Item Pronunciation

[Xanithon]

Me and a friend were having an argue, about how to pronounce Staff / Stave.

So I say 'Staff' the British way, which is 'st-ahh-ff'. But for the plural, I say 'Staves' 'st-ae-vs'.

My friend says, 'OMFG YOU ARE WRONG, IF IT'S STAFF, THEN YOU MUST SAY 'ST-AHH-VS' '. I say, umm... No. I say St-aah-ff and St-ae-ves.

He then says, 'ANYWAY, ST-AE-VS IS NOT EVEN **CORRECT**, IT'S STAFF'S'.

I personally think that 'St-ahh-ffs' sounds relatively awkward.

What do you guys think?

[qaarh]

staves - [steyvz]
-noun
1. a pl. of staff.
2. pl. of stave.

So says dictionary.com. Amen.

[Xanithon]

Heh. Quick response.

Lol, 'St-ahh-ves'. That guy is an idiot, he doesn't play World of Warcraft.

[Keppler]

either is acceptable nowadays.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=staff gives the origin as stæf, which would imply that "staves" is the original plural (or as original as it gets)