Why do we pronounce 'film' wrong?

Hammer89 · 06-11-2017 01:35AM #1

I was in Philadelphia a couple of years ago when a South American lady, with Spanish as her native tongue, blew my mind and embarrassed me over the pronounciation of an English word. About four of us, including two English blokes, were sat around a table in our hostel shooting the sh*t when she took exception to a word I used. For whatever reason, I'd used the word 'film' and all hell broke loose.

I pronounced it with an imaginery U in between the last two letters, making it 'filum', and I still do pronounce it this way. She found it hilarious and was having none of it. "No, I don't think so, Nicole," I said. "Sorry but you're wrong here. Go back to Lima and bring your pisco with you." She called in the two huns for backup and they agreed with her immediately. "Yeah, it's definitely 'film'."

It's worth mentioning that the two lads were straight, and that Nicole was flirting with them for most of the night. Had I looked under the table I probably would've seen her playing footsie with both of their knobs through their jeans. They would've agreed with anything she said, so we can't count on their testimony, but they're right, aren't they?

This was quite a long time ago, but I remembered it tonight when watching a YouTube video of 'How Americans react to Father Ted' or something and they also highlighted Bishop Brennan and Ted Crilly's pronounciation of 'filum'.

There's absolutely no reason to lash a U in there, so why do we? Or is it just me, Len and Ted?

bloodless_coup · 06-11-2017 01:38AM

I don't put a "u" in there.

Zillah · 06-11-2017 01:39AM

It's only the boggers and the poor who do this. We urban elites learn to enunciate in finishing school.

Also, you should say "were sitting", not "were sat".

Also, I have had Americans take exception to using the word "film" for a movie at all. Film is what you load into a camera, apparently, not how one refers to a motion picture.

server down · 06-11-2017 01:41AM

Zillah wrote: »

It's only the boggers and the poor who do this. We urban elites learn to enunciate in finishing school.

Also, you should say "were sitting", not "were sat".

Also, I have had Americans take exception to using the word "film" for a movie at all. Film is what you load into a camera, apparently, not how one refers to a motion picture.

No Irish people say we’re sat. That’s English.

Film is also British English so screw the yanks.

Hammer89 · 06-11-2017 01:42AM

Zillah wrote: »

It's only the boggers and the poor who do this.

I'm neither.

Junkyard Tom · 06-11-2017 01:48AM

Probably an Irish thing. I wouldn't worry about. If we all talked exactly the same the world would be a very boring place

RayM · 06-11-2017 01:51AM

People from different countries pronounce different words differently. It's not a big deal. People who slag others about how they pronounce something are dicks.

Arghus · 06-11-2017 01:54AM

It's some linguistic hangover from Gaelic - inserting a vowel sound between two consonants in pronunciation. Any ethno- linguistic experts out there? An epenthetic schwa - isn't it called something like that? Not everyone pronounces it that way, a lot do, but not everyone.

dresden8 · 06-11-2017 01:55AM

Hammer89 wrote: »

I was in Philadelphia a couple of years ago when a South American lady, with Spanish as her native tongue, blew my mind and embarrassed me over the pronounciation of an English word. About four of us, including two English blokes, were sat around a table in our hostel shooting the sh*t when she took exception to a word I used. For whatever reason, I'd used the word 'film' and all hell broke loose.

I pronounced it with an imaginery U in between the last two letters, making it 'filum', and I still do pronounce it this way. She found it hilarious and was having none of it. "No, I don't think so, Nicole," I said. "Sorry but you're wrong here. Go back to Lima and bring your pisco with you." She called in the two huns for backup and they agreed with her immediately. "Yeah, it's definitely 'film'."

It's worth mentioning that the two lads were straight, and that Nicole was flirting with them for most of the night. Had I looked under the table I probably would've seen her playing footsie with both of their knobs through their jeans. They would've agreed with anything she said, so we can't count on their testimony, but they're right, aren't they?

This was quite a long time ago, but I remembered it tonight when watching a YouTube video of 'How Americans react to Father Ted' or something and they also highlighted Bishop Brennan and Ted Crilly's pronounciation of 'filum'.

There's absolutely no reason to lash a U in there, so why do we? Or is it just me, Len and Ted?

It's because you're a bogger. Do you say millons or millions?

06-11-2017 01:55AM

The best thing about english imo is the large variety of accents and how you can really play around with the language and have fun with it, and it's still intelligible, even if some nobs will say it doesn't sound intelligent. It also makes english a great language for non native speakers because you barely have to try at all and you still can have conversations. Its really a blessing that there is no true authority for the language

Noveight · 06-11-2017 01:56AM

Should've kicked Nicole in her pedantic flaps.

