Pronounciation

Tope · 09-11-2011 07:43PM

One that bothers me is when people pronounce envelope ‘onvelope’.
Not sure why – I think both pronunciations are actually correct, and it’s originally from the French and all, but I just find it irrationally irritating.

I used to work with a woman who pronounced it onvelope, and we had to deal with the post every day, which resulted in many a pronunciation-off between us:

“Have we any white on-velopes left?”
“There’s a box of white en-velopes in the cupboard”

“I need an A4 on-velope for this”
“We’re all out of A4 en-velopes”.

Fun times.

DebDynamite · 09-11-2011 07:45PM

Lurry instead of Lorry.

I admit, I say lurry. The boyfriend is always taking the piss.

drumlover22 · 09-11-2011 07:48PM

jmayo wrote: »

You watch too much American television and didn't listen when in skool.

Not really, but I'm in college now so I must have done something right :P

jmayo wrote: »

Heck this place is getting like Lidl or Aldi, the same things come around again if you wait long enough.
There was a thread about this some time back and it ended up with people complaining about how locals do not know how to properly pronounce the names of the places where they live. :rolleyes:

Sorry, I was not aware of this, make of thread of the list of threads so we don't get any copies again

HugoBradyBrown · 09-11-2011 07:49PM

DebDynamite wrote: »

Lurry instead of Lorry.

I admit, I say lurry. The boyfriend is always taking the piss.

And then some say 'truck'!

Hugo Brady Brown

HugoBradyBrown · 09-11-2011 07:51PM

jmayo wrote: »

You watch too much American television and didn't listen when in skool.

There have always had a bit of a problem with the "sit ee a shun" up there.

It's MAY oooooh just like it's Inda Kinny.

Heck this place is getting like Lidl or Aldi, the same things come around again if you wait long enough.
There was a thread about this some time back and it ended up with people complaining about how locals do not know how to properly pronounce the names of the places where they live. :rolleyes:

And is it Liddle or Leeedle?

I find that the people up Kill Avenue in Deans Grange, who think they live in Foxrock, if you catch them in the shop, call if 'Leeedle". Could they be right? Maybe they are only following orders.

Or maybe they're a leeedle bit right and a liddle bit wrong.

Hugo Brady Brown

DebDynamite · 09-11-2011 07:52PM

jmayo wrote: »

Heck this place is getting like Lidl or Aldi

All-di or Al-di
Lee-dl or Li-dl

snubbleste · 09-11-2011 07:53PM

The way Ms. Anne Doyle says sexual sex-uuuh-el

The way Michael Noonan verbalises the word abortion makes me grind my teeth.

snubbleste · 09-11-2011 07:56PM

Another one is that gets me is birthday commonly heard as bersday

The King of Moo · 09-11-2011 07:57PM

HugoBradyBrown wrote: »

And is it Liddle or Leeedle?

I find that the people up Kill Avenue in Deans Grange, who think they live in Foxrock, if you catch them in the shop, call if 'Leeedle". Could they be right? Maybe they are only following orders.

Or maybe they're a leeedle bit right and a liddle bit wrong.

Hugo Brady Brown

To be strict about things, "Leedl" is the original German pronunciation, but I think it's understandable for English speakers to see "Lidl" and think it's pronounced phonetically, as we don't really ever pronounce the letter "i" with an "ee" sound in English.

HugoBradyBrown · 09-11-2011 08:00PM

snubbleste wrote: »

The way Ms. Anne Doyle says sexual sex-uuuh-el

The way Michael Noonan verbalises the word abortion makes me grind my teeth.

Or Mr Noonan with his 'billons' and 'millons' and 'Itallans".

And he a schoolteacher and all!

Hugo Brady Brown

HugoBradyBrown · 09-11-2011 08:01PM

snubbleste wrote: »

Another one is that gets me is birthday commonly heard as bersday

Or burta or birta or birt-a or birt-da.

Hugo Brady Brown

RichieC · 09-11-2011 08:03PM

eyetalions..... some dubs say gold for goal.. and goaldy...

Richard · 09-11-2011 08:34PM

"Lozenger" instead of the correct "Lozenge"

"Euro" for the plural instead of the correct "Euros"

http://www.evertype.com/standards/euro/

BOHtox · 09-11-2011 08:45PM

AhSureTisGrand wrote: »

Chapelizod

How the fück do you pronounce that?

Chapelizid

09-11-2011 08:51PM

Originally posted by sophieblake

volka instead of vodka

Oh how I despise that one, what is the basis?

On the other hand, I love saying Michael Caine as My Cocaine

Caveman1 · 09-11-2011 08:58PM

Sky King wrote: »

OP how do you pronounce 'colonel'?

Just curious....

Id pronounce him dead

09-11-2011 09:06PM

I've often heard the word 'journal' said as jer-nel. No, just no.

Also, what was the name of the childhood game whereby you threw the ball from one side of the road to the other for points. Would you say it as Kerbs or Curbs?

Richard · 09-11-2011 09:29PM

Omackeral wrote: »

I've often heard the word 'journal' said as jer-nel. No, just no.

I say "jernal" and "journal" the same

Also, what was the name of the childhood game whereby you threw the ball from one side of the road to the other for points. Would you say it as Kerbs or Curbs?

