# How is Decal pronounced? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538 "2023-11-22T15:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/21 "2023-11-22T16:55:18Z")
DEE-cal is the only way I’ve ever heard it. I grew up in northern NY near Quebec. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/22 "2023-11-22T17:01:23Z")
The first time I heard it pronounced “deck-al” was an episode of _Corner Gas_. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/23 "2023-11-22T17:04:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > the Canadian version in that link sounds like “deckle” to me, which is a part of beef brisket. [Amongst other things](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deckle). ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/24 "2023-11-22T17:07:24Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Dee-cal is how I’ve heard it my entire life. I’ve been putting together models off and on for the last 37 years, and it was only this year that i heard someone pronounce it deck-al. It sounded odd to my ears, but I just assumed it was a British thing. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/25 "2023-11-22T17:22:26Z")
Only ever heard DEE-cal. NYC and surrounding area. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/26 "2023-11-22T17:24:24Z")
You can probably tell what my hobbies are. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/27 "2023-11-22T17:29:43Z")
This thread reminds me of the time I drove through the pasture and got some feckle matter on my veckle. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/28 "2023-11-22T17:54:37Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > This thread reminds me of the time I drove through the pasture and got some feckle matter on my veckle. - If you wash it off quick enough, it won’t get inflected. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/29 "2023-11-22T18:09:21Z")
Only if you pronounce “fuck all” like “fecal.” ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/30 "2023-11-22T18:40:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Dee rhymes with bee 🐝 > > There is a little k in cal. Like calendar. … might not really be able to broach this with layman’s terms. I can’t tell what “hard k” and “little k” signify. No worries – just curiosity on my part. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/31 "2023-11-22T18:41:55Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Only if you pronounce “fuck all” like “fecal.” Or as in the Irish “feck oil” ---
**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:** [November 22, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/32 "2023-11-22T19:02:08Z")
Yeah, they’re exactly the same “k” in all pronunciations. It’s the vowels and stress that change. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/33 "2023-11-22T19:06:58Z")
I’ve only ever said or heard Dee-kal. Next you’ll tell me there are different pronunciations for coffee without caffeine (Dee-calf) ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/34 "2023-11-22T19:18:45Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I guess the “pecan” debate is next. Ugh. In the Hitchcock movie _Marnie_, Tippi Hedron says “Pih-KHAN pie” about a million times. In that early-sixties Holywood style of overenunciation, it’s unbearable (IMHO). I don’t even like the damn dessert, but it’ll always be “PEEK-an” to me. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/35 "2023-11-22T19:19:17Z")
Actually, the second syllable is emphasized enough that the first syllable can get a little muted and the difference between “dee-” and “deh-” might be too subtle to detect. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/36 "2023-11-22T19:20:17Z")
My hearing is changing as I age. I don’t notice subtle changes in pronunciation anymore. Unless I’m listening for a difference. I appreciate Webster providing audio pronunciation. It’s helpful to check that I’m pronouncing a word correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/37 "2023-11-22T19:22:32Z")
Having mixed with hobbyists from down south, I have become used to switching from my usual Deck-all to the American Dee-cal. Although whenever I hear it, it sounds in my mind like: “Yeee haw! How Y’all Doin’? Me an the boys are gonna put on some of these here Deeee cals, and then we’re fixing to have some barbeee que!” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/38 "2023-11-22T19:31:44Z")
Deee-kal, the same way Deee-Lite of “Groove Is in the Heart” fame is pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/39 "2023-11-22T19:52:52Z")
Dee-cal, with the emphasis on the first syllable. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538/40 "2023-11-22T20:15:15Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Having mixed with hobbyists from down south, I have become used to switching from my usual Deck-all to the American Dee-cal. Although whenever I hear it, it sounds in my mind like: > > “Yeee haw! How Y’all Doin’? Me an the boys are gonna put on some of these here Deeee cals, and then we’re fixing to have some barbeee que!” You and me against the world! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-decal-pronounced/993538.md?page=3)