How do you pronounce...

dunkley said:
Correctly, it is "an 'otel", but that seems to have fallen by the wayside. I have recently started watching the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network, and she says "'erb" every single time, and it drives me mad! I have since been told it is normal for the US. (But they don't speak English, anyway ;) )

I say 'shedule', but I definitely don't say 'skit' ;)
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Americans say hotel with an h sound. They never pronounce herb with an h...it is silent. (Again, it is the French pronunciation). Go figure? I know, drives me batty, because as an American living in the UK for almost 20 years, I now say herb with the h sound, because I've been teased mercilessly by my British friends.

There is a c in schedule...it is pronounced. There is no c or k in 's_it," that's why you don't pronounce it with a hard c or k. American's don't speak English? Where is the f in lieutenant?
(British pronunciation: leftenant). BTW, I am writing this with a big smile on my face. I do so love the Brits and Great Britain!!!!
 
RutlandH2O said:
Americans say hotel with an h sound. They never pronounce herb with an h...it is silent. (Again, it is the French pronunciation). Go figure? I know, drives me batty, because as an American living in the UK for almost 20 years, I now say herb with the h sound, because I've been teased mercilessly by my British friends.

There is a c in schedule...it is pronounced. There is no c or k in 's_it," that's why you don't pronounce it with a hard c or k. American's don't speak English? Where is the f in lieutenant?
(British pronunciation: leftenant). BTW, I am writing this with a big smile on my face. I do so love the Brits and Great Britain!!!!
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:p ;)
 
alainax said:
EH?

You say Otel, and erb? :confused:

Ive only ever heard people say Hotel, or Herb, unless they have a super strong regional accent or being slang.
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Lol! I was going 'eh?' too, and now I'm giggling :D

Tnavas said:
Yes! any word that is written with an before it either has a vowel as the first letter or it is a silent letter.

He stayed at an hotel
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When I travel I stay in hotels, not otels ... and I use herbs in my cooking not erbs. Strangely enough I also ride horses not orses and I have, not ave, lots of them and some I find hilarious but none are ilarious :D
 
The h in hotel is soft, so you don't say otel, you put the accent on the o instead, similarly, you wouldn't say Hospital with the emphasis on the H either.
Not Haitch, its 'aitch.

Grundisburgh is the name of a village that always sorts the locals from visitors.
 
Horserider... Wymondham, Costessey, Happisburgh and Hautbois always sort people out round us :D Stiffkey can too, but that's very local if you say in the 'right' way!
 
Lolo said:
Horserider... Wymondham, Costessey, Happisburgh and Hautbois always sort people out round us :D Stiffkey can too, but that's very local if you say in the 'right' way!
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Oooh, those names are a blast from the past. Village names are very strange, aren't they ?
 
My dad's originally from Melton Mowbray, and local pronunciations for their villages is at times bizarre - Sproxton and Croxton are Sprowson and Crowson, (but drop down the the bottom of the county and you'll find Foxton, just as it looks), and Asfordby is Asserby.

Visitors to Leicestershire are always tripped up by Belvoir (Beever), Groby (Grooby), Syston (S-eye-ston) and Cole Orton (Cullorton).
 
Going back to fish and steak.... My understanding is that it depends if you are using the full name of what you are describing or not as to how you end the first word (goes back to French grammar)

So if you we're just saying fillet you would end the word with "ay" but if you were saying fillet of fish you would pronounce the "t", so it becomes:

A fill-ay
Or
A fillet of fish

It's the same with a certain famous champagne, which is either pronounced:

Moe-ay
Or Moët et Chandon

Simples!
 
The one I struggle with is Gotham. In Nottinghamshire.

I always wanted to call it Goth- ham as in the Batman films.

The Notts local call it Go -am.

Or is it Goat-am ... ( Still can't ever remember which it is.)

Diamonddogs Belvoir always a good one for confusing folk.
 
Horserider, I'm from down the road and we sat Goat-am! Or Goat-um

Someone once asked me what Looogabarooga is like. I think they meant Loughborough.

Colwick/Colic? And is it Southwell or Suvval as we say :P


Oh and I heard Lie-chester....for Leicester! I can almost, possibly see that one. Maybe
 
Mosh said:
Horserider, I'm from down the road and we sat Goat-am! Or Goat-um

Someone once asked me what Looogabarooga is like. I think they meant Loughborough.

Colwick/Colic? And is it Southwell or Suvval as we say :P


Oh and I heard Lie-chester....for Leicester! I can almost, possibly see that one. Maybe
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When I lived there the people I worked for called it suthe-all
 
My nan, who is Welsh, couldn't stop laughing when I tried to pronounce Ceredigion ?? I still have no idea :confused:
Another is Leominster which I always thought was pronounced the way it was spelt Leo-minster, easy, apparently its Lempster!
 
trottingon said:
Going back to fish and steak.... My understanding is that it depends if you are using the full name of what you are describing or not as to how you end the first word (goes back to French grammar)

So if you we're just saying fillet you would end the word with "ay" but if you were saying fillet of fish you would pronounce the "t", so it becomes:

A fill-ay
Or
A fillet of fish

It's the same with a certain famous champagne, which is either pronounced:

Moe-ay
Or Moët et Chandon

Simples!
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It's a Dutch word and is only ever pronounced "M-wet". Only the 'w' part is said quite quickly.
 
cambrica said:
My nan, who is Welsh, couldn't stop laughing when I tried to pronounce Ceredigion ?? I still have no idea :confused:
Another is Leominster which I always thought was pronounced the way it was spelt Leo-minster, easy, apparently its Lempster!
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A very good friend lives quite close to Leominster.....she wet herself laughing the first time she asked whether I came in through Hereford and I said no I drove through "Leo-Minster" :o
 
Since we are on wine, what about Freixenet? ( my fav :D)

I used to drink it years ago before it was so popular, bought it in Spanish restaurant once before I knew how to say it, the waiter called it - Frey - shjah - neigh. Ive pronounced it this way ever since, but have heard some call it "freaks - net" :confused::p
 
lar said:
There's a well known competition centre up here called Osbaldeston. I once knew two people nearly come to blows over whether to pronounce it

Os bald ESTON

or

Os BALDerston!

It was Os BALDeston for donkeys years then decided to go posh and change it to Os bald ESTON! :)
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There are three villages near me, Quernmore, Claughton and Aughton, should be pronounce Qormer, Claffton and Affton, stumps loads of people! I did once ring P & O Ferries because they would say they sail from Hey sham, it's He sham!
 
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