Again, the same.

orourkeda · 09-11-2011 09:33PM

drumlover22 wrote: »

I was just watching tv there, and the news presenter pronounced the word lieutenant as "lef-tenant". I've always pronounced it as "loo-tenant" and it really bugs me when people pronounce it "lef-tenant"*. So any pronounciations of words that annoy any of the AHer's here?

*waiting to get told I'm wrong :P

Lef-tenant is the correct pronunciation.

Loo-Tenant exists because americans are too stupid to speak the english language properly.

orourkeda · 09-11-2011 09:35PM

Growth is not gross.

Three is not free.

Wealth is not welf.

Alice1 · 09-11-2011 09:42PM

It irks me when I hear the word enthusiasm pronounced as enthusi ism - I heard a govenment minister on the television saying enthusi ism.

The other one that really bothers me is scallop - why oh why do some folk pronounce it as scollop?

HugoBradyBrown · 09-11-2011 09:50PM

Alice1 wrote: »

It irks me when I hear the word enthusiasm pronounced as enthusi ism - I heard a govenment minister on the television saying enthusi ism.

The other one that really bothers me is scallop - why oh why do some folk pronounce it as scollop?

One finds English pronunciation diverging from the fixed orthography, as vowel sounds, in particular, shift over time. See, for example, how people on the other island pronounce 'chicken' as 'chickin'. In time it is possible that the standard spelling will reflect this shift. Semantic changes and clipping of particles (such as the generation of the new transitive verb "to impact") are more easily incorporated into the body of Standard English; spelling changes take place more slowly, and this, in part, accounts for the vagaries of spelling in English. I suppose the advice most conducive to avoiding becoming a Grumpy Old Something is not to take these rather minor matters too seriously, and to adopt a descriptive rather than a prescriptive approach to the language. Otherwise, it's a short road to madness.

Hugo Brady Brown

Full.Duck · 09-11-2011 10:20PM

Ah i forgot, the missus says he-cups. As in hiccups. Wrecks my head.:mad:

Alice1 · 09-11-2011 10:22PM

HugoBradyBrown wrote: »

One finds English pronunciation diverging from the fixed orthography, as vowel sounds, in particular, shift over time. See, for example, how people on the other island pronounce 'chicken' as 'chickin'. In time it is possible that the standard spelling will reflect this shift. Semantic changes and clipping of particles (such as the generation of the new transitive verb "to impact") are more easily incorporated into the body of Standard English; spelling changes take place more slowly, and this, in part, accounts for the vagaries of spelling in English. I suppose the advice most conducive to avoiding becoming a Grumpy Old Something is not to take these rather minor matters too seriously, and to adopt a descriptive rather than a prescriptive approach to the language. Otherwise, it's a short road to madness.

Hugo Brady Brown

*Ali does the thinned lips thing.

I still don't like it an' I'll be grumpy if I want

tightropetom · 09-11-2011 10:27PM

drumlover22 wrote: »

I was just watching tv there, and the news presenter pronounced the word lieutenant as "lef-tenant". I've always pronounced it as "loo-tenant" and it really bugs me when people pronounce it "lef-tenant"*.

It comes from an old French variant spelling 'luef' for the modern French 'lieu' (place). So a Lieutenant is a person in place or second in command.

John Doe1 · 09-11-2011 10:34PM

Its SCONNNNNN not scown:D

Fizgig Bandicoot · 09-11-2011 10:36PM

Most of the pronunciations on R.T.E. Including 'RTE' itself. It's not Ahr-T.E. it's Or-T.E. On the news they always refer to the word sexual as 'seck-soo-al'. Also issue instead of ish-oo and tissue instead of tish-oo really annoy me. It also bugs me when people say on-velope instead if envelope. (Even if they're techinically right.)

HugoBradyBrown · 09-11-2011 10:37PM

John Doe1 wrote: »

Its SCONNNNNN not scown:D

And 'erbs in the dinner, too, in Blackrock, at least.

Hugo Brady Brown

HugoBradyBrown · 09-11-2011 10:44PM

Fizgig Bandicoot wrote: »

Most of the pronunciations on R.T.E. Including 'RTE' itself. It's not Ahr-T.E. it's Or-T.E. On the news they always refer to the word sexual as 'seck-soo-al'. Also issue instead of ish-oo and tissue instead of tish-oo really annoy me. It also bugs me when people say on-velope instead if envelope. (Even if they're techinically right.)

The recommended pronunciation of RTE was changed about 10 years ago. Until then, it was as you said - 'Or Tee Eee'. Now it is officially "Ahr Tee Eee". And anyone pronouncing it the old way will get a rap on the knuckles when they close the mic. (The feeling is that the old version made staffers sound as if they were from cainteoirí dúchais from Corca Dhuibhne, in town on the bus pass with the wrong teeth in.)

Listen out, for example, to Bernard Clarke on RTE Lyric FM for a good version of the new pronunciation. Or young Aengus in the newsroom. Even an elder in Radio Centre like Pat Kenny makes a fair old stab at the new version.

Hugo Brady Brown

Achtung! Bono · 09-11-2011 11:09PM

flutterflye wrote: »

I once read a post where the poster spelled 'knew' in this fashion

"new"

Ha ha! me and my speedy fingers.

Pronounciation

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