# It's pronounced "pre-scrip-tion, **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 13, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927 "2007-06-13T23:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/21 "2007-06-14T03:08:58Z")
Until a week ago, I went 30 years thinking it was “perogative.” ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/22 "2007-06-14T15:40:29Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Not “per-scrip-tion”! Dang! :mad: Peace, mangeorge [/QUOTE] That’s very prescriptive of you. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/23 "2007-06-14T18:57:54Z")
[QUOTE=Staggerlee] That’s very prescriptive of you. :dubious: [/QUOTE] Not perscriptive? Dang. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/24 "2007-06-14T19:11:32Z")
You can all turn off the tv and games, go up to your rooms, and get that homework done. I’m going to go talk with Sister Mary Matthew tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/25 "2007-06-14T20:22:23Z")
I get a pain in my neck every time someone tells me about a “partial” of land. IT’S “PARCEL” YOU IDIOTS! PAR-SELL! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/26 "2007-06-14T20:47:38Z")
[QUOTE=norinew] I generally take the lazy route and just call it a 'scrip. 🆒 [/QUOTE] That’s fine, as long as you don’t start calling it a “script.” Hello? That word means something different. :mad: Signed, **OneCentStamp** , who works at a doctor’s office. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/27 "2007-06-14T21:33:04Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] That’s fine, as long as you don’t start calling it a “script.” Hello? That word means something different. :mad: Signed, **OneCentStamp** , who works at a doctor’s office. [/QUOTE] Oh, I know. That kind of crap drives me right up the damned wall. Hence, my need for a 'scrip for Xanax. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/28 "2007-06-14T23:34:25Z")
[QUOTE=norinew] Oh, I know. That kind of crap drives me right up the damned wall. Hence, my need for a 'scrip for Xanax. 😉 [/QUOTE] That is (or was) street talk for illegally obtained prescription drugs. With the “t”. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/29 "2007-06-15T00:27:20Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] That is (or was) street talk for illegally obtained prescription drugs. With the “t”. [/QUOTE] Really? Shows how hopelessly out of the loop I am. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/30 "2007-06-15T01:18:52Z")
[QUOTE=norinew] Really? Shows how hopelessly out of the loop I am. 😉 [/QUOTE] Me too. It used to be, but maybe no longer. Remember “Drugstore Cowboy”? Guys like that. Excellent movie, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/31 "2007-06-15T06:04:50Z")
[QUOTE=Ferret Herder] The plural of “test” - it’s “tests,” not **“testes.”** :eek: [/QUOTE] And the singular of testes is testis, not testy. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/32 "2007-06-15T06:08:07Z")
It’s definitely spelled “prescription”; on that, there’s no real debate. But, clearly, for many communities of speakers, that word is pronounced in the manner of “perscription”. We even have some representatives of such communities here, apparently. If a particular pronunciation is the norm in some speech community, how can you claim it is wrong? Or do you not believe in the legitimacy of dialectal variation? ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/33 "2007-06-15T09:05:01Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] It’s definitely spelled “prescription”; on that, there’s no real debate. But, clearly, for many communities of speakers, that word is pronounced in the manner of “perscription”. We even have some representatives of such communities here, apparently. If a particular pronunciation is the norm in some speech community, how can you claim it is wrong? Or do you not believe in the legitimacy of dialectal variation? [/QUOTE] Is it really regional, though? My first name begins with (first 3 letters) PRI. It is often spelled wrong, but I used to be especially confused and annoyed when people would spell the first syllable PER. (At 52, I simply accept it now.) East coast, midwest, west, it has happened everywhere, no special dialectal variation. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/34 "2007-06-15T09:12:58Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] I get a pain in my neck every time someone tells me about a “partial” of land. IT’S “PARCEL” YOU IDIOTS! PAR-SELL! [/QUOTE] What if they sever off a chunk for you? Then it’s a partial parcel! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/35 "2007-06-15T12:30:57Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] What if they sever off a chunk for you? Then it’s a partial parcel! [/QUOTE] Parcels of land are like crumbs. If you break one in half you don’t have two half crumbs. You have two smaller crumbs. Same with the parcel. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/36 "2007-06-15T12:58:52Z")
[QUOTE=jabiru] And the singular of testes is testis, not testy. [/QUOTE] Well, you needn’t be teste about it. ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/37 "2007-06-15T13:15:42Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] It’s definitely spelled “prescription”; on that, there’s no real debate. But, clearly, for many communities of speakers, that word is pronounced in the manner of “perscription”. We even have some representatives of such communities here, apparently. If a particular pronunciation is the norm in some speech community, how can you claim it is wrong? Or do you not believe in the legitimacy of dialectal variation? [/QUOTE] Exactly, exactly, exactly. I can’t believe how hard it is for people to wrap their minds around the fact that different people talk differently, and pronunciations change over time, and there are different standards for different parts of the country. I think if most people could grasp this, this world would be a happier place. Me, I’m from Jersey, and I don’t have an ‘r’ in the first syllable. Puhscription. So there! ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/38 "2007-06-15T13:38:23Z")
And, by the way, the reason that lies below the surface is characterized as _underlying_…not **underlining**. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/39 "2007-06-15T14:41:53Z")
[QUOTE=liberty3701] Exactly, exactly, exactly. I can’t believe how hard it is for people to wrap their minds around the fact that different people talk differently, and pronunciations change over time, and there are different standards for different parts of the country. I think if most people could grasp this, this world would be a happier place. Me, I’m from Jersey, and I don’t have an ‘r’ in the first syllable. Puhscription. So there! [/QUOTE] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hug and kiss, we are the world. 😛 That’s all nice, but the actor in a drug commercial, even in Jersey, should pronounce the word “pre-scrip-tion”. I wrap my arms around these mis-speaking people. Even though they talk funny. 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927/40 "2007-06-15T20:54:21Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hug and kiss, we are the world. 😛 That’s all nice, but the actor in a drug commercial, even in Jersey, should pronounce the word “pre-scrip-tion”. I wrap my arms around these mis-speaking people. Even though they talk funny. 😉 Peace, mangeorge [/QUOTE] I think you are missing the point, here. “These mis-speaking people” are not misspeaking. Nor are they speaking incorrecly. Why do you think that your personal preferred pronunciation is what the actor should use? They may sound funny to you, but you probably sound funny to them. Why do you assert that they are incorrect while you are correct? > [@](#): > > Yes, you are. every one of you. Those who say “ain’t” are wrong, even though the word is now “in the dictionary”. > I’m dating (no, not in that way) myself, ain’t I? What exactly do you mean when you say that those who say ain’t are wrong? That you personally don’t like it? You are not dating yourself, no. This criticism of “ain’t” is over 100 years old. Are you over 100 years old? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-pronounced-pre-scrip-tion/407927.md?page=3)