# Asterisks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052 "2009-06-08T00:06:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/1 "2009-06-08T00:06:47Z")
In the [asterisks thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=520019), **Daylate** quotes a dirty 40’s ditty > [@](#): > > Little Sally donned her skates, > and on the ice did flit. > > Wasn’t she a silly goose, > Her little \*. Even when I was told that you’re supposed to pronounce the \* as asterisk, it didn’t quite mesh for me… Wait… Asterisk. Aste_risk_. There’s an “sk” at the end there, not a “ck”. I asked my mom, “How do you pronounce \*?” “Aster_ick_.” I asked my brother, “How do you pronounce \*?” “Aster_ick_.” What is that s doing there? Does anyone say the last syllable as “isk”? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/2 "2009-06-08T00:10:07Z")
Yes, I do. Dictionaries confirm that “-isk” is the standard pronunciation, but, that having been said, I wouldn’t say there is anything wrong with your nonstandard “-ick” pronunciation (which is also mentioned in some dictionaries as such, the result of metathesis and re-analysis from the original pronunciation). That is, metathesis caused “asterisk” to be pronounced as “astericks” by some, which was then in turn re-analyzed as the plural of “asterick” by some. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/3 "2009-06-08T00:13:58Z")
_I’ve condensed this post into the above for no good reason_ ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/4 "2009-06-08T00:24:55Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Does anyone say the last syllable as “isk”? Only those who can read. Knowledge of phonics helps. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/5 "2009-06-08T00:41:08Z")
Yep, I say Aster_isk_. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/6 "2009-06-08T00:41:31Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Only those who can read. > > Knowledge of phonics helps. Come, now, don’t be so snarky. Just because a pronunciation doesn’t “match” the spelling doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it; this phenomenon is ubiquitous in English. In fact, reflecting on it now, I might actually say “astericks” myself. Or perhaps “asterisk” and “astericks” interchangeably, in free variation. I’m in that state where it’s hard to tell, after being explicitly asked, what one’s typical unaffected pronunciation is. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/7 "2009-06-08T01:01:37Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Come, now, don’t be so snarky. Just because a pronunciation doesn’t “match” the spelling doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it; this phenomenon is ubiquitous in English. > > In fact, reflecting on it now, I might actually say “astericks” myself. Or perhaps “asterisk” and “astericks” interchangeably, in free variation. I’m in that state where it’s hard to tell, after being explicitly asked, what one’s typical unaffected pronunciation is. Exactly. There is additionally the extremely common variation in how a word in pronounced in standard casual speech and how it is pronounced in isolation. Normal dialectual speech is practically a different language than classroom usage. All linguists know they have to carefully allow for this variation whenever saying anything on the subject of pronunciation. And they know that hardly anyone is self-aware of these differences unless they are specifically pointed out. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/8 "2009-06-08T01:22:02Z")
It is “Asterick” for me too and I work in IT so the word comes up pretty often. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/9 "2009-06-08T01:31:26Z")
I say _isk_ as well. Always have. Mainly because it’s spelled that way, and I taught myself to read. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/10 "2009-06-08T02:34:59Z")
isk. And she didn’t flit, she frisked. Which makes the rhyme work. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/11 "2009-06-08T03:07:45Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Does anyone say the last syllable as “isk”? Yes. I say “ASS-trisk.” There may be a subtle schwa between the “t” and “r,” but I elide it enough that it sounds like two syllables. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/12 "2009-06-08T03:26:59Z")
_Ils sont fous, ces américains!_ ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/13 "2009-06-08T03:36:44Z")
I blame the Gauls. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/14 "2009-06-08T03:52:13Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I blame the Gauls. Better not ask the OP how he pronounces obelisk… ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/15 "2009-06-08T04:06:35Z")
I have never heard _-ick_ or _-icks_. Perhaps this pronunciation is only found in the US? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/16 "2009-06-08T04:27:02Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Better not ask the OP how he pronounces obelisk… rhymes with Getafix Cacofonix vitalstatistix ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/17 "2009-06-08T04:59:07Z")
I have always said and heard “asterisk” and if I ever heard someone say “asterick” my opinion of that person would take a dive. Why do you aks? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/18 "2009-06-08T05:04:13Z")
Well, since you aksed… I’ve always pronounced it “asterisk” myself, just like it’s spelled. I’ve heard plenty of people pronounce it “asterix”—whether because they didn’t know any better, or had trouble with the “sk” sound, or were confusing it with the French comic character, I’ve never known. I don’t remember ever hearing anyone say it “asterick.” (FWIW, in case it’s a regional thing, I grew up in and still live in central Illinois.) ETA: In computer contexts, it’s pronounced “splat.” ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/19 "2009-06-08T05:06:39Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > I have never heard _-ick_ or _-icks_. Perhaps this pronunciation is only found in the US? It’s pretty common in the US, I’d say (at least, I’ve heard it a lot), but the Standard American English pronunciation is as it’s spelled, ending in -isk. I first heard (read?) the rhyme this way: Pretty Mary donned her skates, and on the ice to frisk. Wasn’t she a silly girl, Her little \*? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052/20 "2009-06-08T05:15:09Z")
I side with the -isk people. But then again I pronounce the first “D” in Wednesday, and the first “R” in February. My Scottish heritage won’t allow me to do otherwise. Oh, also the “th” in clothes. You uncouth North Americans really should pay attention to detail. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asterisks/499052.md?page=2)