# Vij-in-etts? Or, Spokespeople should learn to speak. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 6, 2005, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235 "2005-03-06T19:48:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/1 "2005-03-06T19:48:19Z")
Listening to Comcast Local Edition. This is a show that features local spokespeople; in this case, in the Seattle area. I didn’t catch who the guest was, but he talked about improvements to the freeway system in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C., so I guess he’s with the Department of Transportation, Freeway Commission, or something. Anyway, he said something like, ‘There will be several vignettes…’ Except he didn’t pronounce it ‘vinyetts’ – he pronounced it ‘vij-in-etts’. I wonder if he also says ‘para-dijum’? Honestly, spokespeople should learn how to pronounce the words they want to use. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/2 "2005-03-06T20:02:32Z")
I heard a guy interviewed on NPR some years back, and he used the term _puh-RI-di-gum_ - I wonder if anyone ever corrected him? I was shouted down in English class in junior high for saying _PEE-can_ instead of _pe-CAHN_ - what can I say? That’s how my mom says it to this day. And I’ll just pass on making a cheap shot about _nucular_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/3 "2005-03-06T20:12:24Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > he used the term _puh-RI-di-gum_ Yikes! :eek: Paradigm is harder to _mispronounce_ than it is to say it correctly. I had to say it out loud a few times before my mouth would make the way he said it. ---
**Author:** ![Leroy\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Leroy\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leroy_Brown)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/4 "2005-03-06T20:39:17Z")
I read in a surfing magazine about tourists asking directions to “Pee-peh-len-ay”, the famous Hawaiian break. "Do you mean PIPELINE? :dubious: " was the usual response from the locals. I hope it’s a true story. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/5 "2005-03-06T20:48:37Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I was shouted down in English class in junior high for saying _PEE-can_ instead of _pe-CAHN_ I grew up in Australia, and i say it the same way as you. I’ve always thought pe-CAHN sounds vaguely pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/6 "2005-03-06T20:49:49Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Yikes! :eek: Paradigm is harder to _mispronounce_ than it is to say it correctly. I had to say it out loud a few times before my mouth would make the way he said it. Until your post, I was not entirely sure what “puh-RI-di-gum” was supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/7 "2005-03-06T21:55:42Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > Until your post, I was not entirely sure what “puh-RI-di-gum” was supposed to be. This service will cost you **twenty cents**. [sub]Pair o’ dimes, get it? 😃 Jeez, I crack myself up![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/8 "2005-03-06T21:59:43Z")
johnny, that made me chuckle. barely laugh out loud. hehe. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/9 "2005-03-06T23:18:42Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I was shouted down in English class in junior high for saying _PEE-can_ instead of _pe-CAHN_ - what can I say? That’s how my mom says it to this day. That’s a regional thing. I say PEE-can. Pe-KAHHHHNNNNN!!!(sorry) is the snooty pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Peyton\_Farquhar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Peyton\_Farquhar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peyton_Farquhar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/10 "2005-03-06T23:48:58Z")
I don’t talk enough about pecans to know for sure how I pronounce it. There are many words I hear mispronounced by newscaster types all the time (e.g. “esculate”, "afFLUent, "eriudite [trick question-“would you describe yourself as eriudite?”]) but my favorites are when the blowdried prettyboy imported newscaster calls the nearby pro football team the “jints” (with a short ‘i’ sound) or refers to the mayor as “HIZzoner”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/11 "2005-03-07T00:09:43Z")
If anyone is interested, there was a thread about 3 months ago on regional pronunciations of “pecan” that rapidly spread to other common US English words. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/12 "2005-03-07T01:03:34Z")
> [@Leroy Brown](#): > > I read in a surfing magazine about tourists asking directions to “Pee-peh-len-ay”, the famous Hawaiian break. > > "Do you mean PIPELINE? :dubious: " was the usual response from the locals. > > I hope it’s a true story. Are the American/English speaking tourists who think it’s a Hawaiian word, or are they non-English speakers? If they’re non-English speakers, it really isn’t funny. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/13 "2005-03-07T01:42:25Z")
