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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be appalled that DP pronounces the L in almond

323 replies

BumpPower · 19/07/2016 20:01

I say armond.. Am I wrong? Almond sounds wrong..

OP posts:
Middleoftheroad · 21/07/2016 23:18

I would feel like a knob - ah, context Grin

derxa · 22/07/2016 06:32

it's called a 'consonant cluster' Any two or three consonant sounds put together are consonant clusters.

ask vs aks An article by black linguist and historian, articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/19/opinion/la-oe-mcwhorter-black-speech-ax-20140119John McWhorter.

BertieBotts · 22/07/2016 07:26

From another ESL teacher aks vs ask is a dialect difference.

It's incorrect in British English or standard American English to say aks. That doesn't mean aks is always incorrect - it's perfectly correct in the dialects that use it which I believe are Caribbean/Jamaican. If somebody has roots or exposure to these dialects then it might be perfectly fine for them to say it. Your average white teenager who grew up in Coventry is probably being lazy, and it is fair to correct that usage.

In American English it is considered very bad grammar to say "He has got a pencil" whereas this is taught as correct in many ESL textbooks which originate in British English, and indeed, the "has got" form is the dominant one here. (We normally shorten the auxiliary have so he's got a pencil, she's got three sisters, etc). This surprises American expats when their children begin learning ESL in European schools.

Pedantry of an ESL nature has to differ from pedantry of a native grammar teacher nature because your points are different. Students of ESL need to understand various dialects which means listening to the differences between them, and most people will struggle with sounds in a foreign language which don't exist in their own. For example, many English learners find the th sound difficult and substitute t, d, s or z. This isn't necessarily incorrect - native Irish speakers of English don't pronounce th like the English or Americans do. Somebody's accent and dialect can be a huge part of their identity. I don't think most Brits would be impressed if they were suddenly asked to speak American English all the time just because it's the most widely-spoken variety of English in the world. Even within British English there is not complete standardisation. Bath and bah-th, up and oop, the Scottish rolled R and the invisible non-rhotic R in girl, for example.

TheRealAdaLovelace · 22/07/2016 07:30

" It's incorrect in British English or standard American English to say aks. "

That was not my point, but anyway.....
If enough people say something , then it is not 'incorrect'. As an English language teacher, I am sure you must be aware that there is no 'academy' of English to say what is 'correct' and 'incorrect'. That is one of its strengths as a world language.

BertieBotts · 22/07/2016 07:48

I agree, but there are standardised local forms which is what tends to be taught by English teachers who are teaching native speakers grammar and language rules.

Perhaps not expressing myself very well. I was trying to say that the idea of what counts as "correct" English does vary between different kinds of teaching. And yes, there is no standardising body anywhere who decides what is right and what is wrong, but there are rules that we tend to stick to, so it's not really fair to say that there is no situation where you can say something is correct or incorrect.

TheRealAdaLovelace · 22/07/2016 07:52

but Bertie I did not say I would teach someone 'aks' did I?
I was just saying that there is a certain kind of 'teffle' teacher who gets all huffy about non- standard English...when that is how real people talk.
not sure how we got here actually.
Bertie yesterday in the lesson, I made them play Monopoly....amazing how much language I managed to squeeze out of it....Grin

BertieBotts · 22/07/2016 08:44

I completely agree with you Grin I'm not sure why we're disagreeing. Probably I just need some more coffee.

Board games are great as a teaching tool. I was thinking of taking monopoly to my Saturday morning class actually :)

takingsooty · 22/07/2016 13:51

I saw ah mind, DH says al mond.
But he also says Clem A tis when he should says Clema tis.

MrsHathaway · 22/07/2016 19:09

DH says oll-mund. He also says Holl-fords instead of Halfords.

The correct way is obvs ah-mnz.

And that is why we didn't have almond wedding favours.

PersianCatLady · 22/07/2016 20:04

I can't believe that this is even an issue.

petal33 · 22/07/2016 20:53

Regional dialect has a lot to answer for! Mine is (amongst other things) a north/south mixed marriage. Our DDs will say baaath & graaass to me & bath & grass to DH.
Mine is a nearly silent L in almond & his is a definite ah-mond.
My DB is married to an American, his kids use British with him & American with his wife. Think I have the easier option!! The pants vs pants one is the best!!

itstimeforchange · 22/07/2016 21:08

Ahh-mond! But it's probably a regional thing? I come from up north but my DH (and his mum) say al-mond. Which he now says in an even more pronounced way just because I tell him it's wrong Wink

AmberNectarine · 22/07/2016 21:42

Definitely a silent L. I don't think I've ever heard anyone pronounce the L in real life!

BlueStockingUK · 22/07/2016 22:02

Its Ahhhmond ! :) There are lots of dialects of how we pronounce. But that IS the correct way to say it

minifingerz · 22/07/2016 22:02

I feel your pain.

My DH pronounces yoghurt as yeugurt. Angry

squoosh · 22/07/2016 22:04

Ammund.

Emmamchugh · 22/07/2016 22:36

I say armond

RoystonVaseySmegHead · 22/07/2016 22:47

In the pennines everyone I've met says aaahmond... Unless they're from a posh bit then they say almond lookin at you trying to be posh grandparents from the shit side of Sheffield

LowDudgeon · 22/07/2016 22:47

Al-mnd here

Grew up in Middx with Midlands mum & Middx dad. Now live in Lancs. Rarely have cause to say it out loud but if I did there'd be an L in it Grin

LowDudgeon · 22/07/2016 22:50

Though as petal said the L is almost silent

But still it's a short a, not an ah

6o6o842 · 23/07/2016 08:37

I've just conducted a poll, all 6 people I'm with tonight say ah-mond.

goodomens830 · 23/07/2016 11:49

Almond. Never heard it pronounced differently!

dadofchildren · 23/07/2016 22:19

I don't pronounce the 'L'. Not that I am a slave to it, but Wikipedia says: "The al- in English, for the a- used in other languages may be due a confusion with the Arabic article al, the word having first dropped the a- as in the Italian form mandorla; the British pronunciation ah-mond and the modern Catalan ametlla and modern French amande show a form of the word closer to the original."

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