Pronunciations that drive you mad

Gbear · 09-05-2012 04:38PM

dpe wrote: »

Actually both versions are French. The British version is (probably) derived from old French where the "luw" sound was pronounced "luf", which subsequently became "lef". It is weird though and is undoubtedly a bit English class snobbery.

I don't see how it would need to have been derived from old French when it seems to make perfect sense in "new" French.

I took it to mean Lieu tenant or directly translated to "place holder".

Pronouncing lieutenant as "leftenant" makes as much sense as pronouncing "Cat" as "Sausage".

Conversely, how do Americans pronounce Colonel as "Curnel"?

Again, I've heard "Colonel" pronounced in french as it's spelt. I've some vague suspicion that they were invented by the Napoleonic French army but that could be totally wrong.

Solair wrote: »

The azoo!

And pronouncing xavier as ex zavier.

Assuming the name is entirely Spanish, it should probably be pronounced "Chabier"

Professional Griefer · 09-05-2012 04:44PM

Taw-let instead of toilet.

maebee · 09-05-2012 04:45PM

Pherekydes wrote: »

Eck setera.

Anything with a 'th' by Ian Guider.

..

He is dreadful to listen to. Last week I heard him say "turty tree", a few times in the same report. I had to switch off. I think I'll write to Newstalk and ask them to send him to elocution lessons.

minotour · 09-05-2012 04:49PM

Orientated instead of oriented, drives me mad.

The Agogo · 09-05-2012 05:13PM

"pressurized" instead of pressured (into doing something)
- same goes for burglarized instead of burgled

Also, people who say "he could of been here" instead of "could have"
Sometimes, people write "being" as "been" as if it was a two syllable word (be-en)

The worse offence must go to the pronunciation of the word sixth as sikth.

I'd love to find the first idiot who pronounced it that way.

On another note, living in London, you'd nearly want to kill people to pronounce their Rs properly. "Can I 'ave a buuguuu and fries and a banarnar milkshyke?"

minotour · 09-05-2012 05:15PM

just thought of another one, yer man on Newstalk in the morning, Chris dontknowwho or something, says "sattterday", really draws out those T's, annoys the piss outta me.

maebee · 09-05-2012 05:15PM

Hubby just reminded me of the notice we saw in Superquinn in Finglas a few years ago:

For sail, communion fail.

The word Communion was spelled correctly

grindle · 09-05-2012 05:17PM

The Agogo wrote: »

Also, people who say "he could of been here" instead of "could have"

I've seen this written, and know it's wrong when it is, but I think they mean "could've".

The King of Moo · 09-05-2012 05:17PM

maebee wrote: »

Hubby just reminded me of the notice we saw in Superquinn in Finglas a few years ago:

For sail, communion fail.

The word Communion was spelled correctly

Communion veil sale fail.

dpe · 09-05-2012 05:19PM

minotour wrote: »

Orientated instead of oriented, drives me mad.

They're both valid.

dpe · 09-05-2012 05:21PM

Gbear wrote: »

I don't see how it would need to have been derived from old French when it seems to make perfect sense in "new" French.

I took it to mean Lieu tenant or directly translated to "place holder".

Pronouncing lieutenant as "leftenant" makes as much sense as pronouncing "Cat" as "Sausage".

Read the Wiki entry - it explains it better than I seem to be doing.

minotour · 09-05-2012 05:22PM

dpe wrote: »

They're both valid.

dont care, it just sounds stupid, why elongate a word unnecessarily? thus it drives me mad, as per the title.

Abi · 09-05-2012 05:35PM

not yet wrote: »

Forehead pronounced forit. Our your for it i.e your getting it pronounced for et.

I remember the first time I heard it being pronounced this way, and having asked him to repeat it several times because I couldn't understand him, I got him to spell it. I couldn't believe it. This is the same fúcking twat that told me when I used 'audacity' in a sentence that I had made the word up.

I don't want to live on this planet anymore..

languagenerd · 09-05-2012 06:08PM

snubbleste wrote: »

Buuke instead of Book

Can't believe it took ten pages for that one ^^ to be mentioned! Had a teacher in school who constantly said it, it drove me mental. Also "cuke" for cook. Never heard "luke" for "look", mind.

