Why do Brits always stress the wrong syllable in French words?
The latest example is the news reporters covering the Paris attacks today-they pronounce "Champs Elysee" as "Shawns Ell-EE-zay." The stress should be on the first syllable.
They do this constantly. Is it because they hate the French or just plain ignorance?
by Anonymous | reply 132 | February 11, 2020 8:54 AM
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Oops. Heh heh. The stress should be on the LAST syllable, of course.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | April 21, 2017 3:39 AM
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It's because, like, they're British and can't even speak English.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | April 21, 2017 3:43 AM
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Not quite as amusing as an American trying to pronounce Ibiza.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | April 21, 2017 3:51 AM
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Anyone who speaks good French is forgiven their accent. Just as we forgive the French accent in English. I love QEII's French. Chirac spoke great English but he hid the fact, for the most part.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | April 21, 2017 3:58 AM
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Why can't morons like OP spell "Elysées"?
by Anonymous | reply 6 | April 21, 2017 4:15 AM
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Not only that, OP! They refuse to pronounce "Jacques" correctly. They deliberately mispronounce it so that it rhymes with "Chirac." It has to be because they hate the French. Because that's not a difficult name to say.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | April 21, 2017 4:30 AM
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The English are perverse about how they pronounce foreign words, especially French and Spanish. Paella becomes pah-yellah.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | April 21, 2017 5:17 AM
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And here's a picture of Throatwarbler Mangrove:
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 10 | April 21, 2017 5:26 AM
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I love the way the Brits say "paaaasta."
by Anonymous | reply 11 | April 21, 2017 5:42 AM
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I like different accents as long as they are comprehensible. It comes with cosmopolitan culture. Only rubes make fun of other peoples accents or have problems with them.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | April 21, 2017 5:55 AM
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"Is it because they hate the French or just plain ignorance?"
Both, OP. It's a twofer.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | April 21, 2017 8:11 AM
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For the same reason that Republicans pronounced SAD - dam Hussein, and EYE-raq. They are showing contempt.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | April 21, 2017 10:12 AM
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Accented syllables are a very fluid, variable thing in French. You might have a preferred accented syllable in a French word, but the French themselves really don't care much.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | April 21, 2017 10:20 AM
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R15 Bwahhhh-hahahahahahhahhhhh
by Anonymous | reply 16 | April 21, 2017 10:25 AM
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[quote]Not quite as amusing as an American trying to pronounce Ibiza.
Oh, you mean with a long 'I' and a silly lisp that doesn't belong in Ibicenco, R3. Stay up in that San An shithole where you belong, listening to Cafe del Mar 57 while you fall to your death from the balcony, puto.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | April 21, 2017 10:32 AM
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Very annoying, OP. Jacques CHI-rac. Angelina JO-lie. Jean-Paul GAUL-tier. Marion CO-tillard. The list goes on. A linguist right here on DL once patiently explained why these pronunciations are, in fact, "correct" when used by Brits. I did a Google search but unfortunately couldn't find anything.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | April 21, 2017 10:36 AM
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They're demonstrating both contempt, and pride in their ignorance, r14.
So, business as usual for the Repugs.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | April 21, 2017 12:15 PM
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Hyacinth always says "Sandringham HOUSE." Since there are many houses, she should punch-up Sandringham.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | April 21, 2017 12:17 PM
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Not French, but:
My all-time pet peeve is when they pronounce the word for the jungle cat/luxury sedan:
Jag-you-are.
Give me a fucking break! So what do you call those arctic, flightless birds?
Peng-you-ins?
Please!
by Anonymous | reply 21 | April 21, 2017 1:44 PM
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R14 is correct. They are showing contempt.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | April 21, 2017 1:49 PM
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And what about that country r21? Nick-a-ragg-you-uh. For Nicaragua. Honestly.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | April 21, 2017 2:02 PM
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"Pass-ta." As in "pass" the salt. Grates on ears every time.
