Write 12th out in full…

[BarrelOfOtters]

Twelfth

there’s an ‘f’ did everyone else know that?

I’m envious. I love language but I’ve no training in it.

You’ve inspired me to get my David Crystal book down for a read later.

Fifth is another word that lots of people can't pronounce, they say fith.

I love the word texts, the css-tss at the end!

David is the bollocks.
Oft copied, never bettered.

(Also useful to quote when people get the vapours about usage they don't like- he famously said "if it's used, it is correct". I'm sure we wouldn't go as far as that, but when people are being arsey about "correct", it's handy to quote our greatest living linguist.)

There's a lovely webinar with him and Scott Thornbury (another very clever but very humble linguist) probably still on the web somewhere. It was fascinating and such fun. And lovely to see two of the most knowledgeable people on our language taking delight in NOT belittling others for their perceived lack of knowledge, which is very refreshing.

I love this.

Oh don't get me started. How can weather reporters train for years with the Meteorological Office and not know there's an 'era' pronounced 'uh-ruh' in the middle of temperature? Tem-chuh is like nails on a blackboard.

Yes, it’s a common word. I’ve never thought it was in any way odd!

Os this like vast swathes of people in the UK apparently unable to pronounce ‘sixth’?

What you're probably hearing there is syllable elision.

"temperature" looks like it has 4 syllables, but in standard British English it has 3
/ˈtem.prə.tʃər/

The first syllable carries the stress, we hear the last syllable clearly because of the hard consonant at the beginning of it, so the second syllable, with its neutral schwa vowel is very weak in comparison and almost disappears.

Curiously, it does have 4 syllables in American English.

I'll settle for three syllables. But I'll fight them on two!

It's the skipping of that middle pr-inverted-e syllable (don't know how access those phonetic symbols on my keyboard) that drives me nuts. I don't mind it almost disappearing but just leaving it out all together is so ugly.

And first (fuhst), forty (fawty) etc.

Rainbow, you'd hate Reporting Scotland on BBC1.

Laura Miller (their lead presenter) cannot say "secretary".

She always says "sekker-tree", and it enrages me.
🤣

Have you heard Boris Johnson say "coronavirus"?
The last bit just dribbles away into some sort of "vaaaaas" mumblebimble.

What’s wrong with ‘fawty’?

I read it as four-tee. Which is how I’d say forty.

Just thought we were slagging off accents so I thought I'd join in.

A lot of the people on here who like to criticise others' language love to leave out the letter R, just thought everything was up for grabs for criticism.

It's not fawty, it's forty to me and I'm automatically right so others are automatically wrong, there's an R.

What’s wrong with ‘fawty’?

Nowt... maybe it's one of those rhotic/non-rhotic differences? Neither of which is right or wrong, obviously.

The word that grates on me too often from supposedly educated people on the radio is 'nuclear'. Afaik they wouldn't mangle 'nucleus' so it baffles me.

I expect if they come out of PC (PointAndLaugh Corner) they'll start.
😁

You mean like a Scots rolling r?

I would pronounce for, four, fore and, ‘faw’ (to rhyme with paw) identically.

But a Geordie or a Scot or an Irish person, say, would no doubt have a different pronunciation. Which is great!

I don't have your class or knowledge so have to resort to amusing myself at times. Maybe I'll start on the ghastly Aitch next.

I love tongue twisters, but 'the sixth sheikh's sixth sheep's sick' defeats me.

The spoken one I hate the most is
Momff
Twelve momffs
🙁

Yeah a rhotic R.

Sorry not getting at you, I recognise your name and I know you're not a dick, it's just that soooo many posters on these threads are and have zero clue that they also have a regional accent.

I faught he faught free finkers
I mean, how do people know what you mean?

Clear enunciation comes naturally to some.

But don't we all have to learn enunciation in order to be clearly understood?

I always have to think twice when spelling fourth.

That’s because we’re mostly not American, we have lots of silent R’s in the UK.