February - I am well aware that the preferred pronunciation leaves out the "R"... but that bugs me... I will, without fail, ALWAYS say "feb-roo-air-ee". Technically this is listed as an alternate pronunciation (at least the last time I picked up a dictionary) and I've gotten a few strange looks, I just don't feel right leaving out an "R".
My sweet little H stormed around the house for a full ten minutes earlier tonight... She's been reading "The Wednesday Wars" for a week. Come to think of it, she's been looking at a calendar for YEARS... but today is the first day she realized that it's not spelled "Wensday". She wanted to know who the idiot is who invented the spelling. Whoever you are... expect a letter from a very opinionated eight year old soon.
Theatre/Theater - I don't know why... but a movie theater can be spelled one way - but a theatre where you actually have to dress up and don't have to worry about your feet sticking to the floor? That type of theatre deserves the fancier Brit spelling. At least in my head.
I also get flak for the way I pronounce certain words... Colorado (I grew up there... and most of the state thinks I say it wrong... but it's a Spanish word, shouldn't it have the Spanish pronunciation?). Envelope, Orange, Chorus, etc...
So now you know - I'm a complete and utter hypocrite.
and no worries - I will NEVER correct or criticize your pronunciation on your blogs (vlogs? maybe) Mostly because it's written... but partly because I learned my lesson when ManOfTheHouse were dating... a two hour conversation about the words "Legs" and "Eggs"... and yet he STILL says "laygs" and "aygs"...
I blame my voice and diction classes... and all the time I spent at the theatre.
18 comments:
Thanks for only judging me silently.
It's pretty much called "being anal" - tee hee.
I only say it because I am the same way.
I like to pronounce words the correct way - I live near Boise said with an "s" but alot of people say it with a "z" (hello I see NO Z in the word - idiots!).
In all seriousness tomato/tom-o-to
potato/pot-o-to - it is not all the same!
My brother had a teacher who insisted warm was pronounced so it rhymed with arm. He even wrote 'arm' on the blackboard and then put a 'w' in front as his justification.
So my brother walked up to the front, wrote 'war' on the board, then put an 'm' after it. Shut the teacher up pretty quick:)
I had a lot of people tell me I spoke incorrectly when I lived in AZ cuz of my Utah accent. I thought they were all jerks so now I'm careful not to do that to others.
Oh, you would never make it in the south! We just have our own way of talkin down here and mostly it ain't right :)
pot-A-ta-o pot-AH-To-To
It is all water under the bridge anyway...lol...
I still love ya even tho you silently judge my vlogs....;)
Or whatever...
You still crack me up so it is all good!
My son had extra help on his speech in school and to this day he pronounces every syllable. Like the T's in Button, most people say but-un
or the T in water, instead of wa-der.
You and him would get a long just fine!
So... you say Colo-rah-do... as in, raw dough? Cause that's how we say it, out here in North Carolina. We also say Nevawda... and the Appalachian mountains? Don't get me started on how every single person that lives west of the Mississippi says it wrong. But I live here. In these mountains, and I can promise you there is no long A sound.
Do you read Kim Vanderhorst? She's from Canada and posted all about her vacation which she called a "holiday". It made me feel fancy just for reading it.
I'm all for spelling theatre the British way. It's totally acceptable. And, who am I to judge if someone uses the alternate pronunciation? I do, however, have problems with people using non-alternate pronunciations. Like "woof" instead of "wolf". Or "cran" instead of "Cray-on". "Pellow" instead of "Pillow".
But, names of places? I have to defer to the people who live in that town/city/state. They have dibs on how to pronounce it.
I TOTALLY say Feb-RU-ary. I can't help it. And I live in Syracuse, where the farmers say it one way, and I say it another. I think they silently mock me, so it's equal opportunity. :) Love that you're so correct. :):)
Mommy J and I need to hang out more - because I DO say NeVAWda (and get harassed for it) AND I actually do say Appalachian without any long A sounds (I learned that from some book about the area and haven't been able to forget it)
and Chelsi - "woof" "cran" and "pellow"... your comment brought up at least 2 of my top ten pet peeves - thanks for the shudder! (how about "chickmunk"?) ugh.
when we lived in Wichita KS... the Arkansas river (which runs through there) was usually called the "Ar-Kansas" river... made me laugh :)
MommyJ made me laugh. I almost dies when my kids came home and told me they learned about the Appalachian mountains. Their pronunciation was bizarre!
I suffer from "Read to much British literature". I can never remember if it is gray or grey and want to add a "u" to color and humor.
"fancier Brit spelling"
Awesome.
And I'm totally with Charlotte- I always forget whether gray or grey is appropriate. Although, my spell check is telling me that "grey" is not a word.
Oh the joys of the English language. All those hard fast rules with all those many exceptions (i before e except after c) Just had a new friend move here from Mexico who is learning English. Oh my, feel sorry for her. . .
These are great, but maybe you can help me with this one???
Why do some people spell it humour? I see that all the time. Do people from England spell it that way or something?
My biggest pet peeve is when someone says that they went "accross"t" the street. I cannot stand when the add a "t" at the end of accross. No offense T.
hahahaha!
Now I have lived in MANY places and heard many different dialects... The south and New Jersey/York were the most interesting! LOL!! My cousin's name is Dawn... You'd think that one would be easy. D-AW-N... HOW does that turn into D-W-AWN??? Yes, Utah has interesting conflicts, too. I agree with the one that said people living in a place choose the pronunciation. ;D Before I married Hubby, I lived in Hooper. ANYONE that doesn't will argue that it is Hoooooper... NAW!! We're talkin' cuntry folk naow. Ya' gotta' be sayin' it proper! It's Hooper... same OO as crooked... Let's not even go into crick and creek... It's CREEK... THERE is NO ICK!! Now here in Syracuse there are some interesting traditions of speech, too... But living here now, I'll hold my tongue... I mean... fingertips... ;p
Aw, T, you just need to come stay with us for a little while. There's nothing like hearing little children talk about their trousers, their holidays, and their po-tah-toes...too cute. Of course, people here also go "to hospital" and if you're not careful when you drive, you could hit the "kerb". Yeah, I've done it, but you've seen the size of our car! You just have to keep your sense of humour!! Take care, and thanks for the fun post.
You would be offed in Apalachia. Pronouced Apa-lACTH-a, not Apa-LAYSHA. They get all upset over their pronunciation and spelling!
I wish Comments had a Spell Check because now I paranoid...
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