During last night Oscar’s telecast, someone used one of my least favorite pronunciations for “niche”. I need to know I’m not completely alone in the way I certain pronounce things! So how do you pronounce the following:
Niche: I’ve always said it like “nich”. I don’t know its just like I’m used to it or something, but 99% of the time I’ve heard it that way. It bugs me when some people try to be overly cute when pronouncing a word with foreign origins like its in some other language. I don’t know if niche came from somewhere else, but I think that if a word is re-purposed from another language, both pronunciations can be correct. Here in American english, we pronounce the “ch” as a hard “ch”, not some lilting, stylized weirdo language!
Mature: Surprisingly, Mike Tyson was the first person I’ve heard pronounce it with the “t” instead of a “ch” sound. I say it as “ma-chure”. It just sounds too weird with the “t”, especially if you say “ma-turity”. Something about that bothers me
Cache: Its “cash”, not “cash-ay”, right? There’s another word I often confuse it with which is cachet, which is pronounced “cash-ay”
Adirondacks: Sometimes I pronounce things wrong just because I learned it first and it always sounds right that way. Occasionally I’m sorry about that, for this I’m not. This will always be “a-deer-on-dacks” to me
Fetish: This word too. I know its “feh-tish” but I called it “fee-tish”
Cthulhu: This is a funny word. Lovecraft had several ways to describe the pronunciation. In the Call of Cthulhu, he described the inscribed letters and painfully meticulous, as if someone wanted to make sure the word was pronounced exactly as written. In his letters, Lovecraft contrarily described it as pronounced exactly the way its spelled or like “cluh-luh” with the tongue affixed firmly to the roof of the mouth. I don’t think even he knows. But I pronounce the entire word including the first “h”, which I hear a lot of people just skip over. I say “kuh-thool-who” while many just say “kuh-too-loo”. Nobody I’ve met says “cluh-luh” though
Et cetera: “Ex-cetera” or, if I’m in a hurry, “ex-cetra”
February: Luckily we have spell checker or else I’ll forever think its spelled the way I pronounce it: Febuary
Sherbet: Yes, I put in a second “r” as in “sherbert”. I can’t help it, it sounds too much like “sure bet” the other way.
Niche: “nich”
Mature: “ma-CHOOR”
Cache: “cash”
Adirondacks: “a-duh-RON-dax”
Fetish: “FEH-tish”
Cthulhu: “kuh-THOOL-hoo”
Et cetera: “et SET-uh-ruh”
February: "FEH-byuh-werr-ee
(In my experience, most people who pronounce the first “r” pronounce it more like “FEH-bruh-werr-ee” as opposed to “FEH-broo-err-ee.” Subtle, but noticeable.
Niche–> neesh
Mature–> mah-CHUR
Cache–> cash
Adirondacks–> a-duh-RON-dacks
Fetish–> FEH-tish
Cthulhu–> I don’t know, I’ve never tried or heard it said aloud. I’d have to stop dead and sound it out. Suh-THOOL-hu?
Et cetera–>et SEH-ter-uh
February–>Feb-yoo-air-ee
Niche: “neesh” because that’s the way it’s pronounced in French. The same reason I pronounce “cache” as “cash.”
Mature: “ma-CHUR”
Adirondacks: without the “deer” sound.
Cthulhu: I don’t know, I’ve never needed to pronounce it.
Et cetera: “et-set-rah”
February: either way
Sherbet: the way it’s written.
And I always internally pronounced Cthulhu with a t instead of a th - “C’tooloo”* - but everyone I know uses th, so then I use that because I don’t want rock the boat. But it pisses me off.
But I’m glad someone else internally says “uh-DEER-on-dacks”! I’ll use the proper pronunciation with other people, but I like uh-DEER-on-dacks.
but the oo sound isn’t as “long” as oo usually is, if that makes sense? I guess I’d call it a sort of schwa-oo?
Nitch
Ma-CHER (not like Sonny Bono’s partner. Like the last syllable in “launcher” only accented.)
cash
adder-ON-dax
FEH-tish
kuh-THUL-oo
ex-SET-era or et-SET-era, depending
“sure, Bert!” or SHUR-bert
These are the only ones in the OP that I disagree with.
There’s no “ex” in et cetera. Since you know how it’s spelled, why are you replacing the “t” with a “k” sound? Do you also say “expresso” instead of “espresso”?
February: If you pronounce it with the “r”, you’ll spell it right. Think of the word “brew”.
You mispronounce “sherbet” because it sounds like “sure bet”? But your way, it sounds like “sure, Burt”.
Niche: as the French
Mature: short A, sound the T, long U
Cache: as the French
Adirondacks: never heard a native pronounce it.
Fetish: short E.
Cthulhu: who cares?
Et cetera: as in the Latin, with a hard C
February: short E, long U, long A.
Sherbet: yes, I tend to add an R.