# Brits -- how do you pronounce... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2006, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643 "2006-04-14T10:44:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/41 "2006-04-15T18:26:09Z")
From [here:](http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm) > [@](#): > > Sir Humphry made a bit of a mess of naming this new element, at first spelling it alumium (this was in 1807) then changing it to aluminum, and finally settling on aluminium in 1812. His classically educated scientific colleagues preferred aluminium right from the start, because it had more of a classical ring, and chimed harmoniously with many other elements whose names ended in –ium, like potassium, sodium, and magnesium, all of which had been named by Davy. In other words, the guy who named it named it aluminum _before_ he changed his mind and named it aluminium. So the American spelling has the distinction of coming before the British spelling. Of course Davies changed his mind eventually and called it aluminium and most people agreed (including Americans for most of the 19th century). I’d say the arguments for the “aluminium” spelling are pretty good, but at the same time it’s not as if it has pride of place. ---
**Author:** ![aurelian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f4b2a3/32.png) [@aurelian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurelian)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/42 "2006-04-15T19:26:29Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Maybe English, but not the word in question. That one belongs to the Spanish and Portuguese. Who in turn got it from the Guaraní, _yaguar_. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/43 "2006-04-15T19:34:03Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Maybe English, but not the word in question. That one belongs to the Spanish and Portuguese. Nothing could possibly exist as a ‘true English word’. They’re _all_ imports, which we do with as we please. And anyway, are you telling me that ‘jag-WAR’ is really all that much closer to the ‘authentic’ pronunciation? 😉 > [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > What’s with pronouncing “drawing” as “drawring”? Because there’s a bloody R in it…no, wait… ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/44 "2006-04-15T19:55:19Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > What’s with pronouncing “drawing” as “drawring”? Hmm. I hadn’t noticed until you pointed it out, but I do say “drawring”. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/45 "2006-04-15T20:56:18Z")
> [@Revenant Threshold](#): > > Speaking of Nicaragua, is there much call for rolling r’s in any American accent? It’s not the ‘R’ the OP would have a problem with, it’s nicker-ag-you-a that would possibly be problematic. Personally, I have no problem with the way Brits speak. I spent some time there and became accustomed to their backward ways. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gorgonzola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e480ec/32.png) [@Gorgonzola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgonzola)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/46 "2006-04-15T21:16:51Z")
> [@Jayrot](#): > > On a related note, I’m a yank but I love the idea of calling the letter “z” a zed instead of “zee”. Sounds cooler. \ As a Canadian who learned to pronounce it “zed” in school despite immediate distaste for what it did to _The Alphabet Song_, I respectfully ask you to consider: What would happen to _ZZ Top_? A-how-how-hoow. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgonzola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e480ec/32.png) [@Gorgonzola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgonzola)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/47 "2006-04-15T21:17:38Z")
> [@Jayrot](#): > > On a related note, I’m a yank but I love the idea of calling the letter “z” a zed instead of “zee”. Sounds cooler. \ As a Canadian who learned to pronounce it “zed” in school despite immediate distaste for what that did to _The Alphabet Song_, I respectfully ask you to consider: What would happen to _ZZ Top_? A-how-how-hoow. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/48 "2006-04-15T21:24:15Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Do y’all really say “Jag-you-ar,” or do you pronouce it “Jag-whar,” like normal folks? I know the company is owned now by Ford, but you do know it was originally a British firm don’t you? Just so you can qualify that “normal folks” comment? Patrick Steward auditioned for adverts in the US for Jaguar and was rejected for using the US pronunciation. > [@Cluricaun](#): > > Here’s to hoping that Ford never decides to make an Al-eww-men-ee-um Jag-u-ar. AFAIK, the chassis of the new XJ and XK are both aluminium 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/49 "2006-04-15T21:25:34Z")
> [@Revenant Threshold](#): > > Hmm. I hadn’t noticed until you pointed it out, but I do say “drawring”. Weird. Check out Elton John’s “Gray Seal”. He says it there, too. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/50 "2006-04-16T04:39:38Z")
Speaking of zed, does anyone still use aught (zero) anymore? (other than Americans in reference to firearms)? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/51 "2006-04-16T05:26:29Z")
