Pronunciation

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Iron does have a "r" in it - aye-ern. But I recognise that "r" is a problematic letter in Standard English (we've been here before I think)

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Friday, 20 January 2006 13:34 (eighteen years ago) link

BAH-F or BAFF or BEEEHHHHHHHHHHHF?
south vs north vs american

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 20 January 2006 13:34 (eighteen years ago) link

But... but... RAD-iators are supposed to be HOTTTT!!! not cool.

― filled the fjords of my brain (kate), Friday, 20 January 2006 13:34 (eighteen years ago) link

x-post, I have no problem with the R in Iron. I have a problem with pronouncing the O. I pronounce it similiarly to urn/earn, but with an Ah/Ay sound at the start.

― filled the fjords of my brain (kate), Friday, 20 January 2006 13:35 (eighteen years ago) link

I got really riled watching an episode of friends where they went to Barbados, but insisted on calling it BARBAY-DOES. It's pronounced BARBAY-DOSS mother fucker!

― Rumpie (lil drummer girl parumpumpumpu), Friday, 20 January 2006 13:36 (eighteen years ago) link

Well, Americans pronounce their r's, it's the English who don't (xpost)

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Friday, 20 January 2006 13:36 (eighteen years ago) link

(ROWTER is correct if he's talking about power tools)

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 20 January 2006 13:36 (eighteen years ago) link

I am American and I say:

data: dah (to rhyme with cat) tuh
router: Rau ter (with an "are" not an "ah" at the end)
mirror: mirror
schedule: skedule
zebra: zee-bra
roof: to rhyme with proof
stove: to rhyme with grove
agrandizing: a GRAND ize ing
radiator: ray dee ate or
iron: eye urn
controversy: CON tro ver sy (not con TRO ver sy)
tomato: toe may toe
potato: poe tay toe
(n)either: I interchange ee ther and eye ther and nee ther and neye ther at whim.

I've been teaching English in Spain, and our books are published by Oxford, so the language is all very English rather than American.

Just as a side note: A rubber may be something to erase pencil in the UK, but if you ask for a rubber in the US, you will get a condom. Our text books have the kids asking each other, "Can I have a rubber, please?" My first day in class I had to keep myself from laughing my head off, because it seemed so absurd.

― Allida Warn, Friday, 20 January 2006 13:43 (eighteen years ago) link

What is
Bahf baaaf behf suposed to be (spelled out correctly?)

― Allida Warn, Friday, 20 January 2006 13:45 (eighteen years ago) link

An American in Madeira referred to the EY-zores, which amused us no end.

― Gatinha (rwillmsen), Friday, 20 January 2006 13:46 (eighteen years ago) link

Maybe he was referring to British tourists - the eyesores

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Friday, 20 January 2006 13:48 (eighteen years ago) link

Not if he was American, we are far uglier tourists than the Brits ;)

― Allida Warn, Friday, 20 January 2006 13:55 (eighteen years ago) link

pronunciation

The Pronunciation Thread

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 20 January 2006 14:15 (eighteen years ago) link

Is it pronounced PEDE-and or ped-ANT?

― filled the fjords of my brain (kate), Friday, 20 January 2006 14:22 (eighteen years ago) link

dah (to rhyme with cat)

? !??!???

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 20 January 2006 14:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Well maybe in British English this is a bad description. For me cat doesn't rhyme with caught, it rhymes with "Ack!" or back or flack or tack. It is the American short "a" rather than the British short "a."

― Allida Warn, Friday, 20 January 2006 14:50 (eighteen years ago) link

Previous discussion of data pronunciation

― Alba (Alba), Friday, 20 January 2006 14:51 (eighteen years ago) link

Data is 'dah-ta' if you learnt latin at school, so more likely to be British maybe.

Schedule is 'skedyool' cos that's what the H is for. Like scheme is 'skeem' not 'sheem'...

― beanz (beanz), Friday, 20 January 2006 14:55 (eighteen years ago) link

so cat in american is the same as "cack"??

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 20 January 2006 14:56 (eighteen years ago) link

Not cack... but Cat with the a from back

argh... It is difficult to describe the difference in pronouncing things in text.

― Allida Warn, Friday, 20 January 2006 15:00 (eighteen years ago) link

oh ok.. the "rhyme" bit was the bit that confused i think

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 20 January 2006 15:02 (eighteen years ago) link

yes

― AaronK (AaronK), Friday, 20 January 2006 15:03 (eighteen years ago) link

For me cat doesn't rhyme with caught

It does if you're from Belfast

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Friday, 20 January 2006 15:05 (eighteen years ago) link

Dorothy Parker wanted to have lunch with Herbert Marshall. She kept calling him to try and set up a lunch date and he kept saying he couldn't fit her into his 'shedyule'. She was later heard to remark that she thought he was full of 'skit'.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 20 January 2006 15:07 (eighteen years ago) link

wtf are you talking about? cat to rhyme with caught ? mentalism!

― emsk ( emsk), Friday, 20 January 2006 16:18 (eighteen years ago) link

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