Incorrect pronunciations you have (or have had) to unlearn

[Travis B.]

This is the kind of paper cutter I am familiar with:

[Travis B.]

However, I would suspect that quite often, the US and Canada group together, so that would make US/Canadian use international as well.

It is a very good idea to assume American and Canadian English pattern together than differ, especially when compared with other varieties of English, unless one specifically knows otherwise, especially since there is more internal variation within American English than there is between, say, GA and many Canadian English varieties. This is why I prefer just referring to the two together as North American English and avoiding references to just "American English" or "Canadian English" unless I want to specifically point out ways in which Canadian English varieties differ from various American English varieties.

[Vijay]

To me, Canadian English is like American English that decides to use Britishisms on a whim. And when I hear "paper cutter," the one I think of is probably exactly this (because that's pretty much what I vaguely remember from art class):

Thank you, dick-blick.com.

[jal]

Yup, that's a papiersnijder as I know it :). Or rather knew, I've not seen one in decades.


JAL

[Pole, the]

So am I the only one who understands "international" in this context as "present in multiple national languages" rather than simply "present in multiple national varieties of the same language"? (Cf. internationalism.)

How much is “multiple”? Is something present in Polish, (afaik) Spanish and (a variety of) English, an internationalism?

This very exactness actually makes it a misnomer when applied to non-guillotine-style paper cutters. In my experience, the typical non-industrial paper cutter looks like this:

For me, „gilotyna” is something fairly similar, just the blade is not necessarily curved.


(Also, if you put Polish „gilotyna” into Google Images, among the suggestions are: Gilotyna Do Ścinania Głów “guillotine for cutting heads off”, Gilotyna Egzekucja “guillotine, execution”, Gilotyna do Blachy “guillotine for metal sheets”, Gilotyna Do Papieru “guillotine for paper” and Gilotyna Do Paznokci “guillotine for finger nails”.)

[Travis B.]

So am I the only one who understands "international" in this context as "present in multiple national languages" rather than simply "present in multiple national varieties of the same language"? (Cf. internationalism.)

How much is “multiple”? Is something present in Polish, (afaik) Spanish and (a variety of) English, an internationalism?

Of course, you could say the same about something present in German, Dutch, and North American English...

[linguoboy]

So am I the only one who understands "international" in this context as "present in multiple national languages" rather than simply "present in multiple national varieties of the same language"? (Cf. internationalism.)

How much is “multiple”? Is something present in Polish, (afaik) Spanish and (a variety of) English, an internationalism?

The more the better. I don't think those three would cut it for most people.

coup de grâce--Like many Americans, I first learned the hypercorrected version without final /s/.

I also used to drop the final /z/ in Berlioz. With Dukas, I went full circle: from /'duːkəs/ before I knew he was French to /dykɑ/ and finally /dykas/.

[jal]

I just learned that "scythe" doesn't have a [k].


JAL

[Boşkoventi]

... Ghiradelli ...

... Ghiradelli ...

Da(r)fuq.

Though this reminds of a time years ago driving through Georgia, when my dad and I stopped at some place for dinner and were asking the waitress what sorts of beer they had and she mentioned one called "... [ʤɪnɪs]?".

Other than that, I don't think I've ever heard someone pronounce "ghi" or "gui" with [ʤ].

When I first saw the word "eidolon," I thought it was stressed on the first syllable.

Aw, crap. At least I got the initial vowel right.

FWIW, it 'should' have the stress on the first syllable.



Oh, and I thought of one for myself: "vinyl". I used to think of it (not sure I'd ever spoken it aloud) as /ˈvɪnəl/.

Also, I normally pronounce "route" as /ru(ː)t/ (there are many who say /raʊ̯t/), but several years ago I was informed that I should pronounce "router" as /ˈraʊ̯tər/ if I wanted to be taken seriously.

Though I now find that both dictionary.com and wiktionary.com list /ˈru(ː)tər/ as well ...

[linguoboy]

... Ghiradelli ...

... Ghiradelli ...

Da(r)fuq.

I don't think I've ever heard anyone pronounce the second r.

Though this reminds of a time years ago driving through Georgia, when my dad and I stopped at some place for dinner and were asking the waitress what sorts of beer they had and she mentioned one called "... [ʤɪnɪs]?".

Other than that, I don't think I've ever heard someone pronounce "ghi" or "gui" with [ʤ].

I heard "Guinness" pronounced with [ʤ] once, but it was from a native speaker of Chinese. (I guess most of the common transcriptions of that name into Chinese begin with [t͡ɕ] in Standard Mandarin, probably because they originated in Cantonese where this often corresponds to /k/.)

