One of my pet peeves is newspeople’s mispronunciation of words on a regular basis. I mean, they earn a living with language, you’d think they’d know better.
My favorite is “pre-nuptial” pronounced “pre-nup-choo-al,” as if there were a “U” instead of an “I.” I have never heard this word pronounced correctly on TV.
Perhaps they are distracted by all of their JEWL-UH-REE, or worries of a NUKE-U-LAR explosion?
I hate that too. As a broadcaster, I watch and listen to the CBC. Their guys usually get it right and I, in turn, copy them.
There are certain rules when it comes to pronouncing a persons last name…and most announcers ignore the rules or are not aware of them.
panache45 said:
Well, it really should* be pronounced like: -sh<imaginethisisaschwa>l, so I would say that amongst people with poor enunciation -nupchooal isn’t too far off. Schwas do indicate an “uh”-type sound in a word. It’s definitely not pronounced as if the ending vowel combination is dominated by the “I.” How the heck do you think it should be pronounced?
On another reading, I may have misinterpreted your comments. Do you mean you hear people pronouncing the word with a domininant “I” in the last vowel combination? I must say, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that…
Gulp! That’s how I’ve been pronouncing it all along, without thinking. But I resolve herewith to change…
“Jewelry” and “nukyular” are perpetrated mostly by unlettered folks, but some mispronunciations of more educated persons are: Mauve, which should rhyme with stove. I’ve only heard one person (other than myself) pronounce it that way, though. Also forte should be one syllable, pronounced just like fort, but, alas, everyone thinks you’re a moron if you say it the right way. (There is a disyllabic forte; but it’s a musical term meaning “loud”.) Oh, and cumin should not rhyme with human; it’s supposed to sound like “come in”, but with the stress on the first syllable. All I can think of for now…
scratch1300 said:
But it can. It’s an alternate pronunciation.
The last syllable should be pronounced like “partial” or “initial” (or with “ch” replacing the “sh” sound), not like “actual” or “eventual” (adding a syllable), which is what I hear every time. Big difference.
Big difference, little difference, you say tomato…
My Merriam-Webster says that although “forte” meaning strength is derived from French and is pronounced “fort”, that technically it should be spelled “fort” and pronounced “for”, the way it is in French. The “fortay” pronunciation is derived from the Italian, which also means strength. This dictionary actually says “you can take your choice” of pronouncing it “fort” or “forte”.