# Pronounciations that grate: Is it because I'm old? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 19, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645 "2012-06-19T14:32:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/1 "2012-06-19T14:32:58Z")
Lately I’ve been noticing people in the media talking in ways that make my teeth itch. Now, I know this is hypocritical coming from a person whose Bronx accent is so thick even her children make fun of her, but I can’t help it. And it seems to be getting worse the older I get. This started when I noticed the guy who narrates How It’s Made pronounces the word “robots” as “robits”. I even asked here where the guy was from. Then William Shatner tried to ruin my enjoyment of a nature show by pronouncing “lava” like “lather” only with a ‘v’ instead of a 'th"-- and then stretching the word out, making it sound even worse. He kept talking about “the laaaava tubes” and making me cringe. Then I saw this [youtube of Shatner asking Spock to “sabataaage” the ship.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlOTRxt-dIw) Did he always talk that way and I never noticed? Right in the middle of the Shatner narrated doc was a commercial for a veteran’s organization in which the spokesman kept pronouncing the word ‘vechrins’. He’d somehow lost a syllable and gained a ‘ch’. WTF? And finally I realized that it must be me getting old and cantankerous because yesterday Destiny’s Child’s Irreplaceable played on the radio and all I heard the whole time was Beyonce and her inability to say the word correctly. She pronounced it 'irreplaceaboo" throughout the entire song and it drove me crazy. So I ask: what’s with the weird pronouncations all of a sudden? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/2 "2012-06-19T14:40:13Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > So I ask: what’s with the weird pronouncations all of a sudden? By “all of a sudden”, do you mean “since the dawn of language”? If odd pronunciations bother you, I suggest you stay away from the works of Charles Dickens, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/3 "2012-06-19T14:43:09Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > By “all of a sudden”, do you mean “since the dawn of language”? > > If odd pronunciations bother you, I suggest you stay away from the works of Charles Dickens, for instance. What? You can hear pronounciations when you read? Wow! You’re good! ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/4 "2012-06-19T14:56:43Z")
Have you considered that you might be the one who’s wrong? You see, instead of complaining, I looked up the words in a dictionary, and “lava” is indeed pronounced the way you describe. The pronunciation of “veteran” is a standard regional variation (much like “murdrer” for “murderer”). And there really isn’t any difference in the pronunciation of “irreplaceable” as you describe. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/5 "2012-06-19T15:03:08Z")
Well, it’s not like Shatner is some hot new star who just emerged on the scene. The man remembers where he was the day Mckinley got shot. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/6 "2012-06-19T15:05:01Z")
So I am being a cantankerous? This is a possibility. However, I don’t care what you’ve read or heard, “irreplaceable” is never correctly pronounced “irreplaceaboo”. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/7 "2012-06-19T15:20:33Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > So I am being a cantankerous? This is a possibility. However, I don’t care what you’ve read or heard, “irreplaceable” is never correctly pronounced “irreplaceaboo”. While I haven’t heard adults speak like that, I have heard chirren pronounce a terminal “-ble” sound somewhat like “boo.” Two that I can remember from two different nephews reared in different households were “tickoo” and “jungoo.” ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/8 "2012-06-19T15:22:12Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Have you considered that you might be the one who’s wrong? You see, instead of complaining, I looked up the words in a dictionary, and “lava” is indeed pronounced the way you describe. Only if you drop the “r” in lather and pronounce it “lathuh”. > [@](#): > > The pronunciation of “veteran” is a standard regional variation (much like “murdrer” for “murderer”). > > And there really isn’t any difference in the pronunciation of “irreplaceable” as you describe. Really? No difference between ear-uh-place-uh-buhl and ear-uh-place-uh-boo? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/9 "2012-06-19T15:23:11Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > While I haven’t heard adults speak like that, I have heard chirren pronounce a terminal “-ble” sound somewhat like “boo.” Two that I can remember from two different nephews reared in different households were “tickoo” and “jungoo.” Ah, but Beyonce is a grown woman. And to think, it used to be to me that the worst part of that song was how she rhymed “in a minute” with “in a minute”. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/10 "2012-06-19T15:26:42Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > What? You can hear pronounciations when you read? Wow! You’re good! Dickens spells out his characters non-standard pronunciations for you. It’s werry vearing, after a while. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/11 "2012-06-19T15:27:31Z")
My dad says “sabotage” the same way Shatner does. I’m guessing it’s a regional/cultural thing. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/12 "2012-06-19T15:30:44Z")
[Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE)](http://dare.wisc.edu/?q=node/332) > [@](#): > > The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) is a multi-volume reference work that documents words, phrases, and \*\*pronunciations \*\*that vary from one place to another place across the United States. > > Challenging the popular notion that our language has been “homogenized” by the media and our mobile population, **DARE demonstrates that there are many thousands of differences that characterize the dialect regions of the U.S.** > > DARE is based on face-to-face interviews carried out in all 50 states between 1965 and 1970 and on a comprehensive collection of written materials (diaries, letters, novels, histories, biographies, newspapers, government documents, etc.) that cover our history from the colonial period to the present. > > **The entries in DARE include regional pronunciations** , variant forms, some etymologies, and regional and social distributions of the words and phrases. > > A striking feature of DARE is its inclusion in the text of the Dictionary of selected maps that show where words were found in the 1,002 communities investigated during the fieldwork. I’ve bolded the most relevant phrases. It’s not new. It’s not getting worse. It’s not wrong. People with thick Bronx accents should be barred from the public airways, but that’s because of what they say, not how they say it. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/13 "2012-06-19T15:38:35Z")
I know all about regional accents. This is why I don’t narrate nature docs-- because of my accent and because no one has asked. But if someone asked me to narrate a nature documentary, I would try very hard not to say, “Dingos are dawgs who don’t drink cawfee” because I know that is not broadcast American. And “laaavar tubes” was jarring to me, especially since everyone else pronounced it the way one expects to hear it. But, as I said, I am getting more ornery as time passes. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/14 "2012-06-19T15:41:22Z")
Merriam Webster on-line has the OP pronunciation of lava first, followed by the Shatnerish pronunciation second. I vote for the first pronunciation too. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/15 "2012-06-19T15:48:07Z")
Shatner is Canadian. Blame it on Canada. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/16 "2012-06-19T15:52:00Z")
I’ll note both Shatner and the How It’s Made guy are from Canada. Did you have an unfortunate incident with a Mountie as a child perhaps? So soory. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/17 "2012-06-19T15:54:34Z")
As it was noted in the thread about the How It’s Made guy. The American version does not use a Canadian narrator. Our narrator is from Pennsylvania. P.S., ‘soory’ is strange too. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/18 "2012-06-19T15:56:24Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > What? You can hear pronounciations when you read? Wow! You’re good! Indeed I can! In fact, it was not so very long ago that I read an internet message board post where “veterans” sounded like “'vechrins” and “irreplaceable” sounded like “irreplaceaboo”. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/19 "2012-06-19T15:58:59Z")
The “robits” thing is a well recognized phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/20 "2012-06-19T15:59:05Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > As it was noted in the thread about the How It’s Made guy. The American version does not use a Canadian narrator. Our narrator is from Pennsylvania. Huh, interesting…I missed that thread. The narration is so bland so as to not distract from the Making visuals I always assumed we were getting the native Canadian narration. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645.md?page=2)