Commonly mispronounced words - Page 3

xoxoxoBruce · 11-20-2005, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kagen4o4

aluminium is NOT a-loo-min-num as americans think it is. notice the "nium" at the end? its not "num"

Quote:

In 1807, Davy proposed the name alumium for the metal, undiscovered at that time, and later agreed to change it to aluminum. Shortly thereafter, the name aluminium was adopted to conform with the "ium" ending of most elements, and this spelling is now in use elsewhere in the world. Aluminium was also the accepted spelling in the U.S. until 1925, at which time the American Chemical Society officially decided to use the name aluminum thereafter in their publications.

It's num. :p

Kagen4o4 · 11-21-2005, 02:00 AM

from here

Quote:

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopted aluminium as the standard international name for the element in 1990, but three years later recognised aluminum as an acceptable variant. Hence their periodic table includes both, but places aluminium first [5]. IUPAC officially prefers the use of aluminium in its internal publications, although several IUPAC publications use the spelling aluminum.[6] Nevertheless the "ium" spelling has the advantage that the non-English-speaking world prefers the -ium spelling: aluminium is the name used in French and German, and identical or similar forms are used in many other languages. As the non-English speaking world has more people, the forms used in languages other than English are one of the reasons IUPAC chose to officially prefer aluminium over aluminum.

its NIUM but NUM is acceptable

xoxoxoBruce · 11-21-2005, 03:39 AM

Quote:

snip~~aluminium is the name used in French~~snip

Reason enough to stick with num.

Clodfobble · 11-20-2005, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by limey

Unless you spell it properly - jewellery

But even then, don't you guys pronounce it "jew-ELL-er-ree?"

Sundae · 11-21-2005, 04:26 AM

I was always taught that Vitae (in Curriculum Vitae) was correctly pronounced "Vy-Tee". I have heard other people say "Vee-Ty" so often now that I am beginning to doubt my memory and stick to saying CV.

Re: jewellery/ jewelry. Most common pronounciation I've heard is "JEWL-ry", although I have heard "JEWL-uh-ry" & accepted it as correct. "Jew-ELL-er-ree"? No, never

I had a History teacher who used to say "Commonist" instead of "Communist", which drove me crazy - we were studying the Russian Revolution so it came up quite often. And I was 15 (not the most tolerant age).

My biggest frustration is "pacific" instead of "specific". Surprisingly common.

Cyclefrance · 11-21-2005, 07:24 AM

There's a dispersed section of English who substitute 'g' with 'k' on certain words, such as 'somethink, 'nothink' and 'anythink' I met someone called Kevin who did this - nice chap otherwise....

Then, of course there's the way we can totally demolish the pronunciation of some words, especially the names of places and peoples' names:

Chalmondley - is pronounced Chummley
Beauchamp Place is pronounced Beecham Place
Beauvoir is pronounced Beaver (reminds me of a joke - maybe not now, though)

I'm sure there's more....

wolf · 11-21-2005, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

I was always taught that Vitae (in Curriculum Vitae) was correctly pronounced "Vy-Tee". I have heard other people say "Vee-Ty" so often now that I am beginning to doubt my memory and stick to saying CV.

Screw all that ... when did it stop being a resume? Is it related to the pay rate for the job somehow? Like up to $10/hr you just fill out an application, $10-30/hr you provide a resume, and $30 and over/hr you have to give your CV?

Cyclefrance · 11-21-2005, 07:29 AM

Of course - what about those '-ough' words:

As the woodsman thought: 'I've had enough of sawing through these boughs' - visitors to our shores just don't stand a chance!

barefoot serpent · 11-21-2005, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclefrance

Of course - what about those '-ough' words:

and then we could be entering a dry spell...

drought

is it: drowt or drowth?

glatt · 11-21-2005, 01:03 PM

My daughter is in first grade, and has a spelling test each week. So far, she has had an easy time of it, because all the words she has studied each week follow rules. Once you learn the rule, you know how to spell them. Well, last week, she had to study the long O words. "OW" "OA" and "O" with an "E" at the end. As she was struggling over the word list, she was looking to me to explain it. I found myself coming up empty, and telling her she just has to memorize the stupid words. She had a hard time of it. I mean really, why are the long O's in "coach" "slow" and "froze" all spelled differently? Why? Just because. That's why. What a stupid system.

Just come up with one rule already! How about "O" followed by a silent "E"?
"coach" could be "coche"
"slow" could be "sloe"
"froze" could stay the same

Much simpler. Maybe more immigrants would learn English.

dar512 · 11-21-2005, 01:15 PM

Languages aren't designed. They evolve. English is a bit of Old English, some French, and some German. And smaller bits of a lot of other languages. English is a rather promiscuous language.

Read The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way. It covers all that and is an entertaining read as well. In it you'll find the bit of trivia that the Irish (or was it the Scotch) have a word that means the itch you get in your upper lip just before taking a drink of whiskey.

Hime · 04-18-2007, 03:34 PM

Since living in Tennessee for a while, I have gotten to see most of the regionalisms not as a source of stress, but as just a nice reminder that the country hasn't been [i]completely[i] homogenized yet. I started to worry when people decided that the solution to good local radio being replaced with crap syndicated radio wasn't to start new local stations, but to import good radio from outer space.

The one thing that puzzles and sometimes annoys me is that here in DC, we have a neighborhood called Judiciary Square. The metro announcers seem to always refer to it as "Joo-DISH-oo-wary Square." I'm not sure what it is that makes that one particular thing so hard to pronounce.

