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Mispronunciations that annoy you


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Who the hell is Maddox, and why is/are he/she and/or they so touchy about things?

My brother's f-ing hero. Just be grateful you haven't encountered him until now, and walk away, Jim. Just ... walk away.

Actually now this thread has exposed me to him, I must say, he's slightly entertaining. Kind of like a contemporary pop culture/social critic. A veritable Frank Zappa of the internets.. with that same smarmy tightrope walking between sarcasm and satire. Or something like that. He's no Cornel West though. A throwback to the recent thread bemoaning those 15 minute millionaires of the blog sphere.

This youtube link is mildly amusing. Although I must say his obstinate criticism of the kids drawing of Batman is a bit closed minded. I mean, if we are being asked by the 'Batman' myth to suspend our incredulity, and accept there is a mega-millionaire New Yorker living in an underground cave who dons a cape and underpants, and by night moves across skyscrapers at will - then surely we can also suspend our disbelief and accept that the 'Batman' could also be a cat. A 'batcat'. I mean why not?

http://www.youtube.com/embed/xqG6zA3pl50

Edited by freelancer
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Melk when they mean milk

Maybe they're Dutch!

Do bear in mind that a lot of "mispronunciations" are actually regional variations that wouldn't raise an eyebrow in their natural habitat. And there are many variants between standard Canadian and standard American pronunciation of the same words.

Two people I know from Oregon pronounce "lawyer" in a way that sounds to me like "liar" (though more specifically it's something like lah-yer).

Same goes with the word: Orange. A lot of it depends on the prevailing accent in the place one lives. Hunnert for hundred is another.

Another irritant for me is adding "r" to words that do not have them.

Warsh when they mean wash. Man, that bugs me.

The difference between Canadian and American is astonishing, even in a border state! I still get mocked frequently for how i pronounce "dollar", or any word ending in "-out". But at least i pronounce "sorry" and "borrow" correctly, unlike those weirdos in Ontario!

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Melk when they mean milk

Maybe they're Dutch!

Do bear in mind that a lot of "mispronunciations" are actually regional variations that wouldn't raise an eyebrow in their natural habitat. And there are many variants between standard Canadian and standard American pronunciation of the same words.

Two people I know from Oregon pronounce "lawyer" in a way that sounds to me like "liar" (though more specifically it's something like lah-yer).

Same goes with the word: Orange. A lot of it depends on the prevailing accent in the place one lives. Hunnert for hundred is another.

Another irritant for me is adding "r" to words that do not have them.

Warsh when they mean wash. Man, that bugs me.

The difference between Canadian and American is astonishing, even in a border state! I still get mocked frequently for how i pronounce "dollar", or any word ending in "-out". But at least i pronounce "sorry" and "borrow" correctly, unlike those weirdos in Ontario!

Most British people can't tell Canadian from American speech, but I think I'm getting there. The word "about" is the giveaway for me. In Canada it sounds like "a boat".

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I have a friend/colleague/golfing buddy from British Columbia who has lost the "a-boot" accent. But when his Dad comes down for a visit, he brings a combination of a Scottish infused Canadian speech pattern that is just a joy to listen to...great guy, too :tup

My former boss, from Calgary, has just the slightest accent that if you didn't know he was Canadian, you would wonder where he was from.

My problem is, they are both better golfers than I am ^_^

"a boot"

Not really, eh?

Take off, eh?

The Canadian pronounciation of "out house" just frys me: Oot Hoose. Classic :g

Edited by GoodSpeak
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Just heard an antique dealer mispronounce a word that she should know: patina. It AIN'T "pa TEENAH"! It's "PAT inna". I know thousands of people say it incorrectly, and will defend their way of saying it, but they're wrong. Period.

Well, I'm glad I read this before I annoyed someone... :g

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Just heard an antique dealer mispronounce a word that she should know: patina. It AIN'T "pa TEENAH"! It's "PAT inna". I know thousands of people say it incorrectly, and will defend their way of saying it, but they're wrong. Period.

Even Merriam-Webster is "wrong"!

http://mw1.m-w.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?patina02.wav=patina

I hope their site is blocked in Canada.

Edited by Pete C
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I happily allowed a split infinitive to stand in an ad I was proofing the other day. Nothing wrong with 'em. Unless you're one of "those types"...

Does the Canadian pronunciation of house have anything to do with Scots ancestors?

Quebecois French pronunciation is just plain weird. I went into a place and ordered a muffin, and the counter girl said, "Baaah?" She wasn't a sheep, she wanted to know if I wanted butter. Somebody once asked me the time on the street: "Avez-vous laaah?" And they pronounce 20, vingt, to rhyme with ain't.

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Espan-na instead of España!

You guys are not able to pronounce our "ñ"...

:tophat:

I've actually never heard that. People here usually say "Spain"! Once in Sevilla, though, I asked an old guy where I could find the bus to Cadiz, but since I learned Spanish from Latinos in NY, I said "Cadeece." He was baffled, and finally said, "Ah, Cadeethe!"

I can assure you, however, that Americans are perfectly able to say, "Nyah, nyah, nyah."

Edited by Pete C
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the funniest pronunciations i've ever heard were on a fundamentalist radio station perhaps 30 years ago of an obviously volunteer staffer reading wire copy of the previous evenings miss america contest winner.

he unfathomably mangled corsage, bouquet, brocaide, and boutineer in a sentence or two in folksy rural hillspeak...........

it was wondrous to behold!!!!!!!

speaking of mispronunciation, student volunteers at college jazz and classical stations mangle artists and composers names criminally.

the dj at wnur just played a wonderful item by 'art blakely.'

Edited by alocispepraluger102
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Just heard an antique dealer mispronounce a word that she should know: patina. It AIN'T "pa TEENAH"! It's "PAT inna". I know thousands of people say it incorrectly, and will defend their way of saying it, but they're wrong. Period.

Even Merriam-Webster is "wrong"!

http://mw1.m-w.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?patina02.wav=patina

I hope their site is blocked in Canada.

It isn't. But they're wrong. http://www.macmillandictionary.com/pronunciation/american/patina or http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=patina does allow the incorrect pronunciation by claiming it's "American". (Or as Mitt Romney would say, "Amercian"). :rolleyes:

Edited by Ted O'Reilly
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It isn't. But they're wrong. http://www.macmillandictionary.com/pronunciation/american/patina or http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=patina does allow the incorrect pronunciation by claiming it's "American". (Or as Mitt Romney would say, "Amercian"). :rolleyes:

I'm not seeing any "smile" emoticons, so I'm guessing you're serious about this.

So, what makes this instance of British vs American English different from any others?

It would be like saying that "al-u-MIN-i-um" is the definitive pronunciation for all.

Period.

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