Words you feel silly saying properly

[Andy in Sig]

I do that. Can't help it, French wife will laugh otherwise.

I do sometimes ride my bike when it's cold and wet though. Does that sort of cancel it out, or am I still a ponce?

You clearly have an A1 excuse, as of course does anybody who is French (to the state the glaringly obvious). It's the affectation of those who don't have to that get's up my nose. That said, I've lived in Germany so long that I have to check myself when in the UK and say Berlin instead of the more Teutonic Behrlin.

The French thing does seem to be a peculiarly British disease though: one can't help but notice how BBC newsreaders pronounce anything vaguely French with their best Parisian accent but Angela Merkel always comes out as Anjerluh Murkel.

 

[Andy in Sig]

Another thing, on these silly celeb dancing programs when the couples are up for elimination, the presenters always say, the couple who are going to be eliminated is, instead of are. Surely the plural of is is are?

It's one couple innit? Therefore the couple is ...

Just noticed Helen's explanation.

Incidentally, the Germans say "The United States are ..." because grammatically it is a plural even though it's one country.

 

[Happiness Stan]

Without starting a North Vs South Punch up, it grates to hear people pronounce dance as 'darnce' and Afganistan as 'Arf-garn-ee-starn'

 

[Ian H]

Confusing isn't it....

Magdalene is pronounced maudlin. ........

It depends which Magdelene.

 

[Ian H]

Derailler or Derailleughghghgoooor

Rear mech.

 

[Campfire]

MOBEN kitchens instead of Merben! It's clearly written as (sounding like) Merben! What is Kutchenhouse supposed to be?

I always feel silly saying Leedle instead of Liddle but always do try it as I know it's correct.

 

[swee'pea99]

Another thing, on these silly celeb dancing programs when the couples are up for elimination, the presenters always say, the couple who are going to be eliminated is, instead of are. Surely the plural of is is are?

The mistake is mixing it up. A couple, like a team, is a collective noun, and can be referred to either as a singular ('the England team is...') or a plural ('England are....'). What you shouldn't do is mix them up. Either 'the couple which is...eliminated is' or 'the couple who are ...eliminated are'. You can't switch from plural to singular, or vice versa, within the sentence.

 

[Andy in Sig]

MOBEN kitchens instead of Merben! It's clearly written as (sounding like) Merben! What is Kutchenhouse supposed to be?

I always feel silly saying Leedle instead of Liddle but always do try it as I know it's correct.

I don't object to the anglicising of foreign words eg Munich for München and in any event you're on a hiding to nothing if the foreign word has a phoneme which does not exist in your native language e.g. while the English have something approximating to "ö" the sound for "ü" simply does not exist in English.

For those who may be interested and have nothing better to do, here is one way of pronouncing German "ü". Start of by making a long eeeeeeeeeeee sound (this reqires your lips to be spread). While doing it, move your lives until they make a completely round O shape. This should result in the pronunciation of "ü".

 

[karen.488walker]

Tartare sauce??
tar tar or
tar tare?
(can't stand american way of saying fillet, none of them can speak french so why pronounce this one word correctly??)

 

[Andy in Sig]

Why do Americans insist on pronouncing Ralph as Rafe? (Something which instantly marks you out as a knob in the rest of the English speaking world.) Personally, I think it is because they are desperately in search of a cultural and national identity and will grasp on to anything which they think makes them sound sophisticated.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Without slagging off the Americans too much as I do quite like the place, their pronunciation of herb is cringeworthy - it's always in a phoney French accent as 'erb.

Had terrible trouble in a restaurant in America once getting a glass of water, eventually the waitress cottoned on 'oh wah-der'. I'm sure she knew but was just being difficult.

croissant always makes me wince slightly, picked some up the other week and the girl on the counter was calling them crossy-ants. I tend to use that now and feel much more comfortable with it!

 

[Auntie Helen]

Why do Americans insist on pronouncing Ralph as Rafe? (Something which instantly marks you out as a knob in the rest of the English speaking world.) Personally, I think it is because they are desperately in search of a cultural and national identity and will grasp on to anything which they think makes them sound sophisticated.

Well we had that pronunciation here - Rafe Vaughan Williams, for example, who wrote a couple of nice ditties from time to time.

Never seen that way of making a ü sound before (which is the sound I'm not very good at). I shall practise!

 

[rich p]

Americans call pasta, parsta too.

 

[Auntie Helen]

I thought they called it 'noodles'

 

[Norm]

I don't object to the anglicising of foreign words eg Munich for München and in any event you're on a hiding to nothing if the foreign word has a phoneme which does not exist in your native language e.g. while the English have something approximating to "ö" the sound for "ü" simply does not exist in English.

Which reminds me, it gets me that the football team are called "Bayern Munich".

The German would be Bayern München, the English would be Bavarian Munich. Bayern Munich is nonsense. IMO.