# When did it become RealTOR? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631 "2016-06-28T14:44:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/1 "2016-06-28T14:44:01Z")
I mean, I know it’s always been spelled that way, but I grew up pronouncing it “real-ter” (and my mom even briefly worked in a Century 21 office)… Has it always been real-TOR and I’ve just been some mispronouncing yokel? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/2 "2016-06-28T15:17:28Z")
[This link](http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/40484/odd-affected-pronunciation-of-realtor) indicates something about a voice-over emphasizing the long ‘o’ in the second syllable. I’ve heard similar things in news bites in words like ‘investigaTOR’, so maybe it’s similar. I personally wouldn’t emphasize it, but I wouldn’t find it jarring to hear someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/3 "2016-06-28T15:26:13Z")
Hypercorrection, I think – people are under the impression that overpronouncing the final syllable makes them sound more “proper.” I also hear a lot of people say “legislaTOR” when they’re trying to sound formal, and it drives me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/4 "2016-06-28T16:48:11Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Hypercorrection, I think – people are under the impression that overpronouncing the final syllable makes them sound more “proper.” I also hear a lot of people say “legislaTOR” when they’re trying to sound formal, and it drives me crazy. I generally say legislaTOR because legislature sounds so similar if I didn’t and I want to make it clear I speaking of the individual, not the whole body. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/5 "2016-06-28T16:54:50Z")
As it’s a bogus marketing term invented in 1916 to shed the slimy impression of “real estate agent” and is still trademarked by the association of Realtors or whatever, I’d say it deserves a goofy pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/6 "2016-06-28T17:25:30Z")
Please just don’t say “Real-it-er,” which seems to be the preferred pronunciation in much of New Jersey! ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/7 "2016-06-28T17:34:21Z")
They’re trying to distinguish themselves from realters, which is apparently a back-formation from Realtor for people trying to be something more than a real estate agent, but less than a properly certified/licensed Realtor. With trademarks, it’s all about showing that attempt to preserve the distinction, so they lean on that final TOR. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/8 "2016-06-28T18:54:54Z")
I know people who say ree - lah - tor. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/9 "2016-06-29T00:25:00Z")
Yeah, one of my sisters says “real-a-tor”. She also says “hot water heater”. I think she was adopted. StG ---
**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 29, 2016, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/10 "2016-06-29T00:32:02Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Yeah, one of my sisters says “real-a-tor”. She also says “hot water heater”. I think she was adopted. > > StG Does she say “JOO-luree”? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-realtor/758631/11 "2016-06-29T03:33:27Z")
It’s fun that we have one of these threads every six months or so. 🙂