# Pronunciations which are legit but sound pretentious to outsiders **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 3, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939 "2018-11-03T18:17:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/41 "2018-11-03T23:55:50Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > And not just “octopi”: > > [https://www.weeklystorybook.com/.a/6a0105369e6edf970b01bb083fe905970d-600wi](https://www.weeklystorybook.com/.a/6a0105369e6edf970b01bb083fe905970d-600wi) So this gladiator walks into a bar on the Appian Way and he says “Gimme a Martinus.” The bartender says “You mean a Martini?” So the gladiator shoots him a look and says “Buddy, went I want a double, I’ll ask for for it.” ---
**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:** [November 3, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/42 "2018-11-03T23:56:45Z")
Just the opposite: the correct pronunciation makes people think you’re a hick if you say “vittles” It’s the correct pronunciation for “victuals.” ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/43 "2018-11-03T23:58:21Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The difference between “vase” and “vahz”? > > $200. On these Eastern shores of the Atlantic, it’s routinely VAHZ. VAISE sounds like what you’d say if you’d read it but never heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/44 "2018-11-04T00:07:18Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Not just Minnesota. Carmel was the prevailing pronunciation until at least the late 70s. > > [Cite](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrRkqGzCC4s). (YouTube link) I always thought it was because of the post-vocalic r in many North American accents, which makes carmel and caramel much closer than they would be with a lot of English accents (where the R is only sounded in carAmel, so they sound far less similar and therefore carmel isn’t a thing here). ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/45 "2018-11-04T00:14:08Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I was surprised to learn that cilantro is pronounced with an “s” and not a “ch.” I always thought it should sound Italian, not Spanish. I can see that, but cilantro is the Spanish name. Brits call it coriander (we use the same name for the seeds and the leaves of the coriander plant); it has a Latin root (the Italian is Coriandolo). We call the root coriander too. A-hahaha haha. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/46 "2018-11-04T00:28:05Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Ahem. > > You have skipped a level of snobbery. > > Fwah-yay Well, this is clearly your forte. ---
**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:** [November 4, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/47 "2018-11-04T00:43:15Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Well, this is clearly your forte. And you’ll come off as a rube if you pronounce it with one syllable! Irony! ---
**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:** [November 4, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/48 "2018-11-04T00:45:28Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > And not just “octopi”: > > [https://www.weeklystorybook.com/.a/6a0105369e6edf970b01bb083fe905970d-600wi](https://www.weeklystorybook.com/.a/6a0105369e6edf970b01bb083fe905970d-600wi) Igloos are made of eggshells? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/49 "2018-11-04T00:49:09Z")
I just heard a good one watching Jeremy Paxton on TVO\*: “The LEH-zhured classes,” not “the LEE-zhured classes.” \*Ontario’s PBS. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/50 "2018-11-04T00:51:38Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > I can see that, but cilantro is the Spanish name. Brits call it coriander (we use the same name for the seeds and the leaves of the coriander plant); it has a Latin root (the Italian is Coriandolo). > > We call the root coriander too. A-hahaha haha. Sounds confusing! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/51 "2018-11-04T00:53:24Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > And Detroit. And St. Louis, and Lafayette, and f’n Prairie du Chien which I have no idea how someone from there would pronounce. At least I can make myself aware that all the Détroiteurs/euses say DEEtroyt or deTROYT rather than day-trwah, and that if I go to sang lwee, I better not say it that way if I want to be understood. But if I ever go to Prairie des Chiens, they’re getting an authentically French prairie of the dogs, and I hope it doesn’t confuse them too badly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/52 "2018-11-04T00:53:26Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Igloos are made of eggshells? Only in first-grade classroom projects. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/53 "2018-11-04T00:54:51Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > And St. Louis, and Lafayette, and f’n Prairie du Chien which I have no idea how someone from there would pronounce. “Prairie du Shane.” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/54 "2018-11-04T00:58:04Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “Prairie du Shane.” This Wisconsinite pronounces it “Prairie du Sheen.” As do most natives of the town, IMHO. [My Prairie du Chien](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7LewD_uK4g) ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/55 "2018-11-04T01:02:04Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > To me, it’s people who pronounce “vase” as “vahz,” and “aunt” as “awnt.” Both are perfectly legitimate and common pronunciations, but to my ear I can’t help but hear them as pretentious affectations. Ahem. As I said. 😉 ---
**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:** [November 4, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/56 "2018-11-04T01:02:22Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > And St. Louis, and Lafayette, and f’n Prairie du Chien which I have no idea how someone from there would pronounce. > > At least I can make myself aware that all the Détroiteurs/euses say DEEtroyt or deTROYT rather than day-trwah, and that if I go to sang lwee, I better not say it that way if I want to be understood. But if I ever go to Prairie des Chiens, they’re getting an authentically French prairie of the dogs, and I hope it doesn’t confuse them too badly. 🙂 My older Indian relatives used to say “Det-tree-Ott,” rhyming with “patriot.” I even once saw some airport person spell it Detriot. I have no idea why they thought that was the name. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/57 "2018-11-04T01:02:58Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > And St. Louis, and Lafayette, and f’n Prairie du Chien which I have no idea how someone from there would pronounce. > > At least I can make myself aware that all the Détroiteurs/euses say DEEtroyt or deTROYT rather than day-trwah, and that if I go to sang lwee, I better not say it that way if I want to be understood. People who live there call it Saint Louis, never Louie. I learned this watching _ **The Untouchables** _, with Robert Stack as Eliot Ness.\* \*Who says TV isn’t educational? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/58 "2018-11-04T01:06:59Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > This Wisconsinite pronounces it “Prairie du Sheen.” > > As do most natives of the town, IMHO. > > [My Prairie du Chien](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7LewD_uK4g) And New Prague, MN, is called “New Prayge.” (Long “a.”) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/59 "2018-11-04T01:10:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > And New Prague, MN, is called “New Prayge.” (Long “a.”) And New Berlin WI is “New BUR lin”. To differentiate it from Germany’s “Bur LIN”. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939/60 "2018-11-04T01:11:41Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > People who live there call it Saint Louis, never Louie. I learned this watching _ **The Untouchables** _, with Robert Stack as Eliot Ness.\* > > \*Who says TV isn’t educational? 🆒 You mean, in fact, that they call it Saint Lewis. If they called it [trying very hard to not use IPA] Sain L’wee (not Saint Looee), they’d be saying it “right”. Meet me in Saint Lewis, Lewis… 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciations-which-are-legit-but-sound-pretentious-to-outsiders/823939.md?page=4)