AIBU to think that the BBC should employ newsreaders who know how to pronounce words correctly?

[Dawndonna]

I have put up with 'contra verse y' for years, recently it has been 'pie ra cy' and 'pry va cy'. This morning, I heard 'in gin u a' for ingenue. I turned it off.

Yeah, I know it's trivial, but it annoys the hell out of me!

I can cope with Nay oh mi, and even Nye oh mi - but I can't stand Nay mi.

And I always say siksth. And eight-th. I love a good fricative.

Oh yes. Sixth and eighth. I agree.

Can you remember Ann Robinson being unable to say 'thousand'. It always sounded like 'thousant'.

My fave was a documentary on BBC...

Presenter person - Look at this GLASS-EE-UR
Voiceover man - There is a GLAY-SHUR

(glacier)

:)

It's not really a pronunciation thing but it makes me want to throw things at the TV when people (I'm looking at YOU, Alesha Dixon) say things like "you are doing brilliant". It is BRILLIANTLY!! AAAAARRRRGH! Oh, and OP YABU since you cannot get these things right yourself. Contra-versy is correct (although I do agree that it sounds a bit odd).

The thing with Naomi is, it definitely isn't Nye- omi and it isn't Nay- OH-mi although I can just about deal with that. It's pronounced NAYomi. It flows it's not 3 separate syllables.

I've just realised I've always prounced "sixth" wrongly - as six T th. I'm not going to change now!

Meanwhile, I've got steam coming out of my ears at all the slovenly pronunciations of vunnerable - I mean vuLnerable that I hear.

My pet hate is etcetera pronounced ekcetera. How do they manage to insert a k sound before the t?

Oh and Pixe I do so agree with you. What on earth has happened to the adverb? People saying "I'm good" in response to "How are you?" FFS I am asking you if you are well, not inquiring about your morals.

Sportsmen and women seem to have banished the adverb completely, as in "he played solid".

Poor adverb.

The poster who mentioned medics and the pronunciation of cervical... I think it depends (but I might be wrong)...
Cer-vih-cle as in cervix.
Cer-veye-cal as in spine.

Captain, yes, you're quite right (re 'cervical'). Piracy is indeed PIE-racy and it should be CONTRO-versy (stress on 'contro').

And thank you OneHandFlapping for mentioning 'vunnerable', which drives me barmy.

My own current horror is people who think that 'ogle' is pronounced 'oggle'

sixth! sixth! SI-CKS-TH!

And the correct pronunciation of Sebastian Vettel's surname is FETTEL.

I shout a lot at Martin Brundle during the Formula One races.

There's a brilliant Stephen Fry clip somewhere in which he rants massively about grammar and pronunciation pedants, who spend so much time bitching about how everyone else is getting it wrong without ever contributing anything of interest to the English language themselves. I think he was right on the money in this, as in many other things.

Jolly good thread, this

I Just checked ogle in the OED, btw. In 1763 it's rhymed with goggles, which suggests the 'oggles' pronunciation may have some validity.

I've been trying to say all these out loud! Don't know how many I'm getting right

Exectra is one that annoys me and also Carm instead of Calm!

Agree it may have evolved, Grendel - my Collins Eng Dic says 'O'-gle is the current pronunciation, though!

wicketkeeper I phoned someone called Naomi last week after several emails.

I asked to speak to Naommy and she answered "Ny-Omi speaking".

That's not right is it? Or is it? No other Naomi I've met has pronounced it like that. But she must know. It's her name, after all.

Limitedperipdonly Although Colken does have a point, I'd be delighted if a southener said Newc-ass-tle

Try again- limitedperiodonly

I'm finding this really interesting. I've been out all day and did wonder about it a couple of times.
As for me, Pirate is Pie, Piracy will remain as in Piriton and it will be Con Trov ersee too!
Ingenue, will remain forever french.
[hsmile]

Oh, for heaven's sake! People from different parts of the world pronounce English words differently just as we pronounce their words oddly. Remember Edward Heath's French? (snigger).

My name is Hazel but, at school, our French mistress - from Corsica - always called out Ezzel Smeess much to the amusement of my friends. But we all knew who she was talking to. I had a lunchtime detention once but chose to play cricket in the form competition. Mamselle marched across the pitch towards me and ......

Oh dear. Now you know who I am.

Why does Newcastle have to be said with a short 'a' by southerners?

It's well known that the Southern accent tends to use a longer 'a' sound.

Should northerners be forced to say 'D-oh-ver' rather than 'Der-ver'?

Vegetable

NOT veg-et-able

Also if you are from Newcastle yes, cas.

This sounds weird if it's a Southerner speaking though. A bit like calling Paris Par-ee

limitedperiodonly both of the Naomi's I have known have pronounced their names "Ny-Omi"

Who am I to argue?

It's not accents though, accents are fine, as are regional variations. I live on the Norfolk/Suffolk borders, trust me, there are accents here and some very strange place names.
Wymondham = Windham.
Costessey = Cossey.
Thwaite = Twaite.
Woodton = Wooton.
I'm sorry but ingenue, wherever you are is ingenue, not what the bloody idiot said this morning!

Slacksally, you're not from Hull are you? :)

Umm.. How are you supposed to say wens day? [hhmm]