# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/101 "2012-06-22T15:53:52Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > This is a standing joke between me and my bf, who would rather die than say anything with the correct French pronunciation-MASSage, GEHRige, _Herb_- but can’t stand the FARV thing. We make a point of saying “FaaahvRRRRRRRa” in the most exagerrated faux French accent we can produce without coughing. 🙂 I just don’t get why people don’t pronounce it FAHV, rather than FARVE. Why get the letters mixed up? I get it that most people who don’t speak French can’t/won’t pronounce it correctly–I’m not expecting them to. But dammit, the V is before the R! Why not just say “Brett FAHV”? Of course it doesn’t help that the guy himself pronounces it FARVE. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/102 "2012-06-22T16:09:02Z")
Does anyone know where they keep the nuclear wessels? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/103 "2012-06-22T16:16:33Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > 🙂 > > I just don’t get why people don’t pronounce it FAHV, rather than FARVE. Why get the letters mixed up? I get it that most people who don’t speak French can’t/won’t pronounce it correctly–I’m not expecting them to. But dammit, the V is before the R! Why not just say “Brett FAHV”? > > Of course it doesn’t help that the guy himself pronounces it FARVE. :rolleyes: I’ll be snacking on my hors d’oeuvres awaiting an answer. ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/104 "2012-06-22T16:55:55Z")
Not really words, but I can’t STAND it when people are talking and they raise their voice at the end of a statement like it’s a question… I first noticed this with Allison Hannigan (sp?) on Buffy and now, I notice a LOT of younger people doing it. It’s a STATEMENT, not a fucking QUESTION! ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/105 "2012-06-22T17:30:59Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I just don’t get why people don’t pronounce it FAHV, rather than FARVE. Why get the letters mixed up? I get it that most people who don’t speak French can’t/won’t pronounce it correctly–I’m not expecting them to. But dammit, the V is before the R! Why not just say “Brett FAHV”? This used to be why the pronunication of “nucular” drove me up a wall, but I have since softened on it since it was pointed out to me that we pronounce letters in the wrong order all the time without a second thought. For example: Wednesday. ---
**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 22, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/106 "2012-06-22T17:33:35Z")
I don’t know about your accent bit in mine there are a lot of silent letters in Wenzday, but nothing out of order. ---
**Author:** ![LegsAkimbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@LegsAkimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegsAkimbo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/107 "2012-06-22T17:52:19Z")
Real-i-tor drives me nuts, more so now that we are house-shopping so people are saying it to me more. I have noticed the deal with actors grossly mispronouncing words; it mostly serves to remind me that they are pretty much idiots (and people who know how to pronounce the word are probably too impressed with them to ever correct them). In a scripted show, how do those mistakes make it all the way to air? I’m extremely fussy about words myself, so I can relate to all this. It used to drive me nuts when people would misuse “decimate,” which means to reduce by 1/10 (which is really not that bad a loss). Well, then I was emailing a correction to someone and was going to quote the dictionary and discovered that the definition has been changed–probably by popular usage–to mean what everyone intends when they say it. Argh, when did that happen?? So now I try not to grind my teeth when I hear that word used to describe massive destruction. And as with “farther” and “further,” I wish more people knew when to use “less” and “fewer.” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/108 "2012-06-22T18:19:51Z")
> [@LegsAkimbo](#): > > Real-i-tor drives me nuts, more so now that we are house-shopping so people are saying it to me more… Hell, there was a radio commercial here with a realtor speaking about her company and she even said real-i-tor. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/109 "2012-06-22T18:32:45Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I don’t know about your accent bit in mine there are a lot of silent letters in Wenzday, but nothing out of order. Is this a whoosh? Wednesday Wenzday Note how the position of the n and the d have reversed from the word to the pronunciation. Keep in mind I originally brought this up because people had complaints that the letters in Brett Favre’s name are pronounced in the wrong order. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/110 "2012-06-22T18:43:28Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Is this a whoosh? > > Wednesday > Wenzday > > Note how the position of the n and the d have reversed from the word to the pronunciation. Keep in mind I originally brought this up because people had complaints that the letters in Brett Favre’s name are pronounced in the wrong order. Notice the other d in there? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/111 "2012-06-22T18:44:38Z")
I don’t know if you knew this but there are 2 Ds in Wednesday. ---
