# Who decides “proper” pronunciation?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decides-proper-pronunciation/1019111>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 2, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decides-proper-pronunciation/1019111 "2025-06-02T18:12:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 125

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decides-proper-pronunciation/1019111/125 "2025-06-03T18:57:46Z")

</div>

> [@puzzlegal](#):
>
> Oh, interesting. I know victuals from reading, and I’m also familiar with the word pronounced vittles, but it never occurred to me that they were the same word. The last time i remember that happening is when i learned that debris and d’bree were the same word.

@KarlGauss posted this pun in a thread over 10 years ago:

> [@How you can tell a restaurant is about to die](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-you-can-tell-a-restaurant-is-about-to-die/698379/28):
>
> When its victual signs are absent?

I explained it a few posts later since I don’t think many understood the pronunciation.

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decides-proper-pronunciation/1019111)._