quote:Originally posted by Mickey is a weather girl: Then I heard a little British child. "Eeyore! Can I have you autograph please, Eeyore? Look, Mum! It's Eeyore!"
(try to imagine a Brit saying "Eeyore")
How on earth do you lot* pronounce it to sound anything different than "ee - ore"?!
*
I found out only this year about epitome
-------------------- Silence should never under any circumstances be construed as agreement. A lot of the time, it's simply a reflection that someone just said something so stupid that no response could possibly do it justice. - Ramblin' Dave Posts: 8528 | From: Nottingham, England | Registered: Feb 2000
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Sorry, I'm not sure how to do a link and I don't trust myself to try this minute, but those who thought pineapples grew on trees might want to search under hala, tourist pineapple for validation of the image they had in their minds. That pineapple-looking thing is actually a cluster of seeds with hairy ends that the Hawaiians once used for paint brushes.
Posts: 326 | From: Hawaii | Registered: Jul 2005
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I lived in this town for nearly 7 years before I even knew there was a college here. What's worse? I worked across the street from part of the campus when I was working nights.
-------------------- "Is it ME? Am I a MAGNET for these idiots?"~Pearl Forrester MST3K Die-Hard Engineers, Big Red One my Dad's website "Must be a 'snopes' thing..." ~my entire family when I try to explain something. Posts: 4524 | From: South of Madison, Wisconsin | Registered: May 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Rhea: "The louder you scream, the faster we come."
I'm sorry, I find this slogan absolutely hilarious!
You should have kept it imo
/agree, that is fantabulous!
-------------------- "There is a race between mankind and the universe. Mankind is trying to build bigger, better, faster, and more foolproof machines. The universe is trying to build bigger, better, and faster fools. So far the universe is winning." -Albert Einstein Posts: 1058 | From: Yakima, WA | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Mickey is a weather girl: Then I heard a little British child. "Eeyore! Can I have you autograph please, Eeyore? Look, Mum! It's Eeyore!"
(try to imagine a Brit saying "Eeyore")
How on earth do you lot* pronounce it to sound anything different than "ee - ore"?!
*
I found out only this year about epitome
I don't think that it's so much that Eeyore isn't "ee-ore", it's more the differences in how we say it compared to how we pronounce a donkey's bray.
Donkey's say "hee-haw", right? (Well, they do in US and possibly Canada, anyway.) In American English the "or" sound in Eeyore isn't as similar to the "haw" sound as it is in British English - we say the "R" much more nasally. To my ears, anyway, the BE pronunciation of Eeyore is more like ee-awe than the AE pronounciation is.
I knew epitome, but was almost 20 before I realized the Penelope wasn't "penny-lope", and in my 20s when I learned that Persephone wasn't "Persa-fone". (ETA) And that really confused me when I discovered that Epiphone guitars were pronounced "Epa-fone".
quote:Originally posted by Rhea: "The louder you scream, the faster we come."
I'm sorry, I find this slogan absolutely hilarious!
You should have kept it imo
/agree, that is fantabulous!
There's another meeting this Wednesday, I'll tell them my imaginary friends on the internet want us to hang on to it.
(The problem is that we're officially called JC EMS and JC does not want to be associated with such dirty things. Liberal Arts apparently goes only so far.)
PS: My sigh was in response to me not getting it. At all. I did snort, but only when nobody was looking.
Rh"sheltered life"ea
edited to add quote because NeeCD snuck in.
Posts: 1201 | From: Pennsylvania | Registered: Jun 2005
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I'd always thought a donkey's bray sound like a "Hee haw" but when you think about it, it could sound similar to "Ee-yoh".
Think of the different languages that have different onomatopoeias for the same thing. For that matter, think of the sounds English (American or British) for one thing.
