Am I to understand that the “southern hick” word “vittles” is really “victuals” and that it’s not even written “vittles” as it sounds? And I’m the one calling southerners “hicks”? Google gives a good definition for “victuals” and none for “vittles.” Additionally 137kHits for “vittles” and 151kHits for “victuals.”
Why can they not both be correct? The word has two separate meanings that are now reflected in the separate pronunciations. roh DAY oh is the correct Spanish pronunciation that has carried over to the name of a street while RO dee oh is the Americanized word for a specific display of skills involving tasks performed by cowboys. There is no reason for the two words to be pronounced the same and separate pronunciations allow us to identify which is being referenced.
Actually both are used in the U.K., the version rhyming with “carriage” is seen as the more common way to say it, the alternative being used mainly by the upper-class and those who pretend to be posh.
If by “like forte” you mean “often mispronounced because people make the wrong assumption about which language it originated from,” how about “Porsche,” the German car, pronounced with two syllables, but people often try to pronounce it as if it were French, with one syllable (and the e silent).
It’s universally one-syllable in Britain. And it’s certainly not because anyone thinks the car is French. (And I remember a Friends episode, where Joey (of all people) became critical of mispronunciation)
Hmmm. I would have said that:
cache = “cash”
cachet = “cashay”
Under what circumstances is the second pronunciation used for the first word?
I don’t hear it in “common use” as was suggested by XWalrus2, but I have heard it pronounced such. Like fingernails on a blackboard…
Really? I hear it most commonly pronounced as “cashay”. In fact, I didn’t learn the correct version until sixth grade.
There’s been a thread here before on the word quixotic.
A reader unfamiliar with the Spanish origin of the word (from Don Quixote [key-HOE-tay]) would see it and pronounce it ‘kwicksotic.’
A slightly more enlightened reader would recognize the origin of the word and pronounce it “key-HOE-tic.”
But that person is then stunned to learn in a Straight Dope thread that the proper English pronounciation is, in fact, “kwicksotic.”
I blame Purina.
I still can’t decide about herb.
As I understand it, it is equally acceptable to pronounce it with or without the ‘h’ sound at the beginning (with the former being the standard in the UK and the latter used in the US).
My concern is that however I choose to say it, the person to whom I’m speaking will think I’m ignorant.
In the Bahamas (and maybe elsewhere), the islands are called Cays, (like Staniel Cay, where they filmed the cave scene in the James Bond film “Thunderball”), but people actually pronounce it “key”.
People who are familiar with the regional pronunciation would say “key”, but someone not familiar would look at a chart and say, “No, man, it’s ‘kay’.”
(From here: "The origin of the word “Key” to refer to a small island is not really known. Some think that it began when the Spanish adapted the word “cayo’ from the Taino Indians of Hispanola and Cuba. The English used “Cay” or “Kay” such as Cay Sal Banks. In some places, Cay is pronounced as the letter “K.” In other places (like the Bahamas) Cay is pronounced like Key.”
I heard it pronounced “cashay” once, by a military dude on TV, and the beginning of the Iraq conflict. Other than that, I’ve only heard the “cash” pronunciation. However, I also heard that the military tends to say “cashay,” like they say “depp-o” instead of “dee-po” like the resut of us (Americans).
Cool–I didn’t realize people still said it that way!
I can’t find an online explanation of this process; I read about it in Stephen Pinker’s excellent Words and Rules. It’s one of those things that stuck with me as an example of how language changes, and how “ignorant” pronunciations are often following strict linguistic protocols and soon become the “correct” pronunciations.
Daniel
Like “raut” and “root” (“route”) or “creeek” and “crick”, I tend to say “depp-o” or “dee-po” depending on my mood of some other reason I can’t figure out. It’s always “Home Dee-po”, though.
In the military, I recall the majority of people saying “cash” rather than “cash-ay,” but on the other hand, the military’s the first place I heard “cash-ay.” I recall that because it was specifically jarring at the time. I think the guy I heard it from went on to become an aeronautical engineer after he got out.