Incorrect pronunciations you have (or have had) to unlearn

[Jonlang]

I wouldn't call this an "incorrect" pronunciation per se, but it is the pronunciation where I come from:

The English word tooth is, by most, pronounced as /tuːθ/ or something close to it. My pronunciation, along with most other South Welshies, is /tʊθ/. This is all well and good when you live in South Wales and everyone you talk to is too, but it's still something I'm very conscious of when I speak here in North East Wales, which has a much more English sounding accent and definitely nothing like the stereotypical "Welsh accents", but when I try to force the pronunciation /tuːθ/ I feel very uncomfortable and conscious that I'm doing it, and I don't know if other people pick up on it. There are other words where this happens too, but "tooth" is one that stands out more.

[jal]

Make it a taboo word then, don't talk about teeth (unless in the plural :