# Did this Wheel of Fortune lady get hosed or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845 "2012-12-22T16:38:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/21 "2012-12-23T01:20:50Z")
Not robbed. Was not speaking with a strong accent up to that. She did not pronounce the G and, if she’s watched the show as long as I assume she has she would know she screwed up. This is not the first time a contestant was bitten by that rule and she should know it. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/22 "2012-12-23T01:38:53Z")
I was on Wheel in 1993, and in the green room they stressed to us the importance of pronouncing the words correctly. In fact, I seem to remember that they would actually let you start over if you stumbled on the phrase. Having said that, I think she got fucked over. She absolutely knew what the puzzle said; there’s no doubt about that. She was a southern gal so I think that might have contributed. Not nice, Wheel people! On my show there was a mistake on the puzzle revealer’s part. We were all compensated for the error… perhaps they slipped her a few bucks under the table? Legally of course - you know they are all about the quiz show scandals from the 50s… ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/23 "2012-12-23T02:14:29Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > For all I know she didn’t realize there was another letter on the board and thought the right answer was swimmin, without the G. She knew there was a “g” on the board because it had already been revealed. By her. She was the one who guessed the letter “g.” She was robbed for having a drawl. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/24 "2012-12-23T02:18:39Z")
She doesn’t quite say “Swimmin.” There’s a hint of the “ng” there. Screwed for having an accent. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/25 "2012-12-23T02:23:55Z")
did she have the option to spell the answer out instead? or to bring it to the extreme, if she had spun every letter and bought all vowels, would she still be denied the win? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/26 "2012-12-23T03:26:05Z")
Yep. Like others who know have said, she was supposed to pronounce it accurately. You’ll hear player go through painful contortions to do it because that is the rule. I grew up down south and I knew there were situations where even a kid should use correct pronunciations. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/27 "2012-12-23T03:34:20Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > She knew there was a “g” on the board because it had already been revealed. By her. She was the one who guessed the letter “g.” She was robbed for having a drawl. Oh well. In that case she was robbed. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/28 "2012-12-23T04:03:31Z")
I think that was harsh, but not sure if the show was absolutely wrong in not giving it to her. With my accent, I’d hardly pronounce the “n” either, and the thing about accents is that it’s often hard to hear your own – even if I thought I was enunciating correctly, it would probably still come out “swim-een.” If I try harder, it sounds like “swim-een-guh” and I doubt they’d accept that. I don’t really watch this show that much, have there been contestants who spoke with noticeable foreign accents, and does that impact their play? Would a native Hungarian who sounded more like “svimming” have been penalized (the v for w is one of the most difficult for a Hungarian, even one who speaks English with only a very slight accent)? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/29 "2012-12-23T04:36:25Z")
I don’t think it’s an accent thing as it is a way to get the players to say the saying as it is written down. However, I only remember one player with a strong enough accent that Pat made him repeat it. I guess players with thicker accents are flushed out early in the selection process. ---
**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:** [December 23, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/30 "2012-12-23T05:54:11Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > She doesn’t quite say “Swimmin.” There’s a hint of the “ng” there. Screwed for having an accent. Glad to know I’m not the only one hearing it. Wheel of Fortune shouldn’t come down to such stupid nit-pickery that we have to analyze the footage like the Zarpruder film to figure out exactly whether it’s an [n] or [ŋ] she says at the end, especially when the letters are already on the board. If there’s any ambiguity, the benefit of a doubt should be given, especially when it’s spelled out. What next, buzzing a contestant out for saying “broo-shetta” instead of “broo-sketta” or vice versa? Or people who don’t distinguish “don” and “dawn” because their accent has the cot-caught merger? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/31 "2012-12-23T06:04:59Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I don’t think it’s an accent thing as it is a way to get the players to say the saying as it is written down. Then why don’t they have to say kuhnock or nighut when the word is knock or night? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/32 "2012-12-23T06:29:54Z")
Because that’s not how those words are pronounced. Look, it’s a simple rule that most players manage to follow, and I’ve seen players dinged for saying “-ing” when it was spelled on the board “-in’.” ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/33 "2012-12-23T06:33:52Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > did she have the option to spell the answer out instead? or to bring it to the extreme, if she had spun every letter and bought all vowels, would she still be denied the win? Yes, probably. [Here is a video where it happened.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5MIE0nlUOL4#t=98s) (The contestant sounds out the name of a television personality, but it does not match the way the personality pronounces her name.) ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/34 "2012-12-23T07:07:43Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Because that’s not how those words are pronounced. > > Look, it’s a simple rule that most players manage to follow, and I’ve seen players dinged for saying “-ing” when it was spelled on the board “-in’.” It’s pretty silly to spell out pronunciation and expect people to know what it sounds like. To her, she did say “ing”. That’s how she pronounces it. Like another poster said, I pronounce “don” and “dawn” exactly the same as each other. That’s how my parents, friends, and teachers all said it as I was growing up. I have no idea why some people think they should be pronounced differently. If I said “Don of the dead” for “Dawn of the dead” should I be ruled incorrect? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/35 "2012-12-23T07:15:49Z")
I wonder how the Wheel handles non-rhotic accents. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/36 "2012-12-23T07:46:59Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Yes, probably. [Here is a video where it happened.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5MIE0nlUOL4#t=98s) (The contestant sounds out the name of a television personality, but it does not match the way the personality pronounces her name.) well.. in that case (not that i agree with the rules) i change my vote to “Rules are Rules”. if arbitruary pronunciations are part of the game, then i guess that’s the game being played. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/37 "2012-12-23T11:09:49Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > She doesn’t quite say “Swimmin.” There’s a hint of the “ng” there. Screwed for having an accent. I agree. And this is one of those things that I can’t help hearing–for some reason, when people say “meetin” or “runnin” or whatever in business or formal settings, it grates on my ear. There’s a woman at work who does this, and when she’s doing a presentation I notice it (and get distracted) every time she does it (I know, I’m nuts). This “instance” I would not have noticed at all had they not brought it up, mainly because I think they’re wrong. So, I vote hosed. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/38 "2012-12-23T15:23:13Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I wonder how the Wheel handles non-rhotic accents. :eek: That’s what I was thinking. I wonder if they ever have contestants with British, Aussie or whatever accents? It would be chaos. “What’s that? ‘Champagne Supernover in the Sky’? Uh, no, that’s not right. There’s only one R in it.” ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/39 "2012-12-23T15:23:26Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Yes, probably. [Here is a video where it happened.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5MIE0nlUOL4#t=98s) (The contestant sounds out the name of a television personality, but it does not match the way the personality pronounces her name.) If the answer was the new name of the guy that sang Purple Rain that would be interesting to see and hear. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845/40 "2012-12-23T16:07:33Z")
Yep. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-wheel-of-fortune-lady-get-hosed-or-not/644845.md?page=3)