If you play the flute where people speak American English, you are a flutist; if you play the flute in the U.K. and other English-speaking nations, you are a flautist. In Italian, where the use of the flute in classical music has a long and storied history, the flute is a flauto; hence the adoption of "flautist." Note that the unease about concurrent pronunciation dates back several hundred years, and reflects class issues as well; non-flutists tend to correct flutists about their own usage! As for harpers (vernacular traditions) and harpists (classical traditions), their biggest risk is having their instrument confused with the harmonica (often called the harp).
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 22:21:10 +0000
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