Pronouncing theatre...

[Werehalfwaythere]

Ok ok, I realise this has probably been debated many times before but -

AIBU to massively cringe when I hear people say "thee-et-er" instead of "theer-ta"?

Live in the south east and it just seems ridiculous that people who otherwise speak in a normal south eastern accent say it like that. To me, it sounds like a hyacinth bucket moment! My boss was telling me about her upcoming trip and I couldn't focus at all beyond the cringe!

Ummm... Sorry to say my boss is from the SE too, so not a non-southern accent. And sadly, she's not the only person I've heard mispronounce it like that (joke!).

Haha that is weird 😂

I’ve no idea how the OP thinks it’s pronounced. I say thee-et-er which is how’s it is spelt!

Im in the south east but grew up in the north. I say thee-uh-tuh. Or something like that. Definitely 3 syllables. Emphasis on first syllable? Is that really cringe? I've always said it that way and didn't realise that it was different to others or that it was making people cringe? Got me worried now. I'm definitely not trying to sound posh when I say it!

It reminds me of William G. Stewart on Fifteen to One.

I think OP means when people put the emphasis on the 2nd syllable rather than on the 1st.

Anything but the-AYE-ter

Do you mean like thee-ATE-er?

YABU because I've overthought it too much and now have noticed how I pronounce it.

Wish I could edit my OP as didn't seem to type it on the way I thought I had!

I don't really have an issue with three syllables (although use 2 myself).

It's those who say "thee-eTT-er" with the emphasis on ETT that make my insides feel funny 😬

Live in the south east and it just seems ridiculous that people who otherwise speak in a normal south eastern accent say it like that.

Does it sound ridiculous when people who are not from the SE say it differently too?
Because if so I definitely think yabu.

Also, it would be very boring if we were all the same. And it's not very nice to cringe at how someone pronounces something, is it?

No idea*

Thee like Fee - A like a for apple - Tuh like tuh!

Thee-a-tuh 🤣

Thee-utter here, and my accent is beautiful.

Theer-a-tuh. Same as queer-a-tuh.

What word is queer-a-tuh??? I genuinely cannot work it out!

It's as if people have different accents and pronounce words differently. I'm not sure there's a right or wrong to it. I can't imagine cringing over it.

You sound rather unpleasant OP. What with all the cringing over regional accents…

I suspect that at least half of the posters mocking each other are actually pronouncing it the same way, but all have completely different ways of trying to represent it phonetically in writing

I miss the way my (Scottish West coast) Dad used to say it -
thee-ay-ter - with the ‘ay’ pronounced like the letter name and 3 distinct syllables.

Whereabouts in the SE do you live OP? I live in SE (Sussex) and nobody says theatre the way you have described.

It is always thee yah tuh.

If you genuinely say th-ear- tah you must be aware it’s very unusual.

This has made me think of Matilda…

It happened that a few weeks later
Her aunt was off to the theatre….

I hear thee etta and theeuttah

It's not a word, it's the pronunciation. Theer rhymes with Queer.

Thee ah tur here (Scotland).

I’m from SE London and I pronounce it thee-uh-ter with that middle uh being very brief but definitely there.