"Junta," pronounced with "jun" to rhyme with "fun." Shudder.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | April 21, 2017 2:10 PM
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That's the underclass pronunciation, R17.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | April 21, 2017 2:11 PM
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In her autobiography, Signoret was rather amused by the way Hudson announced her name.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 26 | April 21, 2017 2:17 PM
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Because Americans never pronounce any words incorrectly ever.
Yawn.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | April 21, 2017 2:23 PM
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I have a friend from northern UK, and commented on this very topic. It annoys me especially when British journalists go on NPR and randomly change the syllable to be accented in a word. Jag-yu-ars an especially grating one, but they love to do it with 4 syllable words that end in "-tion". ConTRIBution. But also changing even the way consonants are pronounced. Version becomes vershon.
I asked why. And she said "because it is OUR language not yours and if we pronounce it that way, it is automatically the correct way. By definition."
There IS resentment and hostility and arrogance behind it, but unless you are willing to start an inTERnational ROOOOWWW, just let it go. What gives me pleasure now though, is how all Brits are trying to sound working class. Everybody's Ricky Gervais. No more internal "t" sounds, no more hard "g"s. Ahahahah.....
by Anonymous | reply 28 | April 21, 2017 2:26 PM
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French used to pronounce words different. Current standard Parisian French was imposed from above, but many early settlers in Quebec carried with them older pronuciations. So it's easy to make fun of people in New Orleans or Detroit or St. Louis for "mispronoucing" their French names when in truth that is how they were pronounced in placed like Bordeaux and Brittany in the 17th century.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | April 21, 2017 2:28 PM
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"Garage" is "GAR-age" I even heard "Cyrano" as in Cyrano de Bergerac pronounced as "See-RAH-no." Unbelievable.
And yeah, "JAG-you-are" is really stupid.
"Shawns-Ell-LEE-zay" is simply incorrect and all the reporters and anchors on the BBC, ITV and Sky are saying it wrong.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | April 21, 2017 2:32 PM
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The British tend to stick to the rule of placing the stress on the first syllable for nouns, second syllable for verbs (for two syllable words). The Americans are all over the map on this. For foreign loan words, especially French ones, the British have Anglicized them to conform to English stress rules, whereas the Americans tend to retain the original pronunciation. Words like ballet, duvet, baton, garage, chauffeur, beret, cliché, brochure, décor, debut, debris, salon, etc., are all first syllable stressed in BA, but final syllable stressed in AE.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | April 21, 2017 3:36 PM
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Did anyone catch Jack Bishop on last night's ATK doing a PAP-ri-ka tasting with Bridget? She pronounced it like him once, then reverted to the way she—and most people—normally say it.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | April 21, 2017 3:45 PM
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Yes, they do it to prove they are not French.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | April 21, 2017 3:45 PM
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Who cares? It's only frogs 🐸
by Anonymous | reply 34 | April 21, 2017 3:46 PM
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I also hate how the English pronounce "pasta".
by Anonymous | reply 35 | April 21, 2017 3:47 PM
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They do it with English words, too. They'll take a perfectly fine word in English and emphasize the wrong syllable.
The estuary accent is so ridiculous. Pompous people trying to sound working class.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | April 21, 2017 4:14 PM
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How do you suppose they pronounce "pasta fagioli"? PASTa faggy oh LEE.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | April 21, 2017 4:16 PM
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Why does OP pronounce "Champs" as Shawns and not Shawms?
by Anonymous | reply 39 | April 21, 2017 4:16 PM
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Because they don't say Shawms - they say it without an m, almost silent, so it like a soft "ongz" sound.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | April 21, 2017 4:31 PM
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Do the French really pronounce Ms as Ns? Those are completely different tongue actions. I can't help but think that anyone who says "Chongz" Elysee is just doing a bad impression of a French speaker.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | April 21, 2017 4:35 PM
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"Champs" has the nasal vowel /ã/, which sounds like an incomplete "ong" or "awng." So shaw(ng)zeleezay is how you pronounce Champs-Élysées.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | April 21, 2017 4:39 PM
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I can't stand the Spaniard lisp. I grew up in Texas so it was normal to hear the Mexican non-lisp.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | April 21, 2017 4:54 PM
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What has always annoyed me was mispronouncing Barack Obama's first name: they pronounce it Barrick!
by Anonymous | reply 46 | April 21, 2017 5:30 PM
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It's not just French words: Meh-DEE-chee instead of MEH-dee-chee. ca-PREE vs CAH-pree. Why?
