This is a pronunciation thread. The number of pronunciation epiphanies in another thread made me think that the subject could support a thread of its own.
I was watching a Writer’s Workshop on PBS one day and a student asked a visiting author if he took umbrage at criticism of one of his novels. She pronounced ‘umbrage’ (UM-brij) as if it rhymed with ‘fromage’ (um-BRAZH.) It sounded rather affected.
I also notice that many people are now pronouncing the word ‘homage’ the same way. Now, there is a French word, ‘hommage’, which is pronounced in a French sort of way, but the English word ‘homage’ is, to my understanding, pronounced either HOM-ij or OM-ij.
I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh every day, but I enjoyed his show the way that some people enjoy picking at scabs. He referred to someone as a “consummate politician” and pronounced the adjective ‘cun-SUM-it.’ “What an idiot,” I thought to myself. Apparently someone in his studio thought the same thing because he started a conversation with them about the proper pronunciation of the word. I just sniffed and muttered things like “Pish” and “Tish” at his ignorance. Everybody, but everybody, says 'CON-suh-mut. Jeese. But he insisted, and I thought “hmmm…” So I pulled out my trusty American Heritage Second College edition and sure enough…it only offered one pronunciation for the adjective ‘consummate’: ‘cun-SUM-it.’ I shuddered as I realized that I had just learned something from Rush.
Both pronunciations are offered in other dictionaries (even my 1920 Webster monster has both, as does the AHCD3E:American Heritage College Dictionary-Third Edition) but my belief is that Limbaugh’s version will be listed first or preferred.
Here’s another word that always gets me when I see it in print: ‘ribald.’ How is it pronounced and how can you remember?
I thought it was pronounced with a short “i” as in “rib” but, after using a magnifying glass to scrutinize my dictionary, see that either pronunciation is proper.
When I was much younger, I thought the line in the Christmas carol “O Holy Night” was “long lay the world in sin and air repining” Repining, I had imagined, was something akin to “reclining”…without gravity, of course.
Thank goodness. Many times I’ve heard people inflate the expression into something sounding like ‘wreck hav-ock’ or some such thing.
I used to play baseball and sometimes I would get a ball hit right at me about waist high. For a split second I wouldn’t be able to decide whether to turn my glove up or down. There would just be an instant of awkward hesitation that threw my rhythm off. I get somewhat the same sensation when I am reading and come across these little hitches, little speed bumps of pronunciation which break the rhythm of my reading. Is it BAY-nul or buh-NAL, is it ribbled or rye-balled? Even if I know it doesn’t matter I have to hear it in my head and I stall.
Oh great! Maybe someone can help me with “comfortable”. It’s subtle, so pay attention.
I and everyone I talk to say it as KUMF-ter-bul
But of course it’s spelled like it should be KUM-fert-bul (or KUM-fert-a-bul)
But AHD also lists KUMF-ta-bul and MW also lists KUM-fer-bul. Has anyone ever heard these?
I’ve always said KAH-dray, but I’ve seen CAD-ree and heard KAH-druh also.
Caribbean, I’m pretty sure, is doomed to pronunciation limbo.
Here’s one that I heard from a man with perfect enunciation. He was reading a novel on public radio (a very educated man, by the way) and he pronounced the word ‘impious’ as IMP-ee-us. That can’t be right. Doesn’t it literally mean “not pious”? Why wouldn’t a normal person see it as IM-PIE-us? Maybe if someone was being impishly irreverant I could think of him as being IMP-ee-us. Another limboword.
I also say KUMF-ter-ble, since ‘comfortable’ is such an awkward word to pronounce. (Hey, I just coined a term: an ‘awkword.’) From now on maybe I’ll just ask, “Are you in comfort?” or “You got that comfort thing going on?” Because I’m really not comfurbitable saying that other word.
As a French native I’ve always been surprised at how much French words were used in everyday conversation in English. Their prononciation is also a good subject of laughter (not as much as my English prononciation, but that’s another story ).
Let’s take cul-de-sac. How would you pronounce it?
Don’t try this at home, it’s *IMPOSSIBLE * for any American to pronounce correctly the French “u”. If you know any French ask them to promounce the famous sentence “turlututu chapeau pointu” and try it yourself. Very funny exercise
As for Cadre, if we take the French origin it’s prononced ‘Kadr’. The last ‘e’ is a silent ‘e’, expressed by letting quickly air out of your mouth after the ‘r’. For French speaking people:, it’s different for example from the ‘e’ in ‘Je’. But we’re not in France over there.
KUMF-ta-bul seems reasonable, but I hadn’t heard of the other. I’m seeing that the four-syllable version seems more common, which is amusing, since the spelling didn’t accurately reflect the actual pronuciation (3 syllables), but (as it often the case) the pronunciation changed to match the spelling.
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned “victuals” yet, though I suppose it’s so rarely used that the only people who say the word know it’s pronounced “vittles.” Like “comfortable,” though, it will eventually change it’s pronunciation to match the spelling.
Another word that shows this is “often” – the “t” is supposed to be silent.
Another place name that newscasters love to butcher is Kabul, Afghanistan. It’s cobble, not kuh-BULL.
Well, for years I thought the printed word was “epi-tome”, even though I knew and used the word correctly verbally. I just never connected the spoken with the written.
Now try “ubiquitous” and “segue”. No fair for linguists to respond.
And let’s try not to get into the “sweet vs suit” debate over “suite”.
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