``And the Oscar Goes to ... What IS This Word?''

Six months from now most of us won't remember whose names were in ''the envelope'' at the Academy Awards.

But the world will no doubt remember how the Academy told us all to pronounce the word ``Babel.''

Surely there's always an official Oscar pronunciation guide -- not all of those names come trippingly off the tongue. I expect there are a few in the Kodak Theatre who stumbled over ''Pan's Labyrinth'' the first time.

So which will the Oscars decree it to be: ``Bay-bel''? Or ``Bab-el.'' as in ''rabble''? Never mind the dictionary -- whatever Oscar dictates, the rest of us will obey. Or is that Obie?