# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/121 "2008-10-11T06:53:36Z")
[QUOTE=Oregon sunshine] Um… okay… so how do you pronounce Edinburgh?? Isn’t it pronounced like it’s spelled??? [/QUOTE] > [@devilsknew](#): > > It’s “Ed-in-bourogh”, like the five boroughs of New York. > > Only the Scots could come up with the stealth “O”, it’s so silent that it’s invisible. > > …or maybe they imported the O’s to America so we could make doughnuts. Damn (why do I have to use an “N”, Here?)! Considered meta-punnery, I missed the obvious. But my muse inspires eternal, naught for not. “… or maybe they (Scots) exported the O’s to America so we could make doughnaughts, or likely doughnochts.” ---
**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, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/122 "2008-10-11T10:48:25Z")
> [@MisterThyristor](#): > > 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) I’ve never heard anybody pronounce it like that. “Po-purr-EE” is the usual pronunciation here, IME. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/123 "2008-10-11T12:47:41Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > We (in the US) will pronounce the H in herb, if you guys will pronounce your T’s. You’re not Bri’ish, you’re Bri **t** ish. And something small isn’t li’le, it’s li **tt** le. What a strange example, considering how often the T vanishes or is changed in America. My location is often prounounced A’lanah. With my food I need to order a glass of warder because the servers often do not understand me if I call it water. And from Reeves & Mortimer’s game show, whatever it was called: Reeves: What do Americans call a dentist? Guest: Periodontist? (or some similar term - I can’t remember) Reeves: No, a ‘dennist’. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/124 "2008-10-11T12:52:12Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I don’t get it. “Tune” and “Toon” are pronounced the same way. I’ve got some news for you - not in England they’re not. And ‘news’ rhymes with ‘views’. ---
**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, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/125 "2008-10-11T14:44:04Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > What a strange example, considering how often the T vanishes or is changed in America. My location is often prounounced A’lanah. With my food I need to order a glass of warder because the servers often do not understand me if I call it water. And from Reeves & Mortimer’s game show, whatever it was called: > > Reeves: What do Americans call a dentist? > Guest: Periodontist? (or some similar term - I can’t remember) > Reeves: No, a ‘dennist’. Ah, but you, and the people around you, are talking with a thick southern accent. I’m talking about American English that’s spoken properly.😃 ---
**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, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/126 "2008-10-11T14:49:49Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > I’ve got some news for you - not in England they’re not. And ‘news’ rhymes with ‘views’. News rhymes with views for me too. The e and ie are pronounced with a vary slight difference, but both words still rhyme here in America. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/127 "2008-10-11T14:52:54Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > News rhymes with views for me too. I pronounce the e and ie with a vary slight difference, but both words still rhyme. I most commonly hear nooze in the US, versus nyooze in the UK. OK, so nooze and views still rhyme in the ooze part - I could have explained better. ---
**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, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/128 "2008-10-11T14:54:41Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > I most commonly hear nooze in the US, versus nyooze in the UK. OK, so nooze and views still rhyme in the ooze part - I could have explained better. I see what you’re saying now. ---
**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, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/129 "2008-10-11T16:36:04Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > I’ve never heard anybody pronounce it like that. “Po-purr-EE” is the usual pronunciation here, IME. Really? I’ve heard it more than once on British media (radio/television), are media pronunciations much different than the general public? ---
**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, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/130 "2008-10-11T16:50:39Z")
Nope. I suppose there must be some people who use an Anglicised pronunciation. I just haven’t encountered it myself. It’s not a word you hear every day. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/131 "2008-10-11T17:01:30Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > Nope. I suppose there must be some people who use an Anglicised pronunciation. I just haven’t encountered it myself. It’s not a word you hear every day. I, too, have never heard an English person say other than po-pourri, other than occasional instances where it almost certainly just stems from ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/132 "2008-10-11T17:17:24Z")
> [@villa](#): > > The chief of these are Iraq and Iran. I have never heard anyone call the country Eye-ndia or Eye-srael. Also the inability of any American I have yet met to correctly say Edinburgh. Archie Bunker used to say Eye-talians. Every time I hear other Americans say Eye-raq and Eye-ran it reminds me of All in the Family. ---
**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, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/133 "2008-10-11T19:58:38Z")
I’ve always pronounced Edinburgh Ed-in-burro. Is that correct, or incorrect? ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/134 "2008-10-11T20:57:19Z")
The American pronounciation that gets to me is warrior rhyming with lawyer. I say war-ri-yah but I’ve heard woy-er quite often – notably on some programme where the wrestling coach kept telling his squad to be woyers. The mi-er pronunciation of mirror is nearly as bad. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/135 "2008-10-11T21:11:11Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > I’ve always pronounced Edinburgh Ed-in-burro. Is that correct, or incorrect? I’ve heard it as ‘Ed-in-burrah’. ‘Borough’ is an odd one, though: ‘Scarborough’ in Ontario is pronounced ‘Scar-bur-owe’ or even ‘Scar-bro’, while ‘Peterborough’ in Ontario is pronounced ‘Pee-durr-burl’. 🙂 I pronounce the names of Iraq and Iran as ‘ee-rack’ and ‘ee-ran’. They don’t rhyme with ‘rock’ and ‘Ron’ at all. ‘Route’ has two pronunciations: ‘root’ for things to do with direction and ways to get places, and ‘rowt’ to do with the power tool that cuts grooves in things. Hence, I pronounce ‘router’ as ‘roo-dur’ when it’s the piece of computer networking gear that directs packets of inbformation to different destinations, and ‘row-dur’ when it’s the power tool. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/136 "2008-10-11T21:38:13Z")
My American peeve: Write your representative, write the president and so on. To! ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/137 "2008-10-11T21:45:54Z")
> [@Kal](#): > > My American peeve: Write your representative, write the president and so on. > > To! To Non-Americans that one stands out like a sore thumb every time it’s said or written. Ironically there’s a similar situation where Brits are the guilty ones and Americans aren’t. But I can’t remember what it is. Edit: They made fun of it in South Park, The teacher said “Write your Essay…” so they all wrote to their 'ese’s (sp?) ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/138 "2008-10-11T21:49:18Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > We (in the US) will pronounce the H in herb, if you guys will pronounce your T’s. You’re not Bri’ish, you’re Bri **t** ish. And something small isn’t li’le, it’s li **tt** le. There’s a variant pronunciation of the ‘tt’, which inserts a ‘kk’ in its place: Likkle, kekkle. My gob switches between all pronunciations, seemingly at random. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/139 "2008-10-11T21:51:12Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Ironically there’s a similar situation where Brits are the guilty ones and Americans aren’t. But I can’t remember what it is. Probably the hospital one (which I think that was already mentioned). When ill, we’re in hospital while an American is in the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182/140 "2008-10-11T21:51:53Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I don’t get it. “Tune” and “Toon” are pronounced the same way. This will certainly help [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JiWs5_vDYJc/hqdefault.jpg ""Tunes" Cough Sweet Commercial circa 80's.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiWs5_vDYJc) Or it would, if the sound level were not so poor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-pronunciation-that-bugs-the-bejeezus-out-of-me/467182.md?page=8)