Last Friday a Horn Matters poll asked two questions on the topic of the name of our instrument.
To the question “How do you feel about the name ‘French horn’?” the majority of people who have taken the poll so far have answered that they call the instrument French horn when talking with non-musicians.
However, when it comes to readers’ reactions to the term “French horn” the results so far are somewhat less decisive.
As a final personal commentary I would point to several articles here and here on the topic of manners and etiquette. In the ideal world of polite social graces, correcting another person’s grammar is considered as somewhat rude and inappropriate behavior.
And too, correcting people on terminology can have the opposite effect as intended. An attempt to enlighten and educate can come across as something else entirely if not handled with the utmost care and attention.
[Extracted from a “Random Monday” post 2021, JE]