was stunned into silence as this gentleman, an authentic Boston Brahmin, languidly gestured toward a crystal decanter and insisted, "Baahbrahh, do... do try the brandy." He extolled the virtues of the Napoleon brandy for about 20 minutes after I'd been poured a snifter of it, and with good reason: it was some good stuff.*

What it is NOT: affection**

I was flattered by his displays of affectation: the hugs, kisses and hand-holding all made me feel like a teenager again. wrong

*What is it with speech affectations among the so-called elite?

I had this guest Russian professor one summer, Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kazbegi. My God, she was ancient then, back in 1988. She was a member of some Russian noble family, and at a young ladies' finishing school in St Petersburg at the time of the revolution. Her family packed off to Germany for a while and then she was married off to a Georgian count.

Anyway, back to 1988... she was teaching us Russian history and culture, and I was constantly distracted by her pronunciation: all of her "l" sounds were pronounced as "w" like my 5 year-old Lucy still does on occasion. I made some remark to my professor Boris about it and he told me that it had been a fashionable affectation of speech among the Russian nobles.


I have heard an affectation of speech among some Oxford-educated Brits of an older generation. There was (is?) some game show on British radio which deals with plays on language. The NPR show "Says You!" is based on it, I believe. I can not for the life of me remember what the original British show is called, and it's bugging me because there's an academic-type who is a frequent panelist on it and he has the best affected accent ever! It's a lot like the character Anthony Blanche's speech in the following clip from Brideshead Revisited.





An excellent example of the Connecticut Lockjaw/Long Island Lockjaw is the late William F. Buckley, Jr. Here is a clip of the infamous encounter between him and Gore Vidal. Priceless.