Pronunciation clinic

[#1MMFan]

Has this been mentioned----it's pronounced OFFEN folks- NOT OFF-TEN.

Actually in all seriousness, you guys should read Bill Bryson's book "Made in America" which is basically a history of the origins and changes in the English language. It explains things like "often" being pronounced both as "offen" and as "off-ten" ... and both are correct. In fact I will say both ways, it really just depends on the context. But you should pop into your book store and get this. It also explains things like lieutenant being pronounced "liff-tenant" in the UK, and "loo-tenant" in the US, plus quite a lot of other interesting historical facts. And Bill Bryson tends to be quite humorous in his approach to writing.

Other things .. I found it interesting that you guys of course call the season before winter "fall" and we say "autumn" ... well you would think that our term is the older of the two... WRONG, apparently we used to say "fall" and you guys kept it as that, but we changed it to "autumn"! Weird huh?

It also explains how people over here will say "nyoo-clear" instead of "noo-clear" for nuclear, and "T-yoos-day" instead of "Toos-day" for Tuesday. Very interesting!


Okay, go get it! LOL

 

[KristaTX]

I go to the ice cream shop and order a sundae. The girl is preparing it and asks me if I want "wet nuts". "Excuse me?" "Do you want wet nuts?" After glancing down and around and questioning, I discover wet nuts are nuts in syrup.

OK that would have had me sooo lost, but also giggling .

Ya ever been in a situation where you ask someone to repeat something like 3 times and you are at a complete and total loss? I knew the words he was saying, but I couldn't discern how they were strung together in a fashion that made any sense.

I hate when that happens .

 

[poohbear1029]

Actually in all seriousness, you guys should read Bill Bryson's book "Made in America" which is basically a history of the origins and changes in the English language. It explains things like "often" being pronounced both as "offen" and as "off-ten" ... and both are correct. In fact I will say both ways, it really just depends on the context. But you should pop into your book store and get this. It also explains things like lieutenant being pronounced "liff-tenant" in the UK, and "loo-tenant" in the US, plus quite a lot of other interesting historical facts. And Bill Bryson tends to be quite humorous in his approach to writing.

Other things .. I found it interesting that you guys of course call the season before winter "fall" and we say "autumn" ... well you would think that our term is the older of the two... WRONG, apparently we used to say "fall" and you guys kept it as that, but we changed it to "autumn"! Weird huh?

It also explains how people over here will say "nyoo-clear" instead of "noo-clear" for nuclear, and "T-yoos-day" instead of "Toos-day" for Tuesday. Very interesting!


Okay, go get it! LOL

Does he explain why we pronounce "colonel" like Kernel? That one is a head scratcher!

 

[delilah]

Actually in all seriousness, you guys should read Bill Bryson's book "Made in America" which is basically a history of the origins and changes in the English language. It explains things like "often" being pronounced both as "offen" and as "off-ten" ... and both are correct. In fact I will say both ways, it really just depends on the context. But you should pop into your book store and get this. It also explains things like lieutenant being pronounced "liff-tenant" in the UK, and "loo-tenant" in the US, plus quite a lot of other interesting historical facts. And Bill Bryson tends to be quite humorous in his approach to writing.

I really enjoyed this book. It answered for me why people in Columbus, OH thought I was from Cleveland (by the way I speak), instead of Chicago, where I lived until I was 20yo.

By the way, the most peevishly unpleasant woman I have ever had the misfortune of working with shared the opinion that the word was pronounced "offen", not "of-ten". I, of course, say "of-ten", as did most other people where I was brought up. She had a major Texas twang, hardly "King's English" by any stretch. I would only say "offen" if I had a major cold in my nose or had my mouth full of hot potatoes.

 

[msdznyduck]

Or, when someone is telling you about their purchase, and they say "It costed $20".
I also worked with someone who always said pacific instead of specific.
A big peeve of mine, is when someone says, "Axe" instead of ask.

Jeeze, sounds like I work with a bunch of illiterates

 

[poohbear1029]

Hey - I got a tag for my last post!!! Thanks Tag Fairy!

 

[MinnieM3]

OK, I'm confused. Are you saying you pronounce long LON and ring RIN ???

The "g" isn't silent! "ng" in those words is actually a consonant cluster/blend and should be pronounced, but not stressed in some weird way. It's not silent, like the "e" in bake or the "h" in ghost or the "k" in knew.

 

[#1MMFan]

Why do you guys say "erbs" for herbs? We say Herbs with the 'H'. Also.... we say fru-STRAT-ing... as opposed to FRU-strat-ing. Also, oregano????... o-REG-an-o??? We say o-re-GAN-o. It's soo funny.

