# American English Pronunciation that bugs the bejeezus out of me **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182 "2008-10-09T16:53:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/101 "2008-10-10T18:13:30Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > You sure? > > I remember how at the beginning the movie “Gettysburg,” the narrator quite distinctly pronounces it Mary-land. He had a southern accent, not British. > > For another, even in common speech I usually hear the “d” pronounced at the end. Marri-lind, it usually goes. Yes, I am sure I know how to pronounce Maryland. My friend **ruadh** , who’s originally from Maryland but is an expat in Ireland, says the way Irish people pronounce her home state makes her cringe. I can see pronouncing the d at the end. That wouldn’t be too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/102 "2008-10-10T18:19:57Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Americans don’t agree on how to pronounce “route”. I understand there’s a geographical difference; I go back and forth myself. > > I don’t know what the second sentence means at all. > > I’ve never heard anyone pronounce “harem” that way. > > The British pronunciation of “Maryland” makes me wince. It’s “Merralin”, people, it isn’t an amusement park owned by someone named Mary. As in the Caribbean sea ,you colonials(Sorry but I cant recognise your illegal,revolutionary government)pronounce it Carribb eann,where as we say Carrabeeean. ---
**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/103 "2008-10-10T18:35:51Z")
> [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](#): > > Oh, but one thing that does bug me? Aluminium. None of those letters are supposed to be dropped, but somehow they drop an entire _syllable_\* and end up with ‘illuminum’. I am embarassed to admit that until my early 20s(!) I actually assumed that America had some kind of high-tech housing construction material called Illuminum. :eek: > > - This will make it harder for them to create aluminium-thremed haikus. Poor devils. Everyone I know pronounces it Aluminum. We pronounce it that way, because we spell it that way. We spell it that way, because that is the way the guy who first identified it spelled it. Ok, not quite. We do spell it the way the guy who first identified it spelled it, but we spell it that way because the guy who made big bucks with a better way to produce it sold his process that way. It’s the Brits and their evil stepchildren who had to make it even harder for children to pronounce by adding an extra syllable! ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/104 "2008-10-10T19:23:22Z")
> [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](#): > > Most speakers will substitute the ‘t’ in British with a d sound, few will pronounce it ‘properly’ as it just sounds too posh. I don’t know anyone that says Bri’ish or li’le unless affecting a mockney accent. On VH1 they showed a small clip of a UK female pop singer, I forget her name, but anyway, she called herself Bri’ish, and she wasn’t imitating anything. I think her accent sounded like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLJ8ILIE780) ---
**Author:** ![Wash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@Wash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wash)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/105 "2008-10-10T19:28:12Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Dear England, and whomever else it may concern: > > There will be no negotiation on any matter relating to Grammar until you unilateraly, and absolutely dismantle that weapon of of mass nerve-grating, “maths” Your compliance will be strictly monitored through spy satelites, and enforced with muti-megaton nuclear strikes. > > have a nice day, > U.S. America. So you’re saying that you 'Merikins learn mathematic over there? Well we’ll stick to our mathematics, ta. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/106 "2008-10-10T20:17:16Z")
> [@Wash](#): > > So you’re saying that you 'Merikins learn mathematic over there? Well we’ll stick to our mathematics, ta. Ah, that means you folk learn mathsematics, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/107 "2008-10-10T20:31:51Z")
> [@Wash](#): > > So you’re saying that you 'Merikins learn mathematic over there? Well we’ll stick to our mathematics, ta. Oh, and by the way, we live in Americ **a** , not, Americer. Also, there is no such country as Chiner. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/108 "2008-10-10T20:41:47Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Oh, and by the way, we live in Americ **a** , not, Americer. > > Also, there is no such country as Chiner. Hehe…the one person that comes to mind for this is Phil Keoghan, host of The Amazing Race. He’s from New Zealand, and his accent is relatively subtle (I couldn’t place it at all the first three seasons of TAR, until I read somewhere that Phil was a Kiwi), except for that “r” ending on words that end in vowels. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/109 "2008-10-10T20:58:07Z")
> [@Telperien](#): > > Ah, that means you folk learn mathsematics, I suppose. Now you’re just arguing mathsemantics. ---