> [@sjc](#): > > From [here:](http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm) > > In other words, the guy who named it named it aluminum _before_ he changed his mind and named it aluminium. So the American spelling has the distinction of coming before the British spelling. > > Of course Davies changed his mind eventually and called it aluminium and most people agreed (including Americans for most of the 19th century). I’d say the arguments for the “aluminium” spelling are pretty good, but at the same time it’s not as if it has pride of place. No, the first spelling was “alumium,” which is pretty catchy in its own right. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/52 "2006-04-16T08:09:49Z")
> [@nd\_n8](#): > > Speaking of zed, does anyone still use aught (zero) anymore? (other than Americans in reference to firearms)? We use nought for zero (though not as much as we once did). Aught means “anything”, rather than “nothing”, over here. In that spelling and pronunciation I think it’s more or less obsolete, but as “owt” (along with “nowt”) it’s still alive and kicking in several regional dialects. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/53 "2006-04-16T15:37:02Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Nothing could possibly exist as a ‘true English word’. They’re _all_ imports, which we do with as we please. I’m sure I heard some comedian (who’s name escapes me) say that English doesn’t so much borrow from other languages as hang around on street corners waiting to mug them for their spare grammar. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/54 "2006-04-17T10:06:26Z")
If you are being “authentic” about the -UAR bit at the end, should you not be equally authentic with the J- at the front and indeed the -G- in the middle? Or can one pick and choose? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/55 "2006-04-17T13:57:22Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > I’m sure I heard some comedian (who’s name escapes me) say that English doesn’t so much borrow from other languages as hang around on street corners waiting to mug them for their spare grammar. I have a feeling that was Bill Bryson- and if it wasn’t, the quote was certainly in one of his books. As for the whole “Jaguar” thing: I’ve always pronounced it Jag-Yoo-Arr. (Of course, my pronounciation has long been considered odd by most who’ve met me- born & educated in NZ, grew up watching British TV shows and movies, moved to Australia at 18, made a point of NOT developing an Australian accent) Similarly, I’ve never referred to a “Thirty-Aught-Six” rifle (it’s always been Thirty-Oh-Six), I do say Drawring instead of Drawing, soft drink cans are made of Al-Yoo-Minnie-Um, the last letter of the alphabet is Zed (and yes, I did call ZZ Top “Zed Zed Top” for years until I learnt otherwise), and the small country in Central America is pronounced Nickarahg-Yoo-Ah… ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/56 "2006-04-17T18:01:48Z")
So, a good test of whether or not someone’s accent is truly British or if they are just making it up is to have them read this sentence: “So there I was, hunting jaguar in Nicaragua with my trusty 30-06 rifle when I stumbled upon an elaborate drawing of Frank Beard from ZZ Top etched into a small piece of aluminum foil.” This could possibly apply to Austrailia or NZ as well, but I don’t think an American could make their way through it without being well informed. ---
**Author:** ![skinnysoprano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@skinnysoprano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skinnysoprano)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2006, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/57 "2006-04-18T10:22:48Z")
I have a Scottish accent and would definitely never say “drawring”, so it must be an English thing… But the important question is always: do you pronounce iron as “eye-ron” or “eye-urn”? ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2006, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/58 "2006-04-18T11:01:14Z")
“Drawring” isn’t an English thing, it’s just a mispronuniciation thing. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/59 "2006-04-18T13:55:48Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > I’m sure I heard some comedian (who’s name escapes me) say that English doesn’t so much borrow from other languages as hang around on street corners waiting to mug them for their spare grammar. There was a Doper who used the whole quotation as a sig, but I can’t recall who, so tht’s pretty useless if you wanted to search for it and ask the source. Yes, you needn’t bother to thank me for that bit of input. 😃 Ooh, yes, “drawRing” is ghastly, as is “LauraNorder” and other things like that. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643/60 "2006-04-18T13:59:19Z")
> [@skinnysoprano](#): > > I have a Scottish accent and would definitely never say “drawring”, so it must be an English thing… > > But the important question is always: do you pronounce iron as “eye-ron” or “eye-urn”? Hello there, **skiinnysoprano**. Glad to see another Scot here. 🙂 As for “iron”, I have jsut tried saying it out loud to myself and I think the way I say it varies\*, but with a preference for “eye-ron”. \*Sorry if that doesn’t really make sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-how-do-you-pronounce/352643.md?page=4)