Also, I normally pronounce "route" as /ru(ː)t/ (there are many who say /raʊ̯t/), but several years ago I was informed that I should pronounce "router" as /ˈraʊ̯tər/ if I wanted to be taken seriously.

/raut/ is the pronunciation I grew up with, but now I vacillate between the two based on criteria I can't even begin to define. /ruːtɚ/ just makes me think of Roto-Rooter.

I'm pretty sure there were other French-derived words I pronounced with /au/ but analogy, but I can't recall any right now.

[Jonlang]

Also, I normally pronounce "route" as /ru(ː)t/ (there are many who say /raʊ̯t/), but several years ago I was informed that I should pronounce "router" as /ˈraʊ̯tər/ if I wanted to be taken seriously.

Though I now find that both dictionary.com and wiktionary.com list /ˈru(ː)tər/ as well ...

Brits never /raʊ̯tɚ/ or /raʊ̯t/ as far as I know, it would seem very American. We say /ɹut/ and /ɹutə/.

[Znex]

We Aussies - as we're wont to do - have gone the mid road: /ɻʉt/, but /ɻæutə/.

[Sumelic]

I'm pretty sure there were other French-derived words I pronounced with /au/ but analogy, but I can't recall any right now.

There are lots of French-derived words that everyone pronounces with /au/: doubt, tout, noun, sound...

[Travis B.]

I'm pretty sure there were other French-derived words I pronounced with /au/ but analogy, but I can't recall any right now.

There are lots of French-derived words that everyone pronounces with /au/: doubt, tout, noun, sound...

For starters, tout is a Germanic word.

And as for the rest, these were all borrowed from Old or Middle French or Anglo-Norman prior to the Great Vowel Shift, which would explain why they have /aʊ/.

[Sumelic]

I'm pretty sure there were other French-derived words I pronounced with /au/ but analogy, but I can't recall any right now.

There are lots of French-derived words that everyone pronounces with /au/: doubt, tout, noun, sound...

For starters, tout is a Germanic word.

And as for the rest, these were all borrowed from Old or Middle French or Anglo-Norman prior to the Great Vowel Shift, which would explain why they have /aʊ/.

Huh, I don't know why I thought "tout" was from French. "Route" would fit into that time frame.

[Herra Ratatoskr]

/ɹaʊt/ and /ɹut/ are actually distinct words for me. My route (/ɹaʊt/) home from work crosses over Route (/ɹut/) 50. I occasionally mix them up, but for the most part /ɹaʊt/ is the word for a path one takes, and /ɹut/ is a type of highway classification.

I always say /ɹaʊtəɹ/ though. /ɹutər/ just sounds bizarre to my ears.

[KathTheDragon]

Except /raʊt/ is non-existent (afaik - some dialect somewhere could have it, I suppose) in British English, which you'd need to account for.

[StrangerCoug]

The verb and its derivatives are always /ɹaʊt/ in my idiolect. For the noun, I'm pretty sure I make the same distinction as Herra, but I'm not conscious about it.

[Herra Ratatoskr]

Yeah, it took me a bit to figure out where (I think) the differences are. Those were the only definite differences I could come up with without worrying that I was overthinking what I actually do.

[Jonlang]

Except /raʊt/ is non-existent (afaik - some dialect somewhere could have it, I suppose) in British English, which you'd need to account for.

I doubt /raʊt/ exists in America either, I think those who have said that they say /raʊt/ mean /ɹaʊt/.

[KathTheDragon]

Er, there's no point in drawing a distinction between /ɹ/ and /r/ in the context of English, since no dialect anywhere ever contrasts them. It's a broad transcription, see.

[jal]

Well, since its between slashes, it's a phonemic description, and indeed /r/ is the preferred writing of the rhotic phoneme.


JAL

[Travis B.]

*facepalm*

[gmalivuk]

/ɹaʊt/ and /ɹut/ are actually distinct words for me. My route (/ɹaʊt/) home from work crosses over Route (/ɹut/) 50. I occasionally mix them up, but for the most part /ɹaʊt/ is the word for a path one takes, and /ɹut/ is a type of highway classification.

I always say /ɹaʊtəɹ/ though. /ɹutər/ just sounds bizarre to my ears.

A rooter is something that roots (Roto Rooter first came to mind, but I suppose someone who makes a habit of rooting electronic devices could also be called such). It's just never homophonous with "router".

(For me the official classification is likewise always "root", but the common noun can switch pronunciations without my really noticing.)

[oxlahun]

Clavier is /kləˈvir/, not /ˈklæviər/.