Sundae · 11-21-2005, 07:51 AM

If you're going to bring proper nouns into it how about
Caius College, Cambridge (Keys)
Magdalen College, Oxford (Maudlin)

Not that I'd judge anyone to be ignorant for pronouncing these incorrectly. Unless they lived in either city.

BigV · 11-21-2005, 09:30 AM

The word: February

The problem: Feb-yoo-airy

*sigh*

Quote:

USAGE NOTE Although the variant pronunciation ( fĕb'yū-ĕr'ē ) is often censured because it doesn't reflect the spelling of the word, it is quite common in educated speech and is generally considered acceptable. The loss of the first r in this pronunciation can be accounted for by the phonological process known as dissimilation, by which similar sounds in a word tend to become less similar. In the case of February, the loss of the first r is also owing to the influence of January, which has only one r.

Trilby · 11-21-2005, 09:38 AM

i was born in Feb. and I say "Febuary" because, #1) whoever named it that obviously meant FebUary, to rhyme with January, #2) people look at you funny when you do say the extra R, and, most importantly, #3) saying "FebRUary" sounds gay.

11-21-2005, 07:24 AM	#6
Cyclefrance Pump my ride! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deep countryside of Surrey , England Posts: 1,890	There's a dispersed section of English who substitute 'g' with 'k' on certain words, such as 'somethink, 'nothink' and 'anythink' I met someone called Kevin who did this - nice chap otherwise.... Then, of course there's the way we can totally demolish the pronunciation of some words, especially the names of places and peoples' names: Chalmondley - is pronounced Chummley Beauchamp Place is pronounced Beecham Place Beauvoir is pronounced Beaver (reminds me of a joke - maybe not now, though) I'm sure there's more.... __________________ Always sufficient hills - never sufficient gears

11-21-2005, 07:29 AM	#8
Cyclefrance Pump my ride! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deep countryside of Surrey , England Posts: 1,890	Of course - what about those '-ough' words: As the woodsman thought: 'I've had enough of sawing through these boughs' - visitors to our shores just don't stand a chance! __________________ Always sufficient hills - never sufficient gears

11-21-2005, 01:15 PM	#11
dar512 dar512 is now Pete Zicato Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago suburb Posts: 4,968	Languages aren't designed. They evolve. English is a bit of Old English, some French, and some German. And smaller bits of a lot of other languages. English is a rather promiscuous language. Read The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way. It covers all that and is an entertaining read as well. In it you'll find the bit of trivia that the Irish (or was it the Scotch) have a word that means the itch you get in your upper lip just before taking a drink of whiskey. __________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain." -- Friedrich Schiller

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11-21-2005, 04:26 AM	#5
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	I was always taught that Vitae (in Curriculum Vitae) was correctly pronounced "Vy-Tee". I have heard other people say "Vee-Ty" so often now that I am beginning to doubt my memory and stick to saying CV. Re: jewellery/ jewelry. Most common pronounciation I've heard is "JEWL-ry", although I have heard "JEWL-uh-ry" & accepted it as correct. "Jew-ELL-er-ree"? No, never I had a History teacher who used to say "Commonist" instead of "Communist", which drove me crazy - we were studying the Russian Revolution so it came up quite often. And I was 15 (not the most tolerant age). My biggest frustration is "pacific" instead of "specific". Surprisingly common.

11-21-2005, 01:03 PM	#10
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	My daughter is in first grade, and has a spelling test each week. So far, she has had an easy time of it, because all the words she has studied each week follow rules. Once you learn the rule, you know how to spell them. Well, last week, she had to study the long O words. "OW" "OA" and "O" with an "E" at the end. As she was struggling over the word list, she was looking to me to explain it. I found myself coming up empty, and telling her she just has to memorize the stupid words. She had a hard time of it. I mean really, why are the long O's in "coach" "slow" and "froze" all spelled differently? Why? Just because. That's why. What a stupid system. Just come up with one rule already! How about "O" followed by a silent "E"? "coach" could be "coche" "slow" could be "sloe" "froze" could stay the same Much simpler. Maybe more immigrants would learn English.

04-18-2007, 03:34 PM	#12
Hime Extraordinary Machine Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Outside of Washington, DC Posts: 307	Since living in Tennessee for a while, I have gotten to see most of the regionalisms not as a source of stress, but as just a nice reminder that the country hasn't been [i]completely[i] homogenized yet. I started to worry when people decided that the solution to good local radio being replaced with crap syndicated radio wasn't to start new local stations, but to import good radio from outer space. The one thing that puzzles and sometimes annoys me is that here in DC, we have a neighborhood called Judiciary Square. The metro announcers seem to always refer to it as "Joo-DISH-oo-wary Square." I'm not sure what it is that makes that one particular thing so hard to pronounce.

11-21-2005, 07:51 AM	#13
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	If you're going to bring proper nouns into it how about Caius College, Cambridge (Keys) Magdalen College, Oxford (Maudlin) Not that I'd judge anyone to be ignorant for pronouncing these incorrectly. Unless they lived in either city.

11-21-2005, 09:38 AM	#15
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	i was born in Feb. and I say "Febuary" because, #1) whoever named it that obviously meant FebUary, to rhyme with January, #2) people look at you funny when you do say the extra R, and, most importantly, #3) saying "FebRUary" sounds gay.

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