Commonly mispronounced words

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Kingswood

Only for in the US (and maybe Canada). Proper pronuniation elsewhere is SKWI-r*l. (First part sounds like "squid" without the d, and second sounds like "Errol" without the E.) This pronuniation is also used by some speakers in the USA. Both pronunciations are considered correct.

Nay, nay....common pronunciation maybe, but proper pronunciation is one syllable.

BTW, it's pronunciation not pronuniation. :p

[Kingswood]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Nay, nay....common pronunciation maybe, but proper pronunciation [of "squirrel"] is one syllable.

Only in the USA (and maybe Canada) as I said before. If you tried saying "squurl" in other anglophone countries, some people may give you funny looks, some may not understand you at all, and a few may try to correct you. "Squurl" is not considered a correct pronunciation in most other anglophone countries.

Your particular pronciation arises because the "irr" has been reinterpreted as a different vowel (the same vowel in bird, world, earth etc) and the schwa before the final "l" has been elided. These processes often occur in natural languages, and it is also natural that more conservative pronunciations are preserved in other places. This does not mean either pronunciation is incorrect. It just means that different pronunciations are recommended as correct in different countries.

Through these processes and by other means, a few words do have unpredictably different pronunciations in US English and Commonwealth English (the two major strains). Squirrel is one of those words. A few other words with such differences are aluminium/aluminum (this one is also spelt differently), lieutenant, stirrup, thorough, toward. Aluminium/aluminum is a relatively recent neologism, recommended US pronunciation is more conservative in lieutenant and thorough and recommended Commonwealth pronunciation is more conservative in squirrel, stirrup and toward.

Such differences in pronunciation in different countries are simply something that one must live with. After all, a few of your own treasured correct pronunciations may be considered incorrect by others, just as others' correct pronunciations may be considered incorrect by you.

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

BTW, it's pronunciation not pronuniation. :p

Now, now. Surely you can tell a typo when you see one?

[Undertoad]

[Aliantha]

Now that's a cute one

[monster]

Originally Posted by Kingswood

Only for in the US (and maybe Canada). Proper pronuniation elsewhere is SKWI-r*l. (First part sounds like "squid" without the d, and second sounds like "Errol" without the E.) This pronuniation is also used by some speakers in the USA. Both pronunciations are considered correct.

Didn't we already do this on page 12 -which is why SG was reminded of this thread?

But hey, let's do this American TV style and call it "another chance to discusss..."

/Damn now I'm annoyed, I know there's an upbeat euphemism for repeat -often used when showing the last episode in the previous series before they start a new one (or -all too often- the whole bloomin' previous series...), but I can't remember it. Aaargh. I knew I should watch more TV!

[monster]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Now that's a cute one

Don't be fooled. What you can't see is that the damn thing's crapping in the open CD drive.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Kingswood

Now, now. Surely you can tell a typo when you see one?

Once is a typo. Multiples in the same paragraph is misspelling.

[Trilby]

How do you pronounce barett? You know--those things girls wear in their hair to keep it out of their eyes, etc. Is it Bar-Et or Brett? And, how do you spell it? Barrett? Barett? Barret? Baret? It's been driving me crazy for years.

[Perry Winkle]

Squirrel: I'm in your computer stealing your identity.
Squirrel: I'm in your computer trolling your Cellar.
Squirrel: I'm in your computer hacking your government.

oops, wrong thread.

[Clodfobble]

Briana: barrette

[Trilby]

Many thanks, o wise Clodfobble

[xoxoxoBruce]

Don't do it Brianna.....it's french.

[BigV]

IGzaktlee!

over and over and over over the cube "walls" :sigh:

[monster]

Originally Posted by Brianna

How do you pronounce barett? You know--those things girls wear in their hair to keep it out of their eyes, etc. Is it Bar-Et or Brett? And, how do you spell it? Barrett? Barett? Barret? Baret? It's been driving me crazy for years.

Hair clip or hair grip, depending on whether it's fancy or not.

[Kingswood]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Once is a typo. Multiples in the same paragraph is misspelling.

I hope you're not indulging in spelling flames.

Despite your assertions, they were typos. I make repeatable typos fairly often because I type words using muscle memory and my typing is not the best. Some frequent typos of mine include "because" as "becuase" and "to the" as "tot he". "Pronunciation" is another word where I sometimes make the same typo, in this case omitting a "c". I usually catch my typos before I post but on this occasion these ones escaped into the ether.

I knew the correct pronunciations of "squirrel" because I had recently looked them up in a pronunciation dictionary (Longman's) as a part of a recent discussion on the pronunciation of "squirrel" and "stirrup" on a linguistics forum. These words were of interest because these are the only two words in English (or at least the only two words we could find at the time) where the vowel in "bit" with a following "r" in British English is replaced by the vowel in "earth" in American English. It is more usual for the vowel in "but" with a following "r" in British English to be merged with the vowel in "earth" in American English. (This is why "hurry" and "furry" rhyme for many Americans but not for British speakers.)

For the record, one syllable or two are both acceptable for "squirrel" according to Longman.