Author Topic: Pronunciation that makes you cringe  (Read 147175 times)

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #25 on: 10 October, 2012, 08:49:09 pm »
"fink" and "fing" instead of "think" and "thing", I'm all for regional accents and street slang but when your a middle aged academic with a doctorate lecturing in English at a major university and taking part in a discussion on Radio 4 that's just an affectation I'm afraid.

My ex-boss at Velo Vision says 'fing' and 'fink'. It's just his accent/speaking voice, no affectation.

I'm sure someone on here recently said they can't hear the difference between f and th. Just an oddity of human senses, I guess, like colour blindness.

If I had a baby elephant, it could help me wash the car. If I had a car.

See my recycled crafts at www.wastenotwantit.co.uk

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #26 on: 10 October, 2012, 08:52:28 pm »
It is increasingly common to see in print the mispronunciation of "would have" to "would of". I guess that in childhood people hear "would've" and misunderstand it as "would of".

Indeed.  I only learned about "would have" several years after I learned to write, when teachers started to care about that sort of error.  The combination of hearing loss and estuary accents meant that I was extremely confused by the correction.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #27 on: 10 October, 2012, 08:55:50 pm »
It is increasingly common to see in print the mispronunciation of "would have" to "would of". I guess that in childhood people hear "would've" and misunderstand it as "would of".

Indeed.  I only learned about "would have" several years after I learned to write, when teachers started to care about that sort of error.  The combination of hearing loss and estuary accents meant that I was extremely confused by the correction.

Whereas I had it drummed out of me before I was 11...

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #28 on: 10 October, 2012, 09:03:32 pm »
Indeed.  I only learned about "would have" several years after I learned to write, when teachers started to care about that sort of error.  The combination of hearing loss and estuary accents meant that I was extremely confused by the correction.

Whereas I had it drummed out of me before I was 11...

So did I:  Teachers started to care about that sort of mistake in written work when I was about 8 or 9.

I still can't really hear the difference in speech, unless the person doesn't use the contraction.  I expect an awful lot have[1] people are saying it as "of" instead of "uv", even when aware of the difference.


[1] I made that counter-mistake for a while, until I'd sorted out that they were two different things.

tonycollinet

  • No Longer a western province of Númenor
Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #29 on: 10 October, 2012, 09:45:27 pm »
What about I'd've - as in I'd've gone home if I needed to .

Double contraction of I would have. Is the 've there also pronounced I'd of?

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #30 on: 10 October, 2012, 10:16:30 pm »
"fink" and "fing" instead of "think" and "thing", I'm all for regional accents and street slang but when your a middle aged academic with a doctorate lecturing in English at a major university and taking part in a discussion on Radio 4 that's just an affectation I'm afraid.

My ex-boss at Velo Vision says 'fing' and 'fink'. It's just his accent/speaking voice, no affectation.

I'm sure someone on here recently said they can't hear the difference between f and th. Just an oddity of human senses, I guess, like colour blindness.

I'm that oddity  ;D

I used to pronounce (and sms) something as somethink. But only to one person as I knew it really annoyed her to hear/read it. Perhaps I should send her the link to this thread (fred?!)  :demon:
Miles cycled 2014 = 3551.5 (Target 7300 :()
Miles cycled 2013 = 6141.4
Miles cycled 2012 = 4038.1

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #31 on: 10 October, 2012, 10:19:48 pm »
"fink" and "fing" instead of "think" and "thing", I'm all for regional accents and street slang but when your a middle aged academic with a doctorate lecturing in English at a major university and taking part in a discussion on Radio 4 that's just an affectation I'm afraid.

My ex-boss at Velo Vision says 'fing' and 'fink'. It's just his accent/speaking voice, no affectation.

I'm sure someone on here recently said they can't hear the difference between f and th. Just an oddity of human senses, I guess, like colour blindness.

I'm that oddity  ;D

I used to pronounce (and sms) something as somethink. But only to one person as I knew it really annoyed her to hear/read it. Perhaps I should send her the link to this thread (fred?!)  :demon:

Apologies for the word 'oddity' - although such is the variation in our species, we're all oddities one way or another!

My Mum struggles to say 'linen'. 

Whenever I see the little machine that brushes rubbish of the road, I call it a Sweet Streeper. I simply cannot get it right first time, unless I talk ludicrously slowly.
If I had a baby elephant, it could help me wash the car. If I had a car.