Yes, the vowel sounds are going to be different, but the stress?
I remember seeing a British TV show about the Medicis and renaissance Florence and every actor but one would say Meh-DEE-chee. To hear the one lone actor stress the word they way they do it Italy was additionally jarring. Wasn't there a director to ensure that the actors pronounce such a basic word correctly? And failing that, at least consistently?
by Anonymous | reply 47 | April 21, 2017 10:30 PM
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Since you're so smart, R47, perhaps you can tell us why Medici isn't pronounced with the accent on the penultimate syllable, which is usual in Italian. It's the same with Bulgari and, I think, Modena. But why? And how is a non-Italian supposed to know? The Spanish and French provide accent marks, at least.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | April 21, 2017 10:55 PM
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I will never criticize someone's accent, as long as they're doing their best to speak the language. I can't remember the specific actor (Ricardo Montalban or Fernando Lamas) on the Tonight Show with Carson, and when Johnny asked the guest how he felt when someone would make fun of his accents, said, "Well, remember, that's because I can speak one more language than the person making fun of me".
by Anonymous | reply 49 | April 21, 2017 11:27 PM
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[quote]Did anyone catch Jack Bishop on last night's ATK doing a PAP-ri-ka tasting with Bridget? She pronounced it like him once, then reverted to the way she—and most people—normally say it.
That was Julia, not Bridget.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | April 21, 2017 11:28 PM
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The British can't even pronounce English words correctly. Have you heard them say con-TRAH-ver-see?
by Anonymous | reply 51 | April 21, 2017 11:29 PM
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Weallwy? Why must we widicule the Bwitish? Pwease wepeat "I must weallwy just wewax."
by Anonymous | reply 52 | April 21, 2017 11:35 PM
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R28's female friend sounds like a twat.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | April 21, 2017 11:44 PM
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I took my vitamin at the urinal that was made of aluminum. The I saw an advertisement on oregano. There is quite a controversy about it.
The above sounds totally different when read by an American and a Brit.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | April 22, 2017 12:01 AM
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Because when a Brit walks up to a Frenchman they surrender immediately and lay face down on the floor, so their words are muffled.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | April 22, 2017 12:06 AM
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r55
And they are always eating cheese which doesn't help in understanding them.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | April 22, 2017 12:07 AM
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How do the Brits say "urinal"?
by Anonymous | reply 57 | April 22, 2017 7:58 PM
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R58 Really? Not doubting you, just...really? What an awful mispronunciation.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | April 22, 2017 8:12 PM
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[quote] that was made of aluminum
That's the North American spelling; you can't fault the rest of the world for pronouncing the 'i' in aluminium.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | April 22, 2017 8:19 PM
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To be anything but mildly charmed or amused by how a person in a different country pronounces words is pretty provincial.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | April 22, 2017 8:25 PM
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The Queen sounds absolutely spiritual there, R5. I was very moved but them I'm old enough to have relatives who went through that war, one permanently destroyed by spending the whole thing in a German prison of war camp.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | April 22, 2017 8:50 PM
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Anyone for a fill-it of beef?
by Anonymous | reply 64 | April 22, 2017 9:03 PM
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R31, nice explanation but they're still WRONG for pronouncing words/names as they do. It's disrespectful of the language.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | April 22, 2017 9:16 PM
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They make sandwiches out of "pitta" bread, and their puff pastry is made of "phee-lo" dough.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | April 23, 2017 10:08 AM
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Oh, and let's not forget the "yogg-urt."