Example: A dog's bark. In American English (I'm not sure about British), it's "bark", "woof", and "arf". In Japanese, it's "Wan wan" (not just "wan", AFAIK, but "wan wan")
-------------------- My mom, about my nervousness with Jeopardy!: "Don't worry about it. Just get drunk and you'll do fine." Blog Just call me Mickey 2 Posts: 3295 | From: Radford, VA/Herndon, VA/Orlando, FL | Registered: Jan 2006
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quote:I knew epitome, but was almost 20 before I realized the Penelope wasn't "penny-lope", and in my 20s when I learned that Persephone wasn't "Persa-fone". (ETA) And that really confused me when I discovered that Epiphone guitars were pronounced "Epa-fone".
When I'm reading, I still pronounce Phoebe as "Fobe" in my head.
-------------------- "Is it ME? Am I a MAGNET for these idiots?"~Pearl Forrester MST3K Die-Hard Engineers, Big Red One my Dad's website "Must be a 'snopes' thing..." ~my entire family when I try to explain something. Posts: 4524 | From: South of Madison, Wisconsin | Registered: May 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Frog_Feathers: I've owned a German Shepherd for three years now. I've loved German Shepherds since the days of "The Bionic Woman" had "Max" the bionic dog.
I learned only last year that a German Shepherd dog is also an Alsatian dog.
I learned that in my teens...by reading Nancy Friday. There were a few women thinking about Alsatians -- I had to look it up.
quote:Originally posted by Silas Sparkhammer: Nearly everyone who reads a lot has been zapped by "epitome," which looks as if it ought to be pronounced "eppi-TOME." But a friend told me that when he was young, he read the word "misled" and thought it would be prounounced "meez-uld." Silas
When I was 5 or 6, I had a hard time believing that said was "sed." Every time I was asked to read aloud, I did really well, but would hesitate on that word.
When I was in my teens, I was reading an article to my mother and pronounced scenario as "scene-a-rio." Her mocking laughter still rings in my ears.
posted
I was 20 before I learned that the river in London is pronounced "temms" rather than how it's spelled. Hey, I'd never been to England!
-------------------- Another lifetime I'd have fallen in love with you Swept away by my feelings, ashamed and confused But just now it's enough to be walking with you Let the mystery play as it will! -Lui Collins Posts: 2669 | From: Jouy en Josas, France | Registered: May 2005
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I finally learned that green bell peppers and red bell peppers are the same thing; the red ones are just riper.
Now I know what happens if you don't pick your peppers in a timely manner!
-------------------- ~tough as nails yet nice as pie~ For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction - and sometimes a scar. "and don't threaten anyone with your pants today!" - Frog_Feathers daisys does Myspace Posts: 3206 | From: Molalla, OR | Registered: Jun 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Ramblin' Dave, quietly making noise: I was 20 before I learned that the river in London is pronounced "temms" rather than how it's spelled. Hey, I'd never been to England!
It's the curse upon us readers! A very good friend of mine embarrassed himself by saying "Eden-burg" instead of "Eddin-burrah" when referring to, y'know, that large Scottish town. People laughed at him...but I didn't, because there isn't any fault in trusting phonics.
Silas ("Throatwarbler Mangrove")
Posts: 16801 | From: San Diego, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Ramblin' Dave, quietly making noise: I was 20 before I learned that the river in London is pronounced "temms" rather than how it's spelled. Hey, I'd never been to England!
It's the curse upon us readers! A very good friend of mine embarrassed himself by saying "Eden-burg" instead of "Eddin-burrah" when referring to, y'know, that large Scottish town. People laughed at him...but I didn't, because there isn't any fault in trusting phonics.
Silas ("Throatwarbler Mangrove")
Try the village of Trottescliffe, near me. Pronounced Trosley.
It was a long time before I realised the second 'c' in Connecticut was silent.
-------------------- "Ladies and gentlemen, this is what is commonly known as money. It comes in all sizes, colours, and denominations - like people." Posts: 997 | From: Maidstone, UK | Registered: Jun 2006
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I just recently realized that there even IS a third C in Connecticut!