See my recycled crafts at www.wastenotwantit.co.uk

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #32 on: 10 October, 2012, 10:47:32 pm »
Ah no worries, I'm quite happy being an oddity  :thumbsup:

I often flip words in a sentence too (I know there's a word for that, named after someone who was famous for it), like earlier I referred to finding 'a cupboard to put in the bin' when I meant quite the opposite.
Miles cycled 2014 = 3551.5 (Target 7300 :()
Miles cycled 2013 = 6141.4
Miles cycled 2012 = 4038.1

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #33 on: 11 October, 2012, 08:18:48 am »
What about I'd've - as in I'd've gone home if I needed to .

Double contraction of I would have. Is the 've there also pronounced I'd of?

Frequently, but it shouldn't be!  Eyeduv is the nearest I can get to it.  As referred to by Orienteer, it's common to see the sound actually written as of, which shows an innocent misunderstanding of the original word, have.  Curiously, both words are connected with possession!

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #34 on: 11 October, 2012, 02:20:44 pm »
"fink" and "fing" instead of "think" and "thing", I'm all for regional accents and street slang but when your a middle aged academic with a doctorate lecturing in English at a major university and taking part in a discussion on Radio 4 that's just an affectation I'm afraid.

My ex-boss at Velo Vision says 'fing' and 'fink'. It's just his accent/speaking voice, no affectation.

I'm sure someone on here recently said they can't hear the difference between f and th. Just an oddity of human senses, I guess, like colour blindness.
Mrs B rarely gets 'l' & 'r' wrong, although she grew up speaking a language in which there's no distinction between them, & has no problems with 'think' & 'that', although Japanese doesn't have either  of the sounds we write 'th'.

Unless you have a hearing impairment, there's no excuse.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #35 on: 12 October, 2012, 12:51:49 pm »
Whilst watching an amp guru on YouTube explain about fettling guitar amps he pronounced "soldering" as "sodering" repeatedly. Also "soder" instead of "solder" He was American but still ...

They all say it that way. I've worked in solder for years, I still find it oddly annoying.

gibbo

  • Riding for fun, cake and beer.
    • Boxford Bike Club
Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #36 on: 12 October, 2012, 01:33:56 pm »
Whilst watching an amp guru on YouTube explain about fettling guitar amps he pronounced "soldering" as "sodering" repeatedly. Also "soder" instead of "solder" He was American but still ...

They all say it that way. I've worked in solder for years, I still find it oddly annoying.

I picked this up when I lived there and worked with electronics engineers. The mechanical engineers would laugh at me for saying aluminium as opposed to aluminum - I refused to bow to peer pressure. I digress. My Dad says "darta" for data.

Another Americanism is erb instead of herb.

Gibbo.

Andrij

  • Андрій
  • Ερασιτεχνικός μισάνθρωπος
Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #37 on: 12 October, 2012, 01:40:19 pm »
An 'erb is a type of plant, whereas h(H)erb is short for Herbert.  :smug:
;D  Andrij.  I pronounce you Complete and Utter GIT   :thumbsup:

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #38 on: 12 October, 2012, 01:55:59 pm »
I don't think it makes me cringe as such but I am interested in the variety of pronunciation of "mountain". I say it "Mountin" but some people (for example Wowbagger) give a definite "aine" at the end.

My mother says mountaine, fountaine etc etc. She says it's because she grew up in south London rather than east or north London where it would be mountin, fountin... Or should that be Maaaaaaahntin and Faaaaaahntin?

Anyway, my sister always says aine, I always say in. Seeing as we didn't grow up in London, I don't know why we say it differently. Maybe it's because my sister is posher than I am. Or at least wants to be  :P
Those wonderful norks are never far from my thoughts, oh yeah!

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #39 on: 12 October, 2012, 06:09:36 pm »
I picked this up when I lived there and worked with electronics engineers. The mechanical engineers would laugh at me for saying aluminium as opposed to aluminum - I refused to bow to peer pressure.

Wasn't there an IUPAC compromise in the early 90s, where we got 'aluminium' in exchange for 'sulfur'?  Seems like a fair deal to me.

As for cross disciplinary hysterics, I once gave a whole table of mathematician and physicist types the giggles by referring to the square root of -1 as 'j'.  On explaining the basis of the habit, they laughed harder.  Reckon they need to get out more.

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #40 on: 13 October, 2012, 04:23:58 pm »
As for cross disciplinary hysterics, I once gave a whole table of mathematician and physicist types the giggles by referring to the square root of -1 as 'j'.  On explaining the basis of the habit, they laughed harder.
;D

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #41 on: 13 October, 2012, 09:03:27 pm »
"fink" and "fing" instead of "think" and "thing", I'm all for regional accents and street slang but when your a middle aged academic with a doctorate lecturing in English at a major university and taking part in a discussion on Radio 4 that's just an affectation I'm afraid.