by Anonymous | reply 67 | April 23, 2017 12:38 PM
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I also hate when they describe things with the stress on the wrong word, like "tomato SAUCE" and "grizzly BEAR." The stress should be on the descriptive, not the thing itself. Also it's "miles AWAY," not "MILES away."
by Anonymous | reply 68 | April 23, 2017 1:17 PM
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How do you pronounce "phyllo," R66?
by Anonymous | reply 69 | April 23, 2017 1:18 PM
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[quote]How do you suppose they pronounce "pasta fagioli"? PASTa faggy oh LEE.
It's pasta E fagioli. "Pasta and beans", not "bean pasta".
And it goes without saying that it's NEVER pronounced "pasta-fah-johl" like how some English speaking monoglot from The Sopranos would say it.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | April 23, 2017 1:30 PM
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How about that tasty, eastern dessert made of nuts and honey and phylo ("figh-lo," thank you very much) dough. The world pronounces baklava as "BOCK-luh-vuh," but not the British. To them, it's "buh-CLAW-vuh."
by Anonymous | reply 71 | April 23, 2017 1:48 PM
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Americans are the worst for fucking with the English language. Donut = Doughnut ??? Jello = Jam ???
by Anonymous | reply 72 | April 23, 2017 2:01 PM
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Jello=jam? Wtf are you talking about?
by Anonymous | reply 73 | April 23, 2017 2:05 PM
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R48;
[quote] perhaps you can tell us why Medici isn't pronounced with the accent on the penultimate syllable, which is usual in Italian.
Ask an Italian.
[quote] And how is a non-Italian supposed to know?
See above.
Advisable if you're making a multi-part TV series at least partially filmed in Florence, Italy.
by Anonymous | reply 74 | April 23, 2017 2:08 PM
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That judge on DWTS would call Mario Lopez "Merr-ee-o." So annoying!
by Anonymous | reply 75 | April 23, 2017 2:09 PM
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I guess they mean "jelly"
by Anonymous | reply 76 | April 23, 2017 2:12 PM
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The British also use the words pudding and dessert interchangeably. For example, "We're having beef, broccoli, a nice salad, and ice cream for pudding." Wtf?
by Anonymous | reply 77 | April 23, 2017 2:19 PM
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How do the Brits pronounce "Gag on my big knob, you cockknocking sod!"?
by Anonymous | reply 78 | April 23, 2017 2:26 PM
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I ain't done fuckin' you mate...
by Anonymous | reply 79 | April 23, 2017 2:28 PM
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r66 and r71: Spelling and pronunciation:
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 80 | April 23, 2017 2:28 PM
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[quote]How do the Brits pronounce "Gag on my big knob, you cockknocking sod!"?
I believe it's pronounced "Oh, please continue to defend us from the threats of Eastern Europe so we don't have to."
by Anonymous | reply 81 | April 23, 2017 2:32 PM
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It's not good for middle and upper class British men to try and talk dirty. It just doesn't work.
by Anonymous | reply 82 | April 23, 2017 2:38 PM
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American's lecturing the English on how to correctly pronounce English words? Please sit your barely literate backsides down. You lot can't even spell words never mind pronounce them correctly. It's our language, we have been speaking it longer than you and there is a reason your ancestors were turfed out of England.
by Anonymous | reply 83 | April 23, 2017 2:41 PM
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"Phyllo," "pita," and "baklava" are English words, R83?
by Anonymous | reply 84 | April 23, 2017 2:43 PM
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This thread is too cunty even for me
by Anonymous | reply 85 | April 23, 2017 2:49 PM
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more chavs, less chat, please.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 86 | April 23, 2017 2:55 PM
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r86, who is the guy on the right, the one with hair?
by Anonymous | reply 87 | April 23, 2017 2:58 PM
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OP, it's obvious that the British do it because they detest the French.
