How do you pronounce superlative?

[SarkyWench]

I think that ds1 has been taught this incorrectly.

1. super-LAY-tiv (to rhyme with "super native")
   or
   
2. soo-PER-li-tiv

[Mathsdidi]

I once taught a girl named Siobhan, pronounced SIGH oh ban. Her parents had never heard it and read it in a baby names book.

[Notquite]

Some words are just asking to be mispronounced. Sundried tomatoes will always be 'sundreed' in my head.

[Notquite]

Presumably because it should have a hyphen, but doesn't always on jars.

[lottiegarbanzo]

OP, how old in DS1? Could he be encouraged to go into school and pronounce a number of commonly used words with the emphasis on the third rather than second syllable? (Where this is wrong of course). If questioned, he could say 'but if superLAYtive is right then surely these words must be right too?'

That's probably far too mischievous and exploitative of your DS for adult amusement but, you know, it's a thought!

[ExitPursuedByABear]

And then there is Guy. I heard of someone who had read the name in a book and called their son Guy, but thought it was prounounced Gooey.

Still makes me laugh now.

[EllenJaneisstillnotmyname]

I spent many years thinking that mail-volent and malevolent were two words with a very similar meaning.

[BOFingSanta]

What about 'grandiloquent'? I don't think I've ever said that out loud, but I might if I know how to pronounce it.

I'm thinking gran-DILL-ikwint. What do you reckon?

[SarkyWench]

Is that even a word?

[BOFingSanta]

adj
inflated, pompous, or bombastic in style or expression
[from Latin grandiloquus, from grandis great + loquī to speak]
grandiloquence  n
grandiloquently  adv

I suppose if you used it you would indeed sound like a bit of a twat. But I like a challenge

[COCKadoodledooo]

What apple said on page one re OP.

And where do you stand on controversy?

[ElphabaTheGreen]

We were reading some Shakespeare aloud in an English lesson once - probably the one I only ever call Richard the Turd, since that was how I heard an Irish person pronounce it once, and it was funny - and our English teacher corrected someone's accurate pronunciation of 'Gloucester' to, yep, 'Glow-cess-ter' ('Glow' rhyming with 'cow'). Good job his name wasn't Worcestershire. She'd have been all sorts of confused.

[LeeCoakley]

I remember talking about a book I was reading called 'Crime and Compromise' pronouncing it as com-prom-iss. Aargh. Blushing as I type.

[LeeCoakley]

Controversy to me is like mandatory. Words I try to avoid saying!

[vamosbebe]

Met a fellow English teacher years ago who pronounced apostrophe as 'apo-STROW-fee', and I've heard turqoise as 'tor-kwars'. I must admit I LOVE playing with the pronunciation of words, especially with DH, and say 'apo-stow-fee' and 'tor-kwars' a lot. We especially love the character in the first season of Scrubs: Dr Beardface who pronounced his name 'beard-fah-say'. We're childish

[austenozzy]

My wife gets annoyed when I order or even say bruschetta with the correct 'sk' sound in the middle (minus the rolling r, as that would be pompous!). She reckons I sound like a pillock, but I can't bring myself to call it 'brooshetta', so there!

[austenozzy]

I can sort of understand the turquoise 'turk-wahz' thing, due to it being a french word. Pronunciation guides seem to suggest an 'oise' as in 'noise' sound, though. What's the official line?

[austenozzy]

Just remembered another. Homage. No, it's not 'oh-maaaaaj', it's 'hommidge'.

I was told the 'an hotel' thing is a leftover from when Hs were silent in English, but I don't know if that's a folk etymology. See the american pronunciation of 'herbs' as an example of that. Apart from taking unnecessary effort to say 'an hotel', it just sound pretentious and anachronistic.

[3b1g]

What about montage though? I wouldn't pronounce it montidge.

[austenozzy]

I had Dermot O'Leary's radio 2 show on the other while on way to the tip (livin' the life!) and he kept flipping between oh-maaaaaaj and hommidge, he couldn't make his mind up!

[austenozzy]

*other day