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?

Agree - giraffe and laugh rhyme for me - neither word rhymes with scarf though.

@LupaMoonhowl , I'd judge as ignorant those people who can't appreciate that some words have more than one pronunciation, and that there are regional accents.

My DH also says tur-tuss!

Like it looks, tor toise.

Me, English- Tortuss
DH, Scottish- Tortuss

I never knew there was any other pronunciation than tor-tuss 🐢 🐢 🤔

I'm Tor toys too but I'm South east so you need to look for another reason besides geographic location

Ah well, you've learned something today!

tor tuss (south east)

but all I care about is @Loubylies kids version of Hot Cross buns. I love it 🐢🍪❤️

Tortuss- Hampshire

Tortuss - Yorkshire

Tortuss. Grew up in Birmingham. Most people said tortoice.

My dad was Scottish and he always said TorToise. I always say Tortuss.

Tor tuss

Tor-tuss
Porp-uss
Turk-wuzz*

Devon
*but I don't think that's the reason for the Wuzz ending.

Indeed. The Oxford English Dictionary has both British English pronunciations of it listed here, and an American English pronunciation.

https://www.oed.com/dictionary/tortoise_n?tab=factsheet#18057486

Tor-tuhss and tor-toyss (but with the proper phonetic symbols of course) are both listed as British English. And the American English version is of course a bit different again.

And I’m pretty sure its pronunciation has changed a fair bit since the earliest known use in Middle English.

Been thinking about this for days, it seems.

I am Scottish. For me it’s tor- toys.

But, tortoiseshell, I would say tor-tuss-shell , on the rare occasions that I would need that word.

Tor toys
I’m Scottish

Haven’t RTFT so bear with if it’s already been covered, but how do those who say tor-TOYS pronounce the word ‘porpoise’?

Por-poys^^

Tor-toysse.
I know someone who says toy-toisse, but he also says bockle and keckle.
I'm from south Lancashire.

And what about tortoiseshell (as in cat)?

Scottish here - tort oise, two syllables to rhyme with short boys.

Tordis. (American accent) In some southern American accents it sounds like Tardis.

tordis shell
turk oyze