-------------------- My mom, about my nervousness with Jeopardy!: "Don't worry about it. Just get drunk and you'll do fine." Blog Just call me Mickey 2 Posts: 3295 | From: Radford, VA/Herndon, VA/Orlando, FL | Registered: Jan 2006
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I just learned about the peppers myself, a couple months ago, watching them grow outside the office building. And about pineapples (thanks!). I guess I never thought about where they grew, but I probably would have said "trees" if asked. I recently found out that the whole unleavened bread thing is for Passover, and not a general kosher rule, as I thought for some odd reason. M thought that was pretty funny... "You say that like you've never had challah."
-------------------- It is, after all, the dab of grit that seeps into an oyster's shell that makes the pearl, not pearl-making seminars with other oysters. -Stephen King Posts: 481 | From: North Brunswick, NJ | Registered: Sep 2005
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Along those lines, I completely and embarrassingly butchered the pronunciation of Worcester, MA the first time I ever went there. How is someone from Southern CA supposed to know about all these weird phonetical tricks that change from town to town back East?
Posts: 918 | From: Southern CA | Registered: Jan 2004
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Cuz you throw a "'shire" at the end and you've got a lovely savory sauce?
-------------------- "When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty."--George Bernard Shaw Posts: 19266 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: Jun 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Class Bravo: Along those lines, I completely and embarrassingly butchered the pronunciation of Worcester, MA the first time I ever went there. How is someone from Southern CA supposed to know about all these weird phonetical tricks that change from town to town back East?
-------------------- Support you local community newspaper! CNN.com probably won't be covering your child's spelling bee. Posts: 609 | From: Rhode Island | Registered: May 2005
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I too was amazed to discover pineapples grow on the ground (about 2 years ago at a botanical garden) - they look like they have been picked from trees, as if they were attached through the leaves.
That wasn't too embarrasing because I had never confided my pineapple growing theories to anyone - However when my mother told me cork grew on trees I thought she was lying (or joking) and refused to believe it for months. I would only believe it when shown a cork tree...*
(In fairness it wouldn't have be the first time she lied to me)
For really confusing plants/food try nutmeg or cashews - another one I didn't believe until I saw it.
*Healthy scepticism or embarrasing obtuseness - YOU decide.
Victoria J
-------------------- Post accompanied by maniacal laughter. Posts: 577 | From: London, UK | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Class Bravo: Along those lines, I completely and embarrassingly butchered the pronunciation of Worcester, MA the first time I ever went there. How is someone from Southern CA supposed to know about all these weird phonetical tricks that change from town to town back East?
Rio Grande (RYE-oh grand) Newark (nerk) Lima (LYE-muh, like the bean, not LEE-muh, like Peru) Versailles (ver-SALES) Russia (ROO-shuh) Bellefontaine (bell-FOUNT-ain)
I didn't know about the pineapples, either.
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
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I didn't know that bananas grow upside down to the way you'd think they would!
-------------------- My mom, about my nervousness with Jeopardy!: "Don't worry about it. Just get drunk and you'll do fine." Blog Just call me Mickey 2 Posts: 3295 | From: Radford, VA/Herndon, VA/Orlando, FL | Registered: Jan 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Eddylizard: It was a long time before I realised the second 'c' in Connecticut was silent.
This reminds me, I actually got into a bit of trouble in the second grade, after I had the nerve to explain to my teacher that the "s" in Illinois was silent. She was nice enough about it, but when I repeated the story to my parents, I got a talking-to about not correcting grown-ups when they say stupid things.
-------------------- Another lifetime I'd have fallen in love with you Swept away by my feelings, ashamed and confused But just now it's enough to be walking with you Let the mystery play as it will! -Lui Collins Posts: 2669 | From: Jouy en Josas, France | Registered: May 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Dara bhur gCara: Mind you, I'm sure there's someone reading this now who's going "Liquorice is a plant? When did that happen? Why did no-one tell me?"
Yup, that would be me. At least I beat you by four years.
Thanks for telling me. I'm only 21, so I figure I just about avoided embarassment.