> [@Leroy Brown](#): > > I read in a surfing magazine about tourists asking directions to “Pee-peh-len-ay”, the famous Hawaiian break. > > "Do you mean PIPELINE? :dubious: " was the usual response from the locals. > > I hope it’s a true story. Bwah. In western Montana, there is a region called Ninepipes. It’s simply a pair of English words, but some tourists (who do speak English) think it’s an Indian term and pronounce it ninny-pippies. It’s funnier than when tourists try to pronounce the name of my hometown. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/14 "2005-03-07T02:05:37Z")
> [@Peyton Farquhar](#): > > I don’t talk enough about pecans to know for sure how I pronounce it. There are many words I hear mispronounced by newscaster types all the time (e.g. “esculate”, "afFLUent, "eriudite [trick question-“would you describe yourself as eriudite?”]) but my favorites are when the blowdried prettyboy imported newscaster calls the nearby pro football team the “jints” (with a short ‘i’ sound) or refers to the mayor as “HIZzoner”. I just checked out [erudite](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=erudite) on the Merriam-Webster site, mostly because I was sure I pronounce it wrong. Would you believe they give both pronunciations as correct? ---
**Author:** ![Peyton\_Farquhar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Peyton\_Farquhar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peyton_Farquhar)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/15 "2005-03-07T03:06:19Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I just checked out [erudite](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=erudite) on the Merriam-Webster site, mostly because I was sure I pronounce it wrong. Would you believe they give both pronunciations as correct? Well, they give the alternative of “U” as in unicorn, or sort of a schwa sound for the middle syllable. With “eriudite” I was trying to convey a four-syllable rendering. But it is a pretty close thing so I’ll try not to be so annoyed by it in the future. I’ll let you know how it works out. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/16 "2005-03-07T05:01:08Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > That’s a regional thing. I say PEE-can. > > Pe-KAHHHHNNNNN!!!(sorry) is the snooty pronunciation. Well, I say PEE-kahn, so I guess I’m somewhere between “regular guy” and “insufferable twit”. ;j When I was a high-school sophomore, I read that the correct pronounciation of _impious_ was IM-pee-us, so I pronounced it that way when it was one of our vocabulary words in English class. The teacher “corrected” me by pointedly saying “im-PIE-us”. Apparently quite a few people now agree, as [this page](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=impious&x=4&y=9) confirms, but my desk dictionary (which has a 1974 copyright) gives only “my” pronunciation. Until I moved to Indiana, I only ever heard the word _suite_ pronounced like “sweet”, but there’s a local furniture-store commercial which features an announcer talking about “bedroom suits”, and I’ve also heard a Hoosier auctioneer or two pronounce “suites” [in that apparently acceptable manner](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=suite&x=17&y=18). ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/17 "2005-03-07T05:35:49Z")
Did you know that “discotheque” isn’t disco-THEEK? Neither did I, until reading aloud in senior-year English. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/18 "2005-03-07T05:53:48Z")
Gee, didja know that “spa” is NOT pronounced “spay”? Am I the only person on this board to routinely mispronounce a three-letter word? (Not that I pronounce it, any more. There’s always an alternative. “The gym.” “The hot tub.” “The health club.” “The place where I get my pedicure.”) ---
**Author:** ![Leroy\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Leroy\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leroy_Brown)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/19 "2005-03-07T06:15:33Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Are the American/English speaking tourists who think it’s a Hawaiian word, or are they non-English speakers? If they’re non-English speakers, it really isn’t funny. The answer was given in English. Does that answer your question? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235/20 "2005-03-07T08:14:57Z")
Even semi-intellectual NPR is cracking under the strain. More than once I’ve heard one of their correspondents say “di-oh-sees” when they mean _dioceses_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vij-in-etts-or-spokespeople-should-learn-to-speak/293235.md?page=2)