**Author:** ![HighFructose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/87869e/32.png) [@HighFructose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HighFructose)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/112 "2012-06-22T18:50:26Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I don’t know about your accent bit in mine there are a lot of silent letters in Wenzday, but nothing out of order. While we’re on it, it’s WenzDAY, old-timers, not WenzDEE. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/113 "2012-06-22T18:58:07Z")
> [@LegsAkimbo](#): > > … I wish more people knew when to use “less” and “fewer.” I wish more people knew, too. Then, they would stop smugly trying to correct grocery store signs with a judgmental smirk, "Uh, excuse me, that should be “10 items or fewer.” Listen…“10 items or less” is cromulent. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/114 "2012-06-22T19:07:01Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > This used to be why the pronunication of “nucular” drove me up a wall, Drives me up a wall to this very day. Also, whenever I hear someone say “nucular” my immediate thought, and I mean within a second of hearing it, is that they’re a Republican, which I know isn’t necessarily true, but there it is. > [@EllisDee](#): > > but I have since softened on it since it was pointed out to me that we pronounce letters in the wrong order all the time without a second thought. For example: Wednesday. I pronounce it “wednzday.” I leave out the second ‘e’ for some reason, but I definitely pronounce three distinct syllables. I hear “wenzday” (two syllables) a lot from others. > [@LegsAkimbo](#): > > Real-i-tor drives me nuts, more so now that we are house-shopping so people are saying it to me more. “Realitor” is another one I know I’ll never get over. What’s the deal with adding the extra ‘i’ during pronunciation? > [@LegsAkimbo](#): > > I’m extremely fussy about words myself, so I can relate to all this. It used to drive me nuts when people would misuse “decimate,” which means to reduce by 1/10 (which is really not that bad a loss). Well, then I was emailing a correction to someone and was going to quote the dictionary and discovered that the definition has been changed–probably by popular usage–to mean what everyone intends when they say it. Argh, when did that happen?? So now I try not to grind my teeth when I hear that word used to describe massive destruction. Wow. I learned something today. I have always thought that to decimate meant to reduce TO one tenth, not BY one tenth. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/115 "2012-06-22T19:14:34Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I wish more people knew, too. Then, they would stop smugly trying to correct grocery store signs with a judgmental smirk, "Uh, excuse me, that should be “10 items or fewer.” Listen…“10 items or less” is cromulent. I’ve made a little game out of noticing when people use less with countable nouns and no one gets a stick up their butt about it. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/116 "2012-06-22T19:19:33Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > North Americans also pronounce the “d” differently, don’t we? IIRC the British pronunciation is more or less “shedule”, while Americans say “skedjule”. Or am I misremembering? I think you’re mis-remembering, I’ve only hever heard a ‘jule’ ending, though I’ve heard both ‘shed’ and ‘sked’ used to start the word. > [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I don’t think I have ever heard anyone other than commercial narrators pronounce caramel as car-a-mel. Most people in Britain do. If someone said ‘carmel’ to me, I’d assume they were talking about a woman… ---
**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 22, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/117 "2012-06-22T19:33:26Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Is this a whoosh? > > Wednesday > Wenzday > > Note how the position of the n and the d have reversed from the word to the pronunciation. Keep in mind I originally brought this up because people had complaints that the letters in Brett Favre’s name are pronounced in the wrong order. Is _this_ a whoosh? The first _D_ is silent. It’s the _second_ one, the one in _day_, that I pronounce. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/118 "2012-06-22T19:51:55Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Wow. I learned something today. I have always thought that to decimate meant to reduce TO one tenth, not BY one tenth. Decimation originated in the Roman Legion. It was a punishment for a military unit that did something seriously wrong like mutinying or deserting a battlefield. They would divide up the unit into groups of ten and every group had to draw lots with one person getting a short straw. Then the other nine soldiers in that group had to kill that tenth guy. Pretty brutal obvious but it was intended as a severe punishment not a means of destruction. The Romans wanted the unit to still exist after the decimation was over. Kill off a tenth of a unit and you were left with a smaller but intact unit. Kill off nine-tenths of a unit and you might as well go ahead and kill off everyone. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/119 "2012-06-22T19:55:22Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Is _this_ a whoosh? > > The first _D_ is silent. It’s the _second_ one, the one in _day_, that I pronounce. It’s pretty close. There’s not much difference in the pronunciation of wenz-day and wendz-day. ---
**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 22, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645/120 "2012-06-22T20:11:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s pretty close. There’s not much difference in the pronunciation of wenz-day and wendz-day. So, a pronunciation that I do use, which doesn’t change the order of letters is “not much differen[t]” from a pronunciation that I _don’t_ use, which does change the order? I’m not buying it. And you would do much better to note that there are accents in which “Wednesday” is pronounced “Weddenzday.” At least there is a theoretical letter-switching going on there, unlike the case you’re stretching for. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciations-that-grate-is-it-because-im-old/625645.md?page=7)