**Author:** ![SpecialAgentJem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@SpecialAgentJem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpecialAgentJem)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/110 "2008-10-10T22:33:52Z")
The way that certain people in Britain say year and British is all dependent on where the person is from. I am from the north east of Scotland and pronounce these words the way god intended! A couple of words that grind my gears when some Americans say them are: tuna and opportunity. British: tune-a opporTUNEity Amercian: toon-a opporTOONity YAR!!!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/111 "2008-10-10T23:25:49Z")
> [@SpecialAgentJem](#): > > A couple of words that grind my gears when some Americans say them are: > > tuna and opportunity. > > British: > > tune-a > > opporTUNEity > Amercian: > > toon-a > > opporTOONity But … those all sound the same to me. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/112 "2008-10-10T23:51:19Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > But … those all sound the same to me. I think that the British pronounce Tune like T-you-n. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/113 "2008-10-10T23:56:44Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Hehe…the one person that comes to mind for this is Phil Keoghan, host of The Amazing Race. He’s from New Zealand, and his accent is relatively subtle (I couldn’t place it at all the first three seasons of TAR, until I read somewhere that Phil was a Kiwi), except for that “r” ending on words that end in vowels. Australians and New Zealanders are just about as bad as the British. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/114 "2008-10-11T00:20:44Z")
The R at the end of words that end in vowels only occurs if the following word also starts with a vowel. We don’t just sat “Chiner” on its own, it’s only in cases like “China and Japan”. It’s called intervocalic intrusive rhotacization, as explained by **Johanna** in the following old thread: [Brits and linguists: What is “Vodker” and “Canader” all about?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=396436&highlight=rhotic) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/115 "2008-10-11T00:21:03Z")
> [@SpecialAgentJem](#): > > British: > > tune-a > > opporTUNEity > Amercian: > > toon-a > > opporTOONity I don’t get it. “Tune” and “Toon” are pronounced the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/116 "2008-10-11T00:23:17Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I don’t get it. “Tune” and “Toon” are pronounced the same way. [Maybe, this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10300908&postcount=112) ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/117 "2008-10-11T00:33:05Z")
It wasn’t the best way of illustrating the difference in pronunciation, choosing two spellings that sound the same in American English, was it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/118 "2008-10-11T03:41:50Z")
I’m not going to be defending any pronunciations on either side of the pond, but I’d like give some explanation or justification or something of a few of these American pronunciations (I’m an American). Eye-rack, Eye-ran, that’s more or less the great vowel shift if, I’m not mistaken, the long /i/ dipthongizing. In any case, it seems to be a regular sound “change” based on phonological principles. I generally say “ee-rock”, “ee-ron” or “ih-rack/rock”, “ih-ran/ron” myself, since I can see that these words are borrowings and probably don’t conform to the pronunciation rules of American English. The second pronunciations listed are a sort of compromise with sounding American. Math not maths. I’m not sure why the ‘s’ on the end of ‘mathematics’ has to remain when you shorten it. I don’t see any problem with leaving the ‘s’ either, I just don’t see any good reason why it _has_ to remain. (BTW is it a plural? I’ll need to think about that; I’m not sure it is.) ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/119 "2008-10-11T03:55:27Z")
Also, British versus American ‘tuna’, the British version inserts a ‘y’ sound whereas the American version gives the vowel its unencumbered sound. I’m not saying that either is more correct, but I’d say that the British version is less transparent. Put another way, the British pronunciation of ‘tuna’ ‘opportunity’ etc. seems to involve some sort of regular sound change from historical sources (I’ll say that the Italian _opportunita’_, which I imagine is closer to the Latin source, has a ‘u’ much more like the American version). This isn’t a bad thing at all (see the previous post about ‘eye-rack’), but if you appeal to the historical sources of the word I’d say America comes out ahead in this case. I, personally, love the British pronunciation of ‘figure’. Unlike ‘tyuna’ or ‘opportyunity’, ‘figure’ is more or less ‘figgar’. Educated Americans say ‘figyure’, while some less educated Americans say it pretty much like the British (except they tend to have a rhotic ‘r’). I have no idea why this one word reverses the pronunciation situation entirely. ---
**Author:** ![MisterThyristor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@MisterThyristor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterThyristor)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/120 "2008-10-11T04:17:39Z")
And then there’s the way the Brits pronounce potpourri (POT-purry) as compared to the way us Yanks do (po-purr-EE). I once heard an interview where an American announcer used the word in an interview with a British expert, who replied, “How did the Pope enter the conversation?” (i.e. popery) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182.md?page=7)