by Anonymous | reply 88 | April 23, 2017 2:58 PM
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[quote]"pasta-fah-johl"
Is that supposed to equal "pasta fazool"?
by Anonymous | reply 89 | April 23, 2017 3:00 PM
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[quote]You lot can't even spell words
Who cares? We don't say "you lot."
by Anonymous | reply 90 | April 23, 2017 3:01 PM
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[quote]It's our language, we have been speaking it longer than you
And writing run-on sentences longer, too.
by Anonymous | reply 91 | April 23, 2017 3:02 PM
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pasta e fagioli (Standard Italian) - pasta e fasule (Neapolitan) - pasta fazool (Italian-American)
by Anonymous | reply 92 | April 23, 2017 3:11 PM
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[quote]phylo ("figh-lo," thank you very much)
::bzzzt:: Nope. Thanks for playing.
by Anonymous | reply 93 | April 23, 2017 3:32 PM
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R83, defensive much? Touched a nerve, have we? Poor little limey snowflake. Go get yourself a cuddle somewhere, luv.
by Anonymous | reply 94 | April 23, 2017 3:36 PM
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[quote]American's lecturing the English on how to correctly pronounce English words?
Thanks, R94. I missed "American's" first time around.
American's what, R83?
by Anonymous | reply 95 | April 23, 2017 3:41 PM
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R53, R28's friend's attitude sounds like most British people, as R83 shows.
by Anonymous | reply 96 | April 23, 2017 4:20 PM
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It must be driving those inbred cunts of Perfidious Albion crazy that global English is now more American than ever. Due to TV programming and subtitles, the continential norm has been shifting to elevators, z instead of s, color, favor, and flashlights. Same across Asia. Volkswagen recently adopted English as it's official language, and it isn't RP. Sorry, toffs, your empire is long dead, while the American one is merely starting to die.
by Anonymous | reply 97 | April 23, 2017 4:55 PM
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[quote]The world pronounces baklava as "BOCK-luh-vuh," but not the British. To them, it's "buh-CLAW-vuh."
My family is Greek, and we pronounce is bock-luh-VAH.
by Anonymous | reply 98 | April 23, 2017 4:56 PM
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I must admit I enjoy the pronunciation of the name Bianca as "Bee-ang-kah" as opposed to "Bee-ong-kah." Their pronouncing Garcia as "GAR-see-uh," however, is unforgivable.
by Anonymous | reply 99 | April 23, 2017 6:47 PM
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I think this is a vestige of British imperialism, where they thought their culture superior to the cultures they colonized. So they took these foreign words and names and Anglicized their pronunciation.
by Anonymous | reply 100 | April 23, 2017 7:06 PM
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R48, most Italian words are stressed on the second to last, or penultimate, syllable, although of course there are exceptions. And Italian does have the occasional accent mark to indicate a stress placement, usually on the last syllable, such as città or Mazzarrà Sant'Andrea.
by Anonymous | reply 101 | April 23, 2017 8:31 PM
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R48, Medici is the plural form of medico (physician, medical). The -ico suffix (as with all suffixes) is usually unstressed, like the -ic suffix in English. Therefore, the stress is placed on the root word "med."
by Anonymous | reply 102 | April 23, 2017 8:54 PM
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I guess what pisses me off the most is that it's media people (anchors, reporters) who constantly mispronounce French/Spanish/Italian words. Of course a lot of us Americans mispronounce things but our media representatives (Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper, even David Tyler Moore) don't.
