To think it's Ter -meric and not Too-meric?

[MereDintofPandiculation]

Listening to the Food Programme this morning about adulteration of herbs and spices, and nearly every one was pronouncing Turmeric as if it didn't have the first "r". Is that right? Have I been saying it wrong for years?

I say al mond.

Al like the man’s name. That is most likely wrong because it came from my mum who was prone to mispronunciations 😂

R - mund

I physically cannot say "tur" as in "turret" followed by "m". It's too much of a movement, from tip half way back along the roof of my mouth and sides of tongue along teeth with body of tongue dropped to make a big hollow, to tip near front of mouth and tongue flat ready for the "m".

A small US town. You’d be seen as pronouncing is wrong there. It’s not worth getting worked up over, different people say it differently, often because of their accent. Aluminium anyone? 🤣

I also wouldn’t say it like that- it feels like you’re trying to chew (ironically) the words. I think for most people it’s an ‘er’ sound like in ‘girl’ (disclaimer- not in all accents!)

@SeeYouInMyDreams , in US English aluminium is aluminum

@MereDintofPandiculation , can you say term?

So like tummer-ic?

But it’s the same element and we are still told we pronounce it wrong despite the different spelling.

Like tomato. I say ‘may’ as the middle sound, my English partner and most people here seem to say something more like mah/mar as the middle sound. Different accents, all good.

But it’s the same element and we are still told we pronounce it wrong despite the different spelling.
Who and by whom?

Of course, That's why I say "termeric". The tongue is flat in "er" so easy to move to the "m". I don't pronounce "term" in the same way as the first syllable of "turret".

It's easier to accept you mispronouncing tomato than mispronouncing aluminium and then changing the spelling to match your mispronunciation

It's probably because it doesn't crop up as much in ordinary conversation. "Tomayto" just sounds like a US accent, but "aluminum" and "nucular" really stand out. US "English" may be the standard by force of numbers, but we still feel we invented the language, even though you use a lot of words that we rejected after the Victorian "latinisation" of the language so in some ways could argue that your "English" was purer. I wonder if the Portuguese feel similar - I was talking to a Portuguese teacher who said some of their students were worried because they'd be taught in Portuguese rather than Brazilian Portuguese.

But the chemist who discovered the element (who was British) called it alumium and then changed it to aluminum. The version we now use in British English emerged a bit later I think and was intended to make the name fit the same pattern as the elements that had already been discovered and named.

Ah well, you don’t have to like it. We don’t really mind that you can’t talk properly. 😉🤣

@GwinGwyn this really made me laugh!

Oh dear 🤣

That's all right then. I wouldn't take 'The Food Programme' as being a correct guide to pronunciation.

Non-native speaker here:

I’d say tju:meric. The pronunciation of the first r obviously depends on one’s accent and isn’t a matter of correct (or incorrect) pronunciation. At least in my humble non-native speaker opinion 😉

Olmond here.

Shurely Chewkiye?

I’d say Ter-meric. And Ar-mund.

On a herb pronunciation note - I just got back from the supermarket and overheard a (British) man asking his partner ‘do we need any bay-zill?’. Aaargh!

My English partner now says
bay-zill, it’s taken him long enough. 😅

I can’t quite believe that there is an alternative pronunciation of wasp! I genuinely can’t wait to hear my first wASp!

@Wellthisisntgreatreally

When did I speculate your life......? Going back and forth with you is getting ridiculous.

I thanked you for the out loud laugh because comments before yours were going over phonetic pronunciation. Then I read your comment. Naturally, I have a US accent so my first thought was " oh yeah, that accent"! And giggled.

I am sorry you took my comment so negative and felt the need to speculate/attack my "existence"as you worded it. Sounds like a you problem. Have a wonderful day.