# When and why did research become reesearch in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 5, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910 "2005-10-05T16:47:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/21 "2005-10-06T05:58:28Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I would just like to point out that “Aluminum” has _four_ syllables. So there. You mean alumiNIUM? ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/22 "2005-10-06T06:22:48Z")
> [@YaWanna](#): > > The answer to your question was discussed in a PBS show called something like “Do you speak American?” which aired last year, I think. Basically, it said that after WWII, people in the U.S. drifted away from British pronunciations in a trend toward differentiation. Interesting, so I was correct in thinking that I was observing something of sociolinguistic note. > [@](#): > > Anyway, it’s just the way we say it here - not worth getting your BVDs up your crack. I might have a better chance of inserting them if I knew what they were…I will check my Stephen Fry collection. This kind of thing is right up his alley. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/23 "2005-10-06T09:53:29Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > I wonder what the OPs stance is on tom-ay-toe… If ya stance on tomatoes, ya gets catsup! ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/24 "2005-10-06T12:02:44Z")
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: pretty soon everyone in the English-speaking world will pronounce things the American way regardless of how their fathers and mothers did. On the REE-search/re-SEARCH accentuation thing, some Americans seem naturally to place stress on the first syllable of certain words while a Brit would place it on a later syllable. For example, a middle-aged Brit would say “cigarETTE” and “magaZINE”. Some Americans - Dr Nick Riviera on The Simpsons, for example - will also stress “Mickeymouse” and “Robinhood” as if they were one word (but not “Georgebush”?). There’s an ad on TV at the moment over here for a new film called “Kinky Boots”; you would expect equal stress on each word but the pratt on the ad says “Kinkyboots” which ruins the impact entirely. And then there’s the word “schedule”: always used to be “shed-yule” over here but now at least 75% of people say “sked-yule” (my assertion is based on years of discussing contracts relating to all the railway stations and light maintenance depots in England and Wales; they are arranged in schedules. In Scotland they are thankfully called something different because of a quirk of Scots contract law). Ultimately, I do not suppose it matters one little bit. But deep down it does grate somewhat to hear Brits saying things in an un-Brit way. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/25 "2005-10-06T12:25:04Z")
> [@](#): > > And then there’s the word “schedule”: always used to be “shed-yule” over here but now at least 75% of people say “sked-yule” (my assertion is based on years of discussing contracts relating to all the railway stations and light maintenance depots in England and Wales; they are arranged in schedules. In Scotland they are thankfully called something different because of a quirk of Scots contract law). My understanding is that it’s not just Americans, but everyone else in the world pronounces their word similar to “schedule” with a hard “C” sound in it. The British are the odd ones out here. The “sh” pronunciation wouldn’t come naturally in the US, in any case – no other word with “sch” at the beginning is pronounced “sk”. Think of “school”, “scheme”, etc. The only exception I can think of is a name – “Dr. Scholl’s” ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/26 "2005-10-06T13:23:25Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > My understanding is that it’s not just Americans, but everyone else in the world pronounces their word similar to “schedule” with a hard “C” sound in it. The British are the odd ones out here. The “sh” pronunciation wouldn’t come naturally in the US, in any case – no other word with “sch” at the beginning is pronounced “sk”. Think of “school”, “scheme”, etc. The only exception I can think of is a name – “Dr. Scholl’s” All my life I’ve pronounced it skedule. Only learned it was the “wrong” British pronunciation maybe ten years ago. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/27 "2005-10-06T14:02:08Z")
According to Chambers Dictionary, the “sked-yule” pronunciation is only “_esp. N America_” so I’m not necessarily convinced by **CalMeacham** ’s assertion that everyone except the Brits say it that way. I have not personally met everyone else in the world who speaks English so I am not prepared to say one way or the other. At first sight, it looks like the ch is a Greek chi and therefore ought to be hard. Ultimately, indeed, the word derives from the Greek _schedē_ meaning a strip of papyrus. But in fact the word got into English from the Old French _cedule_ which possibly explains why, a thousand years later, some Norman Brits still say it soft. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/28 "2005-10-06T14:07:09Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > I might have a better chance of inserting them if I knew what they were…I will check my Stephen Fry collection. This kind of thing is right up his alley. It’s a brand of underwear. Apparently it’s not as widespread as I would have guessed. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/29 "2005-10-06T17:27:36Z")
