# Is There A Word For Words Not Pronounced Like They're Spelled? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 4, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124 "2008-11-04T19:42:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/1 "2008-11-04T19:42:41Z")
Inspired by the Worchester pronounced Wooster thread. I was talking to someone and I mentioned the Colonel. It’s pronounced “Ker-nel” And the person I was talking to said "that mean olo is sometimes pronounced er as in Colonel. I guess she was trying to make a comparison like somethimes PH is prononunced like an “f” or TI is sometimes prononunced “sh” like in nation. But I don’t buy that argument, I just think it’s a word that isn’t prononunced like it’s spelled. Like Worchester is a word not spelled like it’s prononunced. It not that in English “orche” is sometimes pronounced “ooo” So the pronunciation comes out Woo-ster. So my question is there a term for words that are not pronounced like they are spelled? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/2 "2008-11-04T19:44:45Z")
I think it’s “Throatwarbler Mangrove”, but I’m not sure how that’s pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/3 "2008-11-04T19:51:40Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Inspired by the Worchester pronounced Wooster thread. It’s Worcester, BTW. ---
**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 4, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/4 "2008-11-04T19:53:26Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I think it’s “Throatwarbler Mangrove”, but I’m not sure how that’s pronounced. Raymond Luxury Yacht ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/5 "2008-11-04T19:59:26Z")
There is a word: “Polish”. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/6 "2008-11-04T20:01:50Z")
I know the answer but I have to run. I will tell you the answer tomorrow (Wednesday). ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/7 "2008-11-04T20:06:21Z")
Quinoa ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/8 "2008-11-04T20:08:03Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > So my question is there a term for words that are not pronounced like they are spelled? Yes. Words that are spelled the way they were pronounced _when they entered the language_. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/9 "2008-11-04T20:12:00Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I was talking to someone and I mentioned the Colonel. It’s pronounced “Ker-nel” > > And the person I was talking to said "that mean olo is sometimes pronounced er as in Colonel. I don’t buy that argument either. “Sometimes” doesn’t mean “in one or two anomalous cases.” I don’t know whether the word you’re [ghoti](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti)ing around for exists, but if it doesn’t, it ought to. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/10 "2008-11-04T20:14:19Z")
The adjective is “non-phonetic”. I don’t know of a noun, so you’ll just have to say “non-phonetic word”. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/11 "2008-11-04T20:23:24Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Yes. > > Words that are spelled the way they were pronounced _when they entered the language_. Is that true of pneumonia ? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/12 "2008-11-04T20:24:10Z")
> [@](#): > > There is a word: “Polish”. Surprising that someone calling themselves **Ludovic** would say this. Polish is pronounced _exactly_ as it’s spelled – using Polish rules of pronunciation. You’re only going to run into trouble if you use English rules. Polish hasn’t got the exceptions English has. Nothing like “colonel”/“kernel”. It always looks to me as if Welsh has eccentric pronunciation, but I’m not really familiar with its rules at all, and for all I know those impenetrable collections of improbable letters follow just as accurate and rigid a system of pronunciation as Polish. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/13 "2008-11-04T20:34:11Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Yes. > > Words that are spelled the way they were pronounced _when they entered the language_. Just so. Colonel was indeed pronounced col-on-el when it first appeared in the 16th century. The modern pronunciation, according to OED, became established in the early 19th century. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/14 "2008-11-04T21:00:14Z")
In first grade Miss Kempson called them “outlaw words”. So there you go. Yes, there was a bulletin board with a lariat on it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/15 "2008-11-04T21:25:56Z")
I think the term you’re looking for is: “the majority of words in the English language.” Try pronouncing every single letter of every word when you read something. Most words are not spelled like they’re pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/16 "2008-11-04T21:36:17Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Surprising that someone calling themselves **Ludovic** would say this. Polish is pronounced _exactly_ as it’s spelled – using Polish rules of pronunciation. You’re only going to run into trouble if you use English rules. Polish hasn’t got the exceptions English has. Nothing like “colonel”/“kernel”. I think **Ludo** was referring to the whole “polish”/“Polish” thing. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/17 "2008-11-04T22:43:46Z")
More or less I believe the explanation for colonel is that the word originated in italian as colonello who was the cammander of a “column” (colonna) of men. The Spanish took the word and in Spanish it changed to “coronel”. The English then took the word from the Spanish and after using it for some time decided to go with the original Italian spelling so what you have is a word which is pronounced in Spanish but written in Italian. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/18 "2008-11-04T22:55:56Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It always looks to me as if Welsh has eccentric pronunciation, but I’m not really familiar with its rules at all, and for all I know those impenetrable collections of improbable letters follow just as accurate and rigid a system of pronunciation as Polish. Welsh has fairly regular pronunciation, at least more so than English. So (using IPA symbols), “ff” is always pronounced _f_, “f” is always pronounced _v_, “dd” is always pronounced _ð_, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/19 "2008-11-05T01:34:57Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I know the answer but I have to run. I will tell you the answer tomorrow (Wednesday). ??? Is this some in-joke I am not aware of? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124/20 "2008-11-05T01:47:41Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > ??? > Is this some in-joke I am not aware of? It is not an in-joke. Read the last work phonetically. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-words-not-pronounced-like-theyre-spelled/471124.md?page=2)