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Spider Jerusalem

(21,786 posts)

71. Nah, I stress the first syllable (but then I'm American).

Tue Nov 20, 2012, 09:01 PM

Nov 2012

My accent has probably gone a bit mid-Atlantic, and some of the words I use in everyday conversation have changed (because one wants to make oneself understood), but that's a pronunciation I haven't slipped into --and regarding that:

"a fair number of British intellectuals regard ‘new’, ‘distasteful’, and ‘American’ as synonymous. A knowledgeable British author complained about the supposedly American pronunciation conTROVersy and was surprised to hear that the antepenult accent is unknown in the States, being a recent British innovation. The assumption is that anything new is American and thus objectionable on double grounds."

http://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/change/ruining/

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Did Alex Witt just say 'valets'...and pronounce it 'val-itts'? [View all] ClusterFreak Nov 2012 OP

Yeah. Part of the problem is that too many SheilaT Nov 2012 #1

People who are bi- or multi-lingual sometimes have problems carrying over pronunciation rules Rozlee Nov 2012 #27

That's a different situatioin. SheilaT Nov 2012 #63

Savannah Guthrie is just as bad zuzu98 Nov 2012 #2

It does rhyme... Sekhmets Daughter Nov 2012 #48

She's an idiot. I thought so when she was on MSNBC. But...re biopic... Honeycombe8 Nov 2012 #69

Well that's how they say it on Downton Abbey! n/t teenagebambam Nov 2012 #3

It's the way British people (and American pommy-wannabees) pronounce it Bucky Nov 2012 #4

I say ArgentYne and ConTRAHvursy obamanut2012 Nov 2012 #26

Alex originates from southeast Asia. I don't know whether she is full Asian or part, bluestate10 Nov 2012 #29

That is an excellent point obamanut2012 Nov 2012 #30

Alex Witt was born in Los Angeles... Sekhmets Daughter Nov 2012 #46

Yep. Pardon. nt bluestate10 Nov 2012 #59

LOL. Sekhmets Daughter Nov 2012 #62

I was thinking of Alex Wagner as well PatSeg Nov 2012 #65

Alex Witt is from California nt bayareamike Nov 2012 #54

I think you mean "conTROVersy" Spider Jerusalem Nov 2012 #61

Fair enough. My point was really about which syllable got the emphasis Bucky Nov 2012 #70

Nah, I stress the first syllable (but then I'm American). Spider Jerusalem Nov 2012 #71

It might be a regional pronunciation. Cleita Nov 2012 #5

I heard some guy on a tv show call a radiator a boston bean Nov 2012 #6

Here in Philly, we say "radd-ee-ator" BumRushDaShow Nov 2012 #21

Oh no no no drthais Nov 2012 #33

Pronounce "Park my Car" nt. bluestate10 Nov 2012 #35

I'm proud of my accent. yes I have a pretty strong yankee accent. boston bean Nov 2012 #44

Not Hyacinth, is she? LiberalAndProud Nov 2012 #7

I love it when they talk about the Quinnipiac University polls. Stinky The Clown Nov 2012 #8

Sounds like KWIN-uh-pe-ack. Jennicut Nov 2012 #20

My folks lived just a mile or two from Sleeping Giant Stinky The Clown Nov 2012 #32

What is the correct pronunciation? LiberalAndProud Nov 2012 #40

Like this: Jennicut Nov 2012 #51

Thanks. LiberalAndProud Nov 2012 #53

KWIN uh pee ack Stinky The Clown Nov 2012 #64

I grew up in Cheshire. I understand the pain. Jennicut Nov 2012 #47

I was Born in New Haven but spent my first 10+ years in Cheshire... Little Star Nov 2012 #60

Must be Chapman School. Jennicut Nov 2012 #66

We should throw tv speakers a dish of New England names and watch their eyes budge out. nt bluestate10 Nov 2012 #38

I would pronounce it "Kwi-ni-pak". bluestate10 Nov 2012 #41

No one (almost no one) mispronounces caucus. Causes, caucusing.... a word I have no idea 2on2u Nov 2012 #9

Maybe that's how it was spelled on the monitor lunatica Nov 2012 #10

It depends on the context. trackfan Nov 2012 #11

+1 justabob Nov 2012 #15

In a small defense of those who are reading aloud, I sometimes accidently revert to the first 1monster Nov 2012 #12

Ah, face it: That girl pwned you... MineralMan Nov 2012 #14

Yeah. That's why it still rankles six years later. 1monster Nov 2012 #23

Yah. One of those kids shows up every couple of years. MineralMan Nov 2012 #24

Phonetically speaking, LiberalAndProud Nov 2012 #16

its a f**ked up language dlwickham Nov 2012 #42

Reading off a teleprompter, it happens a lot. MineralMan Nov 2012 #13

English is weird. MineralMan Nov 2012 #17

It is the UK pronunciation mainer Nov 2012 #18

Well done! MineralMan Nov 2012 #19

Here's how Merriam-Webster pronounces it Laughing Mirror Nov 2012 #22

Valets who dress people are called "vall-itts" obamanut2012 Nov 2012 #25

Cronkite had a couple of interesting pronunciations. madamesilverspurs Nov 2012 #28

My mother just confirmed via text the latter obamanut2012 Nov 2012 #34

That's the correct pronunciation for "junta." MineralMan Nov 2012 #49

He said it wrong obamanut2012 Nov 2012 #50

Oh, oops. MineralMan Nov 2012 #56

IMO; drthais Nov 2012 #31

ok. pt peeve; drthais Nov 2012 #36

oh yes and to add to THAT drthais Nov 2012 #37

There is absolutely nothing worng with doing that obamanut2012 Nov 2012 #39

As a former copy editor, RebelOne Nov 2012 #43

I hear TV people say 'reek havoc' and 'wreck havoc' Kingofalldems Nov 2012 #45

Well, it's spelled "wreak havoc." MineralMan Nov 2012 #52

The more common British pronunciation is with the audible "t" (rhymes with "pallet", not "ballet") Spider Jerusalem Nov 2012 #55

Two great empires, with everyone isolated by a common language. Buns_of_Fire Nov 2012 #57

How do you pronounce geoduck and bonus point if you know what it is uppityperson Nov 2012 #58

Also heard on MSNBC - "ma-cab-er" for "macabre"....nt barnabas63 Nov 2012 #67

This is the way the British pronounce it. mrsadm Nov 2012 #68

Perhaps she learned from Cary Grant? hughee99 Nov 2012 #72