> [@](#): > > According to Chambers Dictionary, the “sked-yule” pronunciation is only “esp. N America” so I’m not necessarily convinced by CalMeacham’s assertion that everyone except the Brits say it that way. I have not personally met everyone else in the world who speaks English so I am not prepared to say one way or the other. My point wasn’t just about English – in other languages where there is a word practically identical to “schedule”, it’s pronounced with a hard “c” sound,“skedule”, rather than the British “Shedule”. Scholar, scholastic, schooner – all have that “k” sound. There _is_ one non-proper name word in English with a “soft” sound that I can think of – “schwa”, but that’s a pretty weird and uncommon word. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/30 "2005-10-06T17:45:27Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > **When and why did research become reesearch in the US?** I suppose the seeds were sown around 1776. Things change. Brazilian Portuguese is different than Azorean Portuguese is (slightly) different than mainland Portuguese. Distance, culture, technology; all play a part in changes to language, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that language may proceed along separate (albeit parallel) paths. I am assuming here from the OP that the concern is with the pronunciation of “research”, and that the British beef is not with its use as a verb (a la “impact”)? Because I think that “research” is well established as a verb, and I don’t ever see that changing. Unfortunately, I fear that the same may be said about “impact”. > [@zagloba](#): > > If ya stance on tomatoes, ya gets catsup! 😃 But let’s not reopen the catsup vs. ketchup thread. Or the catsup/ketchup vs. mayonnaise vs. vinegar on one’s french fries thread. Or the french fries vs. chips thread. > [@Cardinal](#): > > It’s a brand of underwear. Apparently it’s not as widespread as I would have guessed. I suppose that Depends on the size of one’s… Never mind. And let’s not reopen the Depends vs. BVDs thread… ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/31 "2005-10-06T18:40:22Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > Ultimately, I do not suppose it matters one little bit. But deep down it does grate somewhat to hear Brits saying things in an un-Brit way. OTOH, it grates when I see Americans spelling the British way. It’s the same thing - I know it doesn’t matter, but a couple of them, when asked, said they thought it looked “better”. Um, it doesn’t look _better_, it just looks _British_. Which is perfectly fine if you _are_ British, but if you’re American, it just looks pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/32 "2005-10-06T20:12:50Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > OTOH, it grates when I see Americans spelling the British way. It’s the same thing - I know it doesn’t matter, but a couple of them, when asked, said they thought it looked “better”. Um, it doesn’t look _better_, it just looks _British_. Which is perfectly fine if you _are_ British, but if you’re American, it just looks pretentious. Fantastic - you stick to yours and we’ll stick to ours! ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/33 "2005-10-06T20:25:35Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > Fantastic - you stick to yours and we’ll stick to ours! Deal. When you think about it, it does seem kind of funny that Americans spell some words differently than every other English-speaking country, but we do and there’s nothing to be done about it at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/34 "2005-10-06T22:55:18Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > When you think about it, it does seem kind of funny that Americans spell some words differently than every other English-speaking country, but we do and there’s nothing to be done about it at this point. I heard somewhere that Benjamin Franklin deliberately altered some spellings while making the first “American” dictionary in an attempt to further distance America from England. Don’t have a cite, though. Strangely, I’ve always written “grey” instead of “gray”. I don’t know why. I’ve been doing it that way since long before I learned that the e-spelling was British and the a-spelling was American. I think, perhaps, that my earliest boxes of Crayola crayons spelled it with an e. Or maybe some of my childrens’ books were written by British authors. For a very long time I thought “BVDs” was just slang. Growing up I never saw anything but Fruit of the Loom and Hanes underwear. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/35 "2005-10-07T01:32:56Z")
> [@ROT](#): > > I might have a better chance of inserting [BVDs up my crack] if I knew what they were…I will check my Stephen Fry collection. This kind of thing is right up his alley. > [@Cardinal](#): > > It’s a brand of underwear. Apparently it’s not as widespread as I would have guessed. Crack…wide…spread… Ooh! You are awful. But I like you. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/36 "2005-10-12T04:08:17Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > Crack…wide…spread… > > Ooh! You are awful. But I like you. Thanks. But it wasn’t a joke. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/37 "2005-10-12T09:12:29Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Deal. > > When you think about it, it does seem kind of funny that Americans spell some words differently than every other English-speaking country, but we do and there’s nothing to be done about it at this point. Or as we would say: differently _from_ … ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/38 "2005-10-12T13:39:24Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > How I hate the word reesearch. As much as I hate the word “GAIR-age?” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/39 "2005-10-12T16:49:29Z")
On the other hand, in the US, the accepted spelling for the word “glamor” had no “u” in it. Perhaps it’s the influence of the fashion magazine Glamour but now the word almost always is spelled in the British fashion, with the “u”. I even seen it used both ways in the same article with the “u” spelling somehow imparting a more refined and high class style as opposed to just plain old ordinary glamor, a more glamorous glamor if you will. This strikes me as very pretentious. This is the way the Europeans spell the word, therefore its gotta have more class than the way we spell it. Ther’s an implied cultural cringe in this. European equals classy. American equals ordinary. While English is rife with weird spellings and inconsistent pronunciations. I always found the British pronunciation of “shedule” as silly. If “skedule” is pronounced with a soft “c” than shouldn’t “skool” be pronounced “shool”? ;j ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910/40 "2005-10-12T17:46:29Z")
> [@marque elf](#): > > I always found the British pronunciation of “shedule” as silly. If “skedule” is pronounced with a soft “c” than shouldn’t “skool” be pronounced “shool”? ;j As I noted earlier, it came into English from Old French, where it was pronounced with a soft “c”. We’re just saying it as we always have done: it’s the spelling that’s at fault. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-research-become-reesearch-in-the-us/324910.md?page=1)