# pronunciation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation/543917 "2010-06-20T22:35:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kun11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@kun11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kun11)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation/543917/1 "2010-06-20T22:35:56Z")
Is kol-ee-kwee-ul an accepted way of pronouncing the word colloquial? I know that most North Americans say Kol-oh-kwee-ul but for some reason my mouth always wants to say the former. Am I going mad?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation/543917/2 "2010-06-20T22:40:15Z")
An idiolectal quirk doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going mad, but I do not know of any evidence that anyone else pronounces the word this way, nor have I been able to find such indications in various dictionaries. Do you know of anyone else who pronounces the word this way, from whom you may have picked it up? If not, it is perhaps entirely your innovation; of course, you may continue to say it that way or try to change your habits as you like, though I think it would be fair to label this pronunciation as “wrong” by the standards of the English speaking community at large. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation/543917/3 "2010-06-20T22:40:16Z")
I have never heard that pronunciation. And I don’t know whether you’re going mad. ---
**Author:** ![kun11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@kun11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kun11)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation/543917/4 "2010-06-20T22:50:07Z")
Ok maybe I’m not going mad. I’ve found a link that gives a different pronunciation (#2) [How to pronounce colloquial in English - Definition and synonyms of colloquial in English](http://www.forvo.com/word/colloquial/) Although it’s a lot closer, it’s still not exactly the same as what I always want to say. Is this a UK thing maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation/543917/5 "2010-06-20T23:07:13Z")
The UK pronunciation you’ve linked to is still “Kol-oh-kwee-ul”, so far as I can tell, just with the “oh” rendered in a British accent (as [əʊ] rather than the American realization of that phoneme as [oʊ]). ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation/543917/6 "2010-06-21T02:54:48Z")
Nothing in the etymology or spelling of the word would point to the pronunciation you suggest. It could be that your mind is trying to insist on a link between _colloquial_ and _colleague_, colloquy being something that colleagues tend to engage in. But in fact the two words have different etymologies.