I hope after Feud: Joan and Bette airs in the UK a lot of them limeys will finally start pronouncing it as "Betty" and not "Bet."
by Anonymous | reply 103 | April 23, 2017 9:06 PM
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[quote]even David Tyler Moore
Uh-oh.
by Anonymous | reply 104 | April 23, 2017 10:57 PM
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R32, stressing "paprika" on the first syllable is the correct pronunciation, as per the Hungarian etymology as well as normal English usage (for nouns). Pap-REE-ka probably became current because people thought it was a Spanish or Italian word or some such. I'm Hungarian-American and for me pap-REE-ka sounds as ridiculous as "Hyacinth Bouquet."
by Anonymous | reply 105 | April 23, 2017 11:18 PM
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I was watching an episode of "River" with Stellan Skarsgard on Netflix. Nicola Walker, his co-star, had a line that mentioned macramé in passing. She pronounced it "mah-CRAW-mee." I couldn't believe my ears. The English seem to distort French words out of sheer arrogance and contempt.
Nothing personal against Nicola Walker, though. She's a fine actress.
by Anonymous | reply 106 | April 23, 2017 11:48 PM
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I greatly admire the British physicist Brian Cox. I do. However, I jam pencils into my eyes every time I hear him talk about the gas "MEE-thane."
by Anonymous | reply 107 | April 24, 2017 12:08 AM
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I adore how the British say meeethane. They make it sound so fun.
by Anonymous | reply 108 | April 24, 2017 4:28 AM
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LOL, R106. I like Nicola Walker, too.
by Anonymous | reply 109 | April 24, 2017 8:16 AM
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Well, they're doing it again on the BBC and Sky today-mispronouncing it as "shawns eh LEE zay" rather than "shawns eh lee ZAY." Unbelievable. They really do detest the French that much, do they?
by Anonymous | reply 110 | May 7, 2017 6:51 PM
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Now we'll have to endure at least five years of the MAC-ron pronunciation.
by Anonymous | reply 112 | May 7, 2017 6:53 PM
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And yet they pronounced Marine's name right when they always mispronounce Marie as "MAR-ee."
by Anonymous | reply 113 | May 7, 2017 11:52 PM
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I hated that in Calendar Girls. Sounded like Maury Povich. They meant Marie???
How do you pronounce Champs Elysee? I say Champs Elise?
by Anonymous | reply 114 | January 29, 2020 1:36 AM
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I hate how they say taco. It is not a Take-o! Some Mexicans even jokingly say it like "th/daccos." That's how off you are!
I wonder how they say burrito and quesadilla. Oh well. I can't pronounce their weird city names like Gloucester.
by Anonymous | reply 115 | January 29, 2020 1:41 AM
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R100’s got it right, I think.
by Anonymous | reply 116 | January 29, 2020 1:49 AM
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Uhhh, no, R114, it’s pronounced “Ehl-ee-ZAY.” That’s how the French pronounce it and that’s how it should be pronounced.
by Anonymous | reply 117 | January 29, 2020 1:51 AM
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[quote]Jello = Jam
Jello is a gelatin dessert. I think you mean jelly, the mashed preserves of fruit. Jam is also used in some regions of the U.S.
[quote]Of course a lot of us Americans mispronounce things but our media representatives (Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper, even David Tyler Moore) don't.
Lol! EYEran and EYErack, SAWDie Arabia...
by Anonymous | reply 118 | February 9, 2020 4:41 PM
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Well of course at the BAFTAs someone pronounced Renee Zelllweger’s first name as “Renny” and she’s too nice to correct it. Maybe she thinks it’s cute.
by Anonymous | reply 119 | February 9, 2020 5:20 PM
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[quote] I can't pronounce their weird city names like Gloucester.
R115 it’s GLOSS-tur. The other two Counties of the three are pronounced WUSS-tur & HEH-ruh-furd (or rather, YERRY-fud if you’re local).
Bonus if you can guess how to say ‘Leominster’. I’ve even found you a guide.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 120 | February 9, 2020 5:57 PM
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LEM-un-stir. I didn't know until I visited there.
by Anonymous | reply 121 | February 9, 2020 6:28 PM
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Well OP, what are you going to have a go at us for, next? The fact that on Teletext (RIP) temperatures were expressed in Metric whereas speeds & length were in Imperial?
by Anonymous | reply 122 | February 9, 2020 6:58 PM
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Blah blah blah, R122. Don’t hate the messenger.
by Anonymous | reply 123 | February 9, 2020 7:29 PM
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This was a gimmick used by professional wrestler & booker William Regal, when he worked for American WWF/WWE wrestling.
