# Help me pronounce these words **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 2, 2002, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893 "2002-12-02T03:51:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/1 "2002-12-02T03:51:23Z")
Dictionaries are bunkum. The way to find out how to pronounce stuff is to take a survey and go with the majority. What better place to attempt this than IMHO. Please help me with these and post your own: **sieve** The kitchen implement. Seeve or Sivv? The original way or the assimilated way: **penchant** PENchunt, like the English, or paw-shaw (intonated with potatoes in your mouth, or however you can manage some sort of faux French accent)? Two that involve what I used to consider “overpronouncing”, but I’m no longer so sure: **enthusiast** en THU zee ust, or en THU zee AST? **template** TEMplut, or TEM-PLATE? And **scythe** The thing the Grim Reaper carries. “Skith” or “Skyethe”? Or is it: **sythe** (“sith”, “sythe”?) These are both actual words which, I think, mean pretty much the same thing; which one is in common use? ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/2 "2002-12-02T04:01:36Z")
Here’s my Midwestern WASP take… sieve In my house, it’s a “sivv” penchant PENchunt enthusiast en THU zee ast template TEM-plate scythe syth, with a hard th (like in thee) ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/3 "2002-12-02T04:10:42Z")
siv, penchunt, …, templ **a** te, sythe. “enthusiast”, in my vocabulary, has a primary stress on the second syllable, and a secondary stress on the last. For an example, “yo!” has primary stress, “boys” has secondary stress, and “men” has no stress. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/4 "2002-12-02T04:24:16Z")
**Ruby** : Is that “ast” at the end of “enthusiast” meant to be a schwa sound (the vowel in “the”) or does it definitely have that short “a” sound? If so, to what degree of stress? ---
**Author:** ![fizgig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@fizgig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizgig)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/5 "2002-12-02T06:07:23Z")
Sivv Pen-shant En-thu-zee-ast Tem-plate Sythe I’m from the northwest, if it matters. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/6 "2002-12-02T06:13:23Z")
Each of the listed words is pronounced: Throatwarbler Mangrove ---
**Author:** ![Forbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/7 "2002-12-02T07:04:12Z")
A pit oh me I don’t care if it’s spelled like epi tome! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/8 "2002-12-02T07:31:35Z")
Sieve = _sivv_ Penchant = _pon-shont_ Enthusiast = _en- **thew** -si-ast_ Template = _ **tem** -playt_ Scythe = _sithe_ ---
**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 2, 2002, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/9 "2002-12-02T08:31:51Z")
My take: Sieve - I’ve only ever heard it as “Sivv” Penchant - I’ve never heard anyone use the French pronunciation, but apparently some do. I pronounce it either as “PENshent” or “PENchent.” American Heritage Dictionary supports only the “PENchent” pronunciation. Enthusiast - I schwa the final syllable. However, AHD contradicts me on this one, and says use a short A on the final syllable. Template - Both are fine. I flutter between the two. AHD seems to support both. Scythe - As above, “sithe,” to rhyme with “lithe.” And, yes, _scythe_, _sythe_, and _sithe_ all mean the same thing. I’ve only seen _scythe_ in print, and a check with the dictionary seems to indicate that this is the one in common use. ---
**Author:** ![sotally\_tober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@sotally\_tober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sotally_tober)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/10 "2002-12-02T08:50:05Z")
[minihijack] I hate it when people pronounce salmon as ‘sell-men’. I don’t know why… one of those quirks in life i suppose. And I’ll go out of my way to correct them. All together now: “Saa-men” [/minihijack] ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/11 "2002-12-02T13:12:58Z")
My two penn’orth… **sieve** = sivv **penchant** = French (sort of). PON-shon (my dictionary only has that pronunciation, and it’s the only one I’ve ever heard) **enthusiast** = en-THU-zee-ast (_a_ in -ast is weakly stressed, not a schwa) **template** = TEM-plate? **scythe** = s-eye-th (_th_ as in “the”) **sythe** (“sith”, “sythe”?) Never seen or heard of this spelling. Must be American. **salmon** = SAMM-un (short _A_ and schwa in second syllable) ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/12 "2002-12-02T16:43:43Z")
And for my $.02 as a New Englander… \*\*sieve \*\*= sivv **penchant** = pen-SHent or peh-SHAnt. It’s a word I don’t ordinarily say in conversation, so how I pronounce it in my mind depends on where my mind is at the time! 😃 **enthusiast** = en-THU-zee-est. I’ve never heard it pronounced any other way. **template** = TEM-plate **scythe** = sEYEth …and **salmon** has always been SA-mun. Always has and always will! ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/13 "2002-12-02T17:04:55Z")
Who says sal-mon? ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/14 "2002-12-02T17:14:03Z")
A sieve is said Siv. Penchant is pen-chant. (et je viens du Quebec, moi!) ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/15 "2002-12-02T17:16:13Z")
Ah maudit. I hit ‘Enter’ and it submitted before I was done. Anyways, enthuziast is en-thu-zee-est. a Template is tem-plet. and Scythe has a silent ‘c’. Ain’t no such word as ‘sythe’. Now, how do you folks say “Controversial”? ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/16 "2002-12-02T18:31:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Barbarian \* > Now, how do you folks say “Controversial”? contra-VER-shul. Is there another way to say it? ---
**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 2, 2002, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/17 "2002-12-02T18:43:03Z")
I think some say “contra-VER-see-ul” but I say it as you, **everton** Perhaps the French-influence pronunciation of penchant is a British thing, since your dictionary (UK, I assume) only has that pronunciation and my dictionary (US) only has the Anglicized one. You pronounce the “th” in “scythe” unvoiced? Interesting. As for the alternate spellings, I’ve never seen either of them either, but I don’t think they’re American in origin. They might just be outdated spellings. ---
**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 2, 2002, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/18 "2002-12-02T18:44:12Z")
Oops…nevermind. I must be tired. The “th” in “the” is voiced. Duh! Strike that comment. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/19 "2002-12-02T18:54:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pulykamell \* > I think some say “contra-VER-see-ul” but I say it as you, **everton** Hmm, how weird. Takes all sorts I s’pose. I thought this thread was going to move towards the _controversial_ pronunciation of **controversy** (it still might now). Personally I say CONtra-verse-ee, by the way, not con-TROV-er-see, but some of my fellow countrymen use the second version. > [@](#): > > Perhaps the French-influence pronunciation of penchant is a British thing, since your dictionary (UK, I assume) only has that pronunciation and my dictionary (US) only has the Anglicized one. Yes, I’m using Collins Oxford. If I can think of any other French-sounding ones I’ve heard pronounced differently outside Britain I’ll post them, but I can’t just now. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893/20 "2002-12-02T20:09:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pulykamell \* > \*\* > You pronounce the “th” in “scythe” unvoiced? Interesting. > > \*\* The only time I’ve heard someone voice the ‘th’ in scythe was when using it as a verb ie. He scythed through the masses. I prefer controver-shul, but many people around me say controver-see-ul. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pronounce-these-words/139893.md?page=2)