Why is it.....

[KristaTX]

I much prefer "law-yer" (just like it's spelled), and that's usually how I hear it in this part of the U.S. "Loi-er" just sounds silly, even though it is often listed and used as an alternative pronunciation. There are words like that that have multiple common pronunciations, and lawyer is one of them. But with many others, like "insurance", "vehicle", "aunt", "woman", "caramel", and "pajamas" I can understand where differing pronunciations come from. But I can't figure out how anyone gets "loi-er" from lawyer. It seems like it would be spelled "loyer" or "loier" if that was the pronunciation . It's like people saying "nucular" for "nuclear" - I don't get it. Although I guess with my logic that "nuclear" would actually be pronounced "new + clear" .

But it's really no biggie. You say tomayto, and I say tomahto .

 

[donaldduck352]

Bieng a man,I will say-YES MAMM.

Raised in the south you lean manners!!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I much prefer "law-yer" (just like it's spelled), and that's usually how I hear it in this part of the U.S.

I prefer the more formal pronunciation: attorney

 

[kimblebee]

I have to say that I have never heard anyone pronounce it law-yer. I think that may be a very regional thing for you. We get American commercials broadcast up here and every second commercial is for a law firm it seems. Not once have I heard someone pronounce it law-yer. Even when I say it like that it sounds like I am speaking with a Southern accent

 

[vettechick99]

I hear it more than I see it written/typed out. Namely on The Real Housewives of New Jersey (Poor example maybe, but it's the first thing that came to mind). Danielle Staub was constantly saying things like, "How dare those woman talk about me?" "What is wrong with those woman?"

The final straw though, was when she referred to Carmela Soprano as Carmelo Soprano.

That's where I notice it too! Also on Law & Order: SVU, Benson has been saying woman for women. Annoying.

 

[Maridw]

The owner of the dance school that I go to hands out newsletters when something is going on at the dance school. Problem is that she rarely uses spell check on them or proofs them herself before she prints them. I don't know how many times I have picked up one and read it and found at least 3 mistakes in even a short newsletter. Things that if she had run spell check, would have been caught.

This is a business owner who is distributing information to parents, some of whom are teachers. She is my best friend and I have tried to get her to really take the extra time to make sure the newsletter has no problems with it and I can't get through to her.

Parents don't tell their kids to sound it out or look it up in the dictionary any more. I wish I had a dime for everytime my mom said that to me. To this day, if I am not sure on the spell or something, I run spell check or check the web. In fact I just looked up the word venacular to see if it was the word I wanted to use.

 

[KristaTX]

I have to say that I have never heard anyone pronounce it law-yer. I think that may be a very regional thing for you. We get American commercials broadcast up here and every second commercial is for a law firm it seems. Not once have I heard someone pronounce it law-yer. Even when I say it like that it sounds like I am speaking with a Southern accent

Very regional? Okay. Texas is only 8 million people or so smaller than the entire population of Canada. And once you add in every other area in the southern U.S. where law-yer is common, it's a HUGE region. Nevermind that law-yer is the phonetic pronunciation of the word, and that loi-er makes no sense.

But I can take "regional". I guess it's just like the ridiculous sounding way the entire "region" of Canada says the words "sorry" and "about".

Canadian speech is just as weird sounding to many Americans as southern speech might be to Canadians. It doesn't make either one right or wrong or worth making fun of .