He’d read and say the names of other wrestlers the British way, sometimes by accident and sometimes on purpose depending on whether he liked them.
Memorable among those he insulted with his mistakes were Umaga (which he pronounced, ‘Yew-MANGA’), Finlay (‘FIN-lee’), Candice Michelle (‘Can-DEESE Mish-ELL’), Dean Ambrose (‘AM-brose’), Xavier Woods (‘EX-ay-vee-er’) and Triple H (of course said, ‘HAY-tch’).
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 124 | February 9, 2020 8:13 PM
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It's those rotten teeth again! They hurt so much!
by Anonymous | reply 125 | February 9, 2020 8:41 PM
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It's those rotten teeth again! They hurt so much!
by Anonymous | reply 126 | February 9, 2020 8:41 PM
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OMG, the correct answer is FRENCH FUCKING SUCKS AS A LANGUAGE. JFC, WHY have all those letters you don't fucking say? And because it's oh-so-refined, if you can't pronounce it correctly you look like a bumpkin. Yes English does this sometimes, like "Worcester," but at least we acknowledge that it's annoying and illogical af.
You know how I would pronounce "champs elysees"? "Champs (as in a shorthand for champion) el-e-sees." CUZ THAT IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO ENGLISH EYES AND SCREW YOU GUYS FOR EXPECTING THE WHOLE WORLD TO LEARN YOUR WEIRD-ASS PRONUNCIATIONS.
And no I don't get upset when people "mispronounce" English words, because learning a language is fucking hard, and there is no reason why "tacos" can't be pronounced "tay kos," esp. when you come from a place that is an ocean away from where the food originated.
by Anonymous | reply 127 | February 10, 2020 12:42 AM
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To do it intentionally to display contempt for the Latin-based languages, which they consider inferior to English.
by Anonymous | reply 128 | February 10, 2020 12:52 AM
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R128 can you blame us? On arrival the Normans decided to snuff our language out like a Papal candle, as well as burn our sacred forests and demonise our Gods and use us for arrow fodder in their campaigns. Before that, Romans did the same.
At least the Saxon invaders were Pagans like us.
by Anonymous | reply 129 | February 10, 2020 9:37 AM
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Some Americans will never get over the fact that their native language was always another nation’s before their country even existed.
by Anonymous | reply 130 | February 10, 2020 11:27 AM
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[quote]R110: Well, they're doing it again on the BBC and Sky today-mispronouncing it as "shawns eh LEE zay" rather than "shawns eh lee ZAY." Unbelievable. They really do detest the French that much, do they?
It is pwecisewy because we arh on the Beeb as pwofessional wepolters that you should not question our pwonunciation. We pwonounce our wolds with pwecison. While it’s twue that some of us empwoy whotacism (“Rhotacism.” wook it up) unconciouswy, pwease understand it is wikewy because we have educations and moneyed wineages faw superwiow to your own.
by Anonymous | reply 131 | February 10, 2020 12:41 PM
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R117, no that's not how the French pronounce Élysées. In French, every syllable is equally stressed. "ehl-ee-zay" - equal stress on all syllables - is the French pronunciation of the word. This is unnatural and difficult to do in English, so English speakers generally add stress to a syllable where none exists in French.
American English tends to stress the final syllable of French words, while British English tends to stress the first or sometimes penultimate syllable. This is especially noticeable in two-syllable words. For example, Café is pronounced caff-AY in AmE but (usually) CAFF-ay in BrE. Neither is right and neither is wrong because both are adaptations to English of words from a language where no syllable is stressed.
by Anonymous | reply 132 | February 11, 2020 8:54 AM
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