 

[PrincessKitty]

There are definitely lots of "bedroom suits" in my area--it cracks me up!

"Hold" means borrow (as in, "Can I hold your pen?").

"Stays" means "lives" as in, "My sister stays over in Tampa."

"Give me some sugar" means "Kiss me." (Usually a parent to a baby or toddler).

A "washrag" or "rag" is a washcloth.

When I first moved here, I couldn't understand the accent of African-Americans who grew up in this area (like trying to understand Cockney English, which I still can't understand at all)... Now I don't know how I could ever have had so much trouble! Of course, now I have a somewhat rural Southern accent, too!

 

[poohbear1029]

Why do you guys say "erbs" for herbs? We say Herbs with the 'H'. Also.... we say fru-STRAT-ing... as opposed to FRU-strat-ing. Also, oregano????... o-REG-an-o??? We say o-re-GAN-o. It's soo funny.

worse yet.....I have heard people say "FUSS-trating"......Hello! There is an R in there!

 

[AnaheimGirl]

Why do you guys say "erbs" for herbs? We say Herbs with the 'H'.

Because then we'd confuse them with Herb, next door.

Also.... we say fru-STRAT-ing... as opposed to FRU-strat-ing. Also, oregano????... o-REG-an-o??? We say o-re-GAN-o. It's soo funny.

Does this remind anyone else of Mike Meyers? "You're putting the em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LA-ble!" Also gar-AGE vs GAR-age. That is funny. I wonder how those differences came about.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

worse yet.....I have heard people say "FUSS-trating"......Hello! There is an R in there!

OMG! dd and I just read this one in a Junie B. Jones book. You know if she says it that way, it's got to be wrong!

 

[PrincessPatty]

AHHH my sister just asked if I could pass her a strawl...hahaha she also wears a brawl.....dont ask...one more, anyone want a hut dog?

 

[#1MMFan]

we don't say em-PHA-sis.. or syl-AH-ble.. ???

 

[2BigKIdz]

Lived in Central VA all my life, have always heard "bedroom suit" (soot).

My husband is from SW NC. When we first met it was winter and he referred to a toboggan (he pronounced it tow-boggan). I just thought he meant a wooden sled, nope, that's what they call a stocking cap. He had some other sayings, not really pronunciations that were different, like he was always fixin' to do something, or if he wanted you to repeat something he said "say" and that was it. He's been here for 18 years now so he talks fairly normal now

It drives me bonkers when people say pacifically when they mean specifically!

 

[AnaheimGirl]

we don't say em-PHA-sis.. or syl-AH-ble.. ???

Sorry, I was talking about a Canadian comedian who said this in a movie (which one?, I can't remember). It was funny at the time. He's putting the "em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LAH-ble" when he's talking about someone else putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable, or something like that, the quote just cracks me up.

Not that you pronounce those words that way, and not that your emphasis is "wrong" (just different), but it just reminded me of the quote, and I thought it might be funny to some other Mike Myers fan.

 

[Syrreal]

Sorry, I was talking about a Canadian comedian who said this in a movie (which one?, I can't remember). It was funny at the time. He's putting the "em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LAH-ble" when he's talking about someone else putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable, or something like that, the quote just cracks me up.

it's from that view from the top movie isn't it? with gwenyth paltrow as a stewardess?

 

[bntlyclg89]

Ok, ok I am really messed up. Born in TX, grew up in Massachusetts. Parents are from Kansas and Wisconsin respectively. I married a Californian. Live in Missouri. Here's my peeves:

It's a lie bra ry not a lieberry (very popular where I grew up on the South Shore).

It's specific not pacific. When I hear it used wrong I want to say "as opposed to Atlantic?".

The best part is when my husband and I went back to Mass and I reverted to my New England accent (what there was of one) to talk to my friends or to locals. He had trouble understanding me.

And folks, its the ar-KAN-sas River until you get to Arkansas where it becomes the AR-kan-saw River (corrected on that my first day of living in Wichita, KS)

Cheers!

 

[Steamboat Marti]

Just saw this thread, haven't read through all the posts yet....

did anyone bring up roof??

Rooooooofff.

Not ruff. Kinda like Creek not crik.

ETA: some people said roof/ruf creek/crik

How about Merry/Mary/Married

They are three different words that mean three different things. In upstate New York they are all pronounce EXACTLY the same. It's up to you to figure out what they mean.

Oh, and my FIL says terlit for toilet. How Archie Bunker can you get??