Lougarden · 06-11-2017 02:03AM

I find it hard to drop the um sound even with jollyphonics/phonetical way of sounding out. Colm comes out as Collum too without really slowing it down.

Edit: millions is fine..i struggle like op with lm

Junkyard Tom · 06-11-2017 02:05AM

riffmongous wrote: »

The best thing about english imo is the large variety of accents and how you can really play around with the language

Tigger · 06-11-2017 02:07AM

riffmongous wrote: »

The best thing about english imo is the large variety of accents and how you can really play around with the language and have fun with it, and it's still intelligible, even if some nobs will say it doesn't sound intelligent. It also makes english a great language for non native speakers because you barely have to try at all and you still can have conversations. Its really a blessing that there is no true authority for the language

i like to mess around in the games fora with how badly incan spell and thing and people still understandnme

Hammer89 · 06-11-2017 02:07AM

Lougarden wrote: »

I find it hard to drop the um sound even with jollyphonics/phonetical way of sounding out. Colm comes out as Collum too without really slowing it down.

Edit: millions is fine..i struggle like op with lm

Ah here don't tell me not everyone pronounces Colm like 'Collum'. That would be mindblowing on a whole other scale.

Donald Trump · 06-11-2017 02:07AM

Shame on you.

Allowing two feckin' dirty Sasanachs a window to try to get up on the sexy chica when you should have already been demolishing one of those cheap bunk-beds with her

I hope that your parents are proud!

Hammer89 · 06-11-2017 02:09AM

dresden8 wrote: »

It's because you're a bogger. Do you say millons or millions?

I'm from Dublin. It's millions.

dresden8 · 06-11-2017 02:10AM

Hammer89 wrote: »

I'm from Dublin. It's millions.

Jaysus.

server down · 06-11-2017 02:25AM

dresden8 wrote: »

It's because you're a bogger. Do you say millons or millions?

A lot of Dubliners think we can pronounce things better than the country. Most of this city crucifies the language.

dresden8 · 06-11-2017 02:43AM

server down wrote: »

A lot of Dubliners think we can pronounce things better than the country. Most of this city crucifies the language.

Most of us can see the lack of a vowel between the "l" and "m" of filum.

Doh!

shoegal1 · 06-11-2017 03:33AM

them Americans are always correcting my pronunciation of Tuesday. It's feckin Chewsday not Twosday! ha. I do tend to say filum instead of movie aswell

suicide_circus · 06-11-2017 04:22AM

Filum is up there with chimley, package a crips, wather and turty tree and a turd.

Arghus · 06-11-2017 04:40AM

Sangwhich.

diomed · 06-11-2017 05:37AM

pictures not film
film is too American

Beanntraigheach · 06-11-2017 06:37AM

/ˈfɪləm/ (with epenthetic vowel) is the correct pronunciation, favoured by persons of culture and erudition.

/fɪlm/ is a barbarity! The preserve of ill-bred, uncouth wretches. Their slovenly speech is to be disdained rather than emulated.

pickarooney · 06-11-2017 07:07AM

Arghus wrote: »

It's some linguistic hangover from Gaelic - inserting a vowel sound between two consonants in pronunciation. Any ethno- linguistic experts out there? An epenthetic schwa - isn't it called something like that? Not everyone pronounces it that way, a lot do, but not everyone.

There's that and the lack of a dark L in Hiberno-English. The English pronunciation uses close to a W sound before the M.

'Film' in Dutch has a schwa before the M. OP, get some Hollanders to back you up next time and mess with their heads.

freshpopcorn · 06-11-2017 08:28AM

I think you need to find a new friend. People who laugh in people's faces about how you pronounce a word are generally twats!

Mrcaramelchoc · 06-11-2017 08:41AM

Twas a marrrrrrvelllous fiilum

HalloweenJack · 06-11-2017 08:57AM

I've always pronounced it as "film".

Wibbs · 06-11-2017 08:58AM

Zillah wrote: »

Also, I have had Americans take exception to using the word "film" for a movie at all. Film is what you load into a camera, apparently, not how one refers to a motion picture.

sod that, I'm going to the pictures. Or a magic lantern show.

Hector Savage · 06-11-2017 09:15AM

Does Nicole not realise that South America have butchered the Spanish language ??

Why do we pronounce 'film' wrong?

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