-------------------- "The United States Government: significantly less cruel and sadistic than the Taliban." - Dara Posts: 1289 | From: Aberdeen University, Aberdeen, UK | Registered: Nov 2003
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The first two things I thought of were root beer and ginger ale. I was very surprised when I first found out that root beer was actually made from ROOTS (at least originally) and that ginger ale was made from ginger. I don't know where I thought the name "ginger ale" was from (maybe the color or something) but it just is so non-ginger-tasting that I never really thought about it being made from the stuff! I think I discovered both of those things as a kid, though...
There were a lot of less-common words that I thought as a kid were pronounced different ways-- I read a lot so I would read them the way I thought they should sound. Like Quiche, I always thought that word as "Kwee-shay" or hors d'oeuvres...well you can imagine that one.
Oh yeah, I also always pronounced Aussie to rhyme with saucy...
ETA: Also, Zoe rhymes with toe.
-------------------- Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. Posts: 2110 | From: Chicago, IL | Registered: Jul 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Xia: The first two things I thought of were root beer and ginger ale. I was very surprised when I first found out that root beer was actually made from ROOTS (at least originally) and that ginger ale was made from ginger. I don't know where I thought the name "ginger ale" was from (maybe the color or something) but it just is so non-ginger-tasting that I never really thought about it being made from the stuff!
Clearly you've never tasted Vernors. There's no doubting that stuff is made of ginger.
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Xia: ...or hors d'oeuvres...well you can imagine that one. ...SNIP...
Oh yeah, I also always pronounced Aussie to rhyme with saucy...
I used to read hors d'oeuvres as something like whores do-overs.
I still pronounce Aussie to rhyme with saucy...how should I be saying it?
Like Ozzy Ozbourne
-------------------- Brosandi. Hendumst í hringi Höldumst í hendur Allur heimurinn óskýr Nema þú stendur Posts: 694 | From: York, UK | Registered: Jul 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Mosherette: I found out only this year about epitome
Oh I had a wealth of trouble pronouncing words. I used to cover with my friends by making it seem like I was doing it on purpose as a joke, but I wasn't.
Her are some crimes of pronounciation I did while in college:
facade: fah-cade, rhymes with arcade
facetious: fah-set-tie-us
paradigm: pah-rad-dig-um
homogenous: homo-gene-us
conscience: con-science
Also, I used to think that colonel (military) was spelled like kernel.
-------------------- "Tis too much proved that with devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself." - Hamlet Posts: 344 | From: Pittsburgh, PA | Registered: Jun 2006
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I don't think I ever thought about how pineapples were harvested, but I just learned something new about green and red peppers!
And they're one of my favorite things to eat!
-------------------- Licorice of the Lord! This is classy stuff...Should I be wearing a tie? Or, at least, pants? ~I'mNotDedalus Posts: 975 | From: New Jersey | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Victoriaarrggh J: - However when my mother told me cork grew on trees I thought she was lying (or joking) and refused to believe it for months. I would only believe it when shown a cork tree...*
This reminds me of one of my favorite children's books, The Story of Ferdinand. In this book the corks are depicted growing like fruit on the branches of the trees. Because of the age of the children I read this book to, I always have to explain why that is funny.
-------------------- "But I'm adding this to my reasons why I never really liked really good looking men much. Sheesh, what good is good looking if you have to stuff a sock in his mouth." - Sara at home NFBSK, IIRC and other mysterious Snopester language Posts: 851 | From: Indiana | Registered: Dec 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Xia: The first two things I thought of were root beer and ginger ale. I was very surprised when I first found out that root beer was actually made from ROOTS (at least originally) and that ginger ale was made from ginger. I don't know where I thought the name "ginger ale" was from (maybe the color or something) but it just is so non-ginger-tasting that I never really thought about it being made from the stuff!
Clearly you've never tasted Vernors. There's no doubting that stuff is made of ginger.
Man, do I miss Vernors. Whenever I got a cold or flu, that was on my list, because I was raised that it settled the stomach. I associated it with warm fluffy blankets, days off from school, and being pampered.
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