My ex-boss at Velo Vision says 'fing' and 'fink'. It's just his accent/speaking voice, no affectation.

I'm sure someone on here recently said they can't hear the difference between f and th. Just an oddity of human senses, I guess, like colour blindness.
Mrs B rarely gets 'l' & 'r' wrong, although she grew up speaking a language in which there's no distinction between them, & has no problems with 'think' & 'that', although Japanese doesn't have either  of the sounds we write 'th'.

Unless you have a hearing impairment, there's no excuse.

Well, bully for Mrs B.

Did you mean to sound quite so patronising and superior?  Are we all to speak without accents of any kind?
If I had a baby elephant, it could help me wash the car. If I had a car.

See my recycled crafts at www.wastenotwantit.co.uk

Tim Hall

  • Victoria is my queen
Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #42 on: 13 October, 2012, 09:27:24 pm »
"Seckrertree", as heard on Her Majesty's British Broadcasting Corporation.
There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can
"overhaul" it, or you can ride it.  (Jerome K Jerome)

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #43 on: 14 October, 2012, 11:06:46 pm »
"fink" and "fing" instead of "think" and "thing", I'm all for regional accents and street slang but when your a middle aged academic with a doctorate lecturing in English at a major university and taking part in a discussion on Radio 4 that's just an affectation I'm afraid.

My ex-boss at Velo Vision says 'fing' and 'fink'. It's just his accent/speaking voice, no affectation.

I'm sure someone on here recently said they can't hear the difference between f and th. Just an oddity of human senses, I guess, like colour blindness.
Mrs B rarely gets 'l' & 'r' wrong, although she grew up speaking a language in which there's no distinction between them, & has no problems with 'think' & 'that', although Japanese doesn't have either  of the sounds we write 'th'.

Unless you have a hearing impairment, there's no excuse.

Well, bully for Mrs B.

Did you mean to sound quite so patronising and superior?  Are we all to speak without accents of any kind?
Don't be bloody stupid. Did I mention accents? Did I claim that Mrs B speaks English with no discernible Japanese accent? Or suggest that would be desirable?

I'm talking about willingness to take the care to pronounce standard English, not an accent. Look at the job of the person in question. He should be willing to say 'thing' & 'think' in his professional life, even if he is more comfortable saying 'fing' & 'fink' at home, or in the pub. where, BTW, I wouldn't criticise him for it.

Or do you think it's acceptable for Mrs B to say 'fing' & 'fink' when she's at work? After all, voiced & unvoiced 'th' aren't sounds that occur in her native language. Of course, it could have a negative impact on the quality of some of the speech therapy she does (in English), but that's less important than her freedom to speak with her native set of phonemes, isn't it? Dammit, why not go the whole hog: why can't she just do her job in Japanese?

If the academic mentioned was, say, a mathematician or archaeologist, I wouldn't give a damn how he pronounces anything, as long as it's comprehensible. But he isn't.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Auntie Helen

  • 6 Wheels in Germany
Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #44 on: 05 November, 2012, 04:42:28 pm »
Evan Davis on the Bottom Line on Radio 4 yesterday said "segs" for "segues" (segways)
My blog on cycling in Germany and eating German cake – http://www.auntiehelen.co.uk


Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #45 on: 05 November, 2012, 06:51:57 pm »


If the academic mentioned was, say, a mathematician or archaeologist, I wouldn't give a damn how he pronounces anything, as long as it's comprehensible. But he isn't.

I've never had a problem comprehending someone who says 'fink' and 'fing'. I simply translate in my head.  For one thing, 'fink' and 'fing' aren't words in common use in English, so it's not like I might confuse the meaning.

Yeah, maybe it matters to a speech therapist. But an academic, even in English? Wouldn't bother me.


If I had a baby elephant, it could help me wash the car. If I had a car.

See my recycled crafts at www.wastenotwantit.co.uk

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #46 on: 05 November, 2012, 08:39:15 pm »
I have heard the following recently, both from Americans.

Fetish - pronounced feetish (a professor on Radio 4).
Character - with the initial ch pronounced as in church.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #47 on: 06 November, 2012, 10:04:00 pm »
I've just been to a first aid class.

This, is a (pair of) tong(s)


This is a tongue.


Putting someone in the recovery position does not stop tongs from blocking your airway.

Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #48 on: 09 November, 2012, 09:14:20 pm »
Janury, Febry, jewllery.
Working my way up to inferior.

barakta

  • Bastard lovechild of Yomiko Readman and Johnny 5
Re: Pronunciation that makes you cringe
« Reply #49 on: 10 November, 2012, 01:36:24 am »
Janury, Febry, jewllery.

What's wrong with the first and third of those?  That's what they sound like to me.