Also:
Random "d"'s being thrown in with "r"s. (eg. Giz a shot a your hair curlders, would yih?). Same teacher I mentioned above used to add a d to the middle of my name. *blood boils* :P

Was once at a quiz where one of the questions was "What country is chorizo from?". He pronounced it Shoriiitzo, like a skanger nickname :pac:

languagenerd · 09-05-2012 06:12PM

Gbear wrote: »

Assuming the name is entirely Spanish, it should probably be pronounced "Chabier"

That's Catalan. Spanish - Javier, pronounced ~Habier. (The Spanish J is pretty hard to write in English phonology, it's a back-of-the-throat sound. k-Habier, maybe.)

Sea Filly · 09-05-2012 06:13PM

Secsual.

kitty9 · 09-05-2012 06:13PM

anything Niall Quinn says

Sea Filly · 09-05-2012 06:19PM

Wibbs wrote: »

adding aitches where they don't exist out of a fear of dropping them where they do. HeightH a good example, throatH instead of throat another.

I say heightH. I'm not trying to be posh, it's just never been any other way for me.

Isn't it haitch, rather than aitch?

EDIT: Pronouncing it 'haitch' is Hiberno-English, apparently.

bb1234567 · 09-05-2012 06:58PM

A guy I know says wednesday like weddinsday which irritates me...
also samwidge instead of sandwich.
annie-way instead of anyway said like eny-way.
artic instead of arctic.
Feb-u-ary instead of feb-ru-ary
lie-berry instead of library
minature instead of miniature
sherbert instead of sherbet
and the worst of all when people pronounce clothes like 'cloze'
I better stop now:pac:

Susie_Q · 09-05-2012 07:02PM

My colleague cannot say the word 'drowned', she insists upon 'drownded'. Similarly, she says 'kilt' instead of 'killed'. She is 45 years old.

She also cannot pronounce the name of the Indian town where she has been living for the last 7 months. Granted, it's four syllables but it's not bloody difficult!

Yamanoto · 09-05-2012 07:04PM

The radio voiceover (now replaced), that advertised Maraton sports travel.

Completely ignored the 'h' in Marathon......grrr.

pennypocket · 09-05-2012 07:05PM

bb1234567 wrote: »

worst of all when people pronounce clothes like 'cloze'

Well how else do you pronounce it?

forfuxsake · 09-05-2012 07:06PM

bb1234567 wrote: »

A guy I know says wednesday like weddinsday which irritates me...
also samwidge instead of sandwich.
annie-way instead of anyway said like eny-way.
artic instead of arctic.
Feb-u-ary instead of feb-ru-ary
lie-berry instead of library
minature instead of miniature
sherbert instead of sherbet
and the worst of all when people pronounce clothes like 'cloze'
I better stop now:pac:

For me it's when people say I better instead of I'd better or I had better.

pennypocket · 09-05-2012 07:10PM

Synecdoche. Why can't anyone get that right?;)

forfuxsake · 09-05-2012 07:11PM

Sea Filly wrote: »

I say heightH. I'm not trying to be posh, it's just never been any other way for me.

Isn't it haitch, rather than aitch?

EDIT: Pronouncing it 'haitch' is Hiberno-English, apparently.

Strangely enough this s used in the north to determine if somebody is catholic or protestant it is fairly successful.

Catholics tend to use the Hiberno-English.

flanders1979 · 09-05-2012 07:13PM

Dif-fcukalty instead of Difficulty.

Stiofain2006 · 09-05-2012 07:15PM

Pacific instead of specific

rusty_racer94 · 09-05-2012 07:16PM

Russian fella arguing that 'Ultra' is pronouced as 'ooltra'. And his younger brother saying that 'Noob' is 'nube'.

Ninap · 09-05-2012 07:19PM

Saherday (Saturday)

Stephenseses Day (Stephen's Day)

Bord Gosh/Gash/Gawz (dunno which is right, but they can't all be)

Text (in place of 'texted')

Pronouncing the 'th' in Thames or Thailand

Olivia O Lair-eh (Mary Wilson Drivetime pronunciation)

Memory Of 98 · 09-05-2012 07:25PM

People who aren`t from Carlow that pronounce Carlow as "Carla."

But then again the ones that are from here that do that make me even angrier.

Pronunciations that drive you mad

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