How do you pronounce Tortoise?

[Veryverycalmnow]

I noticed yesterday, when talking about this animal in a group, that everyone was pronouncing it 'toytoyce' while I would say, 'tortuss'.
I wonder if anyone finds this remotely interesting😆 or has a different way of saying it?

Tortoys

Tor-tuss. I've never heard it pronounced differently in the US. And I pronounce the "r" (rhotic accent).

The Cambridge dictionary will describe the "RP" pronunciation of a word. Most of us don't have RP accents.

Regional accents, vernacular and dialects are all standard and valid versions of English; they are not less correct.

And banana doesn't necessarily have three different sounds for the a's. It certainly doesn't for most Scots, for example.

Tor tus here

Tuss.

it’s a tooooth and tuth one isn’t it?

Same. I thought I said "tor tuss" but all the Scottish people saying "tor toyce" is making me doubt myself.

‘Toy’ pronunciation is used where I’m from, it’s definitely a regional dialect thing.

It depends... If everyone around me is using one pronunciation, I will probably follow. I think the "tuss" sound is in keeping with my regional home accent, but I've moved all over the world as an adult and have now started pronouncung things strangely, so sometimes I'll say the "toy" sound.

It sounds like tortiss when I say it. Or maybe even tordiss. Very lazy pronunciation! I'm from Belfast.

Tortuss.

Tor - tus. From the south so maybe pronunciation is a regional thing?

Tor-toys, tor-tus sounds strange to me.

Tor-toyce. I hate it when vowels aren't pronounced.

According to Google, it's pronounced Tor-Tuss

But I've always pronounced it Tor-Toyce

Er, I pronounce “Porpoise” “Por-poys”….

Tor tuss 🐢
Por puss 🐋

bangs gavel 🔨

*images not representative 😂

Yes to the PP who pointed out that she says “tor-toys” but “tortus shell”. I realised that I do too! Only when using it as an adjective about cats or decorative items though.

If talking about the actual shell of a tortoise I would say tor-toys-es shell.

OP maybe the “toy-toys” you have heard (Noo Yawk style!) is related to non-rhotic accents that don’t roll the “r”. So they are saying “toh-toys” but the “toh” has got a bit mangled and is turning into “toy” because the end of the word has “toys” in it and their brains are sort of jumping ahead?

Or it’s a childish affectation?

I have a rhotic accent (Scottish) so actually say “Torr-toys”.

I was just thinking this. As a Scot, banana definitely doesn't have 3 different sounds for the a's for me, but local to where I live in England, everyone says banaauuuna!

Tor-tuss. I'm from East Anglia.

Tor-toyce

Tortoyce. And, by that token, porpoyce.

Tawtwaaaz to rhyme with bourgeois or gorgeous

Tor-toys here

So, are you saying that the a sizeable chunk of the Anglophone world - including big swathes of the UK - speak incorrect English?

Go up to Glasgow and tell them that, I dare you.

English is a vast language with lots of variation, dialects, idioms and accents. These are all just as regular and rule-governed as whatever your limited idea of "correct English" is, and all of them "correct".

Incorrect English is when someone makes a mistake, not when they use a regional variation or accent that differs from RP.