# "Correct" pronounciations that people have given up on **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 11, 2015, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246 "2015-10-11T07:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/61 "2015-10-11T22:48:27Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’m still not sure how to correctly pronounce Adidas, Subaru, and Asus. Ah-DEE-dazs SOO-Buh-roo Heck if I know for sure, but FWIW I say A-sis with a long A sound. Like “stasis” without the “st”. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/62 "2015-10-11T23:12:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Ah-DEE-dazs > SOO-Buh-roo > Heck if I know for sure, but FWIW I say A-sis with a long A sound. Like “stasis” without the “st”. How do you pronounce Fila? I always say FEE-luh. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/63 "2015-10-11T23:20:26Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And every single person who said “fortay” was wrong. Apparently they all gave up on doing it right. If they were speaking French, then they’d certainly be wrong. If they were using the word in English sentence, it’s not so easy to make that judgement. Once a foreign word is adopted into English, it becomes part of the English language: we may keep the original spelling, but the pronunciation frequently (almost invariably, I’d imagine) changes. Forte’s a bit of an oddity in that an extra phoneme’s been erroneously stuck on the end, but it is what it is, and, willy-nilly, that’s how that word is now pronounced in English. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/64 "2015-10-11T23:24:01Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > The word defense is supposed to be pronounced de-FENCE, but because of the wonder of sports and our love of chanting, we’ve basically turned that into DE-fence We have? ---
**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:** [October 11, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/65 "2015-10-11T23:24:32Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Ah-DEE-dazs > SOO-Buh-roo But I grew up with (and still hear occasionally): AD-ee-das soo-BAH-roo These sound more right to my ears. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/66 "2015-10-11T23:26:12Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Now I’m confused. Is Ellen Degeneres’ girlfriend’s name Porsche or Portia?😃 \*wife ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/67 "2015-10-11T23:29:37Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > But I grew up with (and still hear occasionally): > AD-ee-das > soo-BAH-roo > > These sound more right to my ears. The first is certainly closer to how the founder of the company, **Adi** **Das** sler, would pronounce it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/68 "2015-10-11T23:31:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Mayonnaise is another one where, at least in the U.S., an “incorrect” pronunciation - “man-ayze” - is driving out the proper “may-on-ayze”. It is? > [@](#): > > Almost all the Spanish city names in CA, where I live, are Angiicised. And there are hundreds of them. People in San Jose would disagree with you. > [@](#): > > not to mention street names like La Cienega Although it’s misspelled. In Spanish, it’s Cien_ **a** _ga. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/69 "2015-10-11T23:34:44Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > People in San Jose would disagree with you. Of course, the people in San Pedro wouldn’t. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/70 "2015-10-11T23:36:20Z")
> [@mistymage](#): > > [Theisen’s](http://www.theisens.com/) … local farm/Ag store. What I grew up calling it and the local commercials call it is different than what my 3rd older sister calls it. I say “Tiesans” she says “Theesans”. If I remember my high school German,“ei” is pronounced “eye” and “ie” is pronounced “ee”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/71 "2015-10-11T23:36:57Z")
> [@Abner\_Ravenwood](#): > > If I remember my high school German,“ei” is pronounced “eye” and “ie” is pronounced “ee”. ^ This. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/72 "2015-10-11T23:39:04Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > We have? In sports (and video games), I usually hear “DEE-fense” when it’s used as a noun (“c’mon, defense!”) and “d’-FENSE” when it’s used as a verb (“pass defensed by so-and-so”). And then when referring to the government department, I always hear d’-FENSE (“Department of Defense”, “Defense Secretary” etc). ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/73 "2015-10-11T23:45:29Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > If they were speaking French, then they’d certainly be wrong. If they were using the word in English sentence, it’s not so easy to make that judgement. > > Once a foreign word is adopted into English, it becomes part of the English language: we may keep the original spelling, but the pronunciation frequently (almost invariably, I’d imagine) changes. Forte’s a bit of an oddity in that an extra phoneme’s been erroneously stuck on the end, but it is what it is, and, willy-nilly, that’s how that word is now pronounced in English. It also depends on the whether forte is being used to describe a musical note or a person’s strength. Forte has two separate technologies, one French and one Italian. The musical note is pronounced “for-tay” and the person’s strength is pronounced “fort.” [https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/forte](https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/forte) ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/74 "2015-10-11T23:52:04Z")
People write and spell _chaise longue_ “incorrectly” based on etymology. The ‘u’ moves two spaces over and becomes _chaise lounge_. Google shows approximately the same number of hits, but all mass-market retailers spell it “wrong”. One correctly spelled hit on the first page is from a high-end retailer, and there are ads with it spelled “correctly” but I think it’s because it would say “Save on uvenjidfik at Target/Walmart” if you searched for “uvenjidfik”. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/75 "2015-10-11T23:55:39Z")
We had a whole thread just on the [proper pronunciation (or lack thereof) of _epitome._](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=356770) Well, okay, the thread went on into other words too. Another more recent thread from earlier this year on [“MACK-uh-bree!” And Other Determined Mispronunciations](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=756145) ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/76 "2015-10-11T23:59:35Z")
Early Subaru commercial for the 360. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zLPp-NFInXw/hqdefault.jpg "Subaru of America First US Market Commercials") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLPp-NFInXw) ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/77 "2015-10-12T00:37:05Z")
flaccid is apparently properly pronounced as flaksid although I’ve never heard that before in my life. Also, I’ve given up trying to correct Americans on Melbourne. They pronounce it as the languorous “Mel-bawun” whereas the proper pronunciation is a much tighter “Mel-bin” ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/78 "2015-10-12T00:44:18Z")
Boehner. C’Mon John, man up. Nobody believes you. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/79 "2015-10-12T00:44:46Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > “Cache”: what is it? How is it pronounced? Having been playing Fallout 3 and New Vegas lately, that’s what I came in to post. No, Bethesda/Obsidian voice directors, it’s it not pronounced ‘Cachet’. (Or maybe it was the actors for Three Dog and Oscar Velasco and the directors just didn’t bother correcting them…) ---
**Author:** ![Graymalkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@Graymalkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Graymalkin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246/80 "2015-10-12T00:55:03Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Plantain comes to mind. > > When I was in elementary school, the L in kiln was silent. My teachers and my dictionary said so. When I was in elementary school, the N in kiln was silent. Oops, sorry! I see that was already taken care of. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciations-that-people-have-given-up-on/734246.md?page=5)