how do you pronounce tortoise

[GenieGenealogy]

(Please, no posts about vowel sounds and rhotic accents and the rest of it which has been hashed over so many times).

I was listening to a podcast from a company called Tortoise Media. The host - who is from London - says "tor-tuss". I am Scottish and would never in a million years say it that way, it's tor-toys to rhyme with turquoise. Is this a regional thing? And if other people are saying "tor-tuss" why is the colour not tur-qwuss?

My late DP was from Liverpool and that was how he pronounced it. DD still thinks it's funny.

I'm Scottish and would pronounce it like the OP.

South west- tor-toys (but tor-tuss-shell!)

East Midlands Tor-Tuss.
Scottish DH says Tor-toise. He says a lot of words very differently to me.

Tortuss. (I’m in the midlands now, but born/brought up in the North West.)

(I’m now wondering if Pipkins had any influence on this matter for Gen X-ers. 😄) 🐢

I'd say 'tor-toyce' (originally NW England, where we are probably considered to mispronounce everything anyway, given that we say 'bath' rather than 'bar-th').

I say por-puss.

Second this, also midlands. My wife (southerner) flamed me for it the other week after it cropped up organically. I hadn’t realised people said it different to me

Tor tuss .

I think both. Both sound right to me.

I wonder if Basia and co at Tortoise Media had this debate in their early days.

Tor-toice

I’m also Scottish and say tor tuss lol xx

Tor-tuss, Manchester (originally anyway)

I have heard toy-toyce.

Interesting. Without a second thought I'd always say tort-uss but por-poys and had never thought this inconsistent until now! (Surrey/London all my life.)

Tor-toys, south West Scotland. Never heard anyone say Tortuss. You don't say nuss for noise.

Tortuss (I'm from SE England).

And if other people are saying "tor-tuss" why is the colour not tur-qwuss?

Because pronunciation rules in English are far from consistent! Most famously demonstrated by enough, through, thorough, cough, though, bough, ought etc. Add extra inconsistency for pronunciation of words of foreign origin.

Tor-tuss, I'm from NI but live near Newcastle. Tor-toys is posh!

Tor-tuss here, born near Southampton and live in Devon now. Almost never hear it the other way and generally assumed to be people trying to be posh.

Tur-kwoyze here too.

tortus

or terrapin

or even turtle

Tore toys SE Wales here

Scottish here. Tor-tuss is how I pronounce.

@GenieGenealogy lets not start on the Scottish PREE-mark/ PRY-mark controversy…(con-TRO-versy…or CON-tro-versy 😂😂)

I have a tortoise and pronounce it tor-tuss. I live in Wales but am from near Liverpool..