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Cunning linguists

Pronouncing “column” as “cullum”?

4 replies

toffee1000 · 20/07/2018 03:30

Feel free to move if this is in the wrong place.
I pronounce “column” as “coll-um”, like Gollum, with a definite “oll” sound. In this video I was watching, a woman pronounced it as “cull-um”, with an “uh” sound.
I’ve never heard this pronunciation before. She definitely sounded English rather than American/Irish, and not like someone foreign with English as a second language.
Is it a regional thing, or could it just be an individual quirk?

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NotDonna · 20/07/2018 03:33

I too say coll um - from Yorkshire but now live in London and never heard anyone say cull um.

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Eminybob · 20/07/2018 03:46

Well it’s an o not a u so it’s Coll-um.
The lady on your video is just weird.

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toffee1000 · 20/07/2018 17:20

I guessed as much. She also pronounced signature weirdly too (sin-ya-ture). I’m doing this admin/secretary-type course and part of it involves Microsoft Office training, the videos were on using Microsoft Outlook. I looked up the company that makes the videos and it’s a French company, but the woman sounds British. The French word for column also uses the “coll” sound at the beginning.

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Chewysmum · 09/10/2019 19:13

I've lived all over the UK and have genuinely never heard anyone who pronounces it cull-um, in my opinion she either has no idea that she's pronouncing it wrong (hearing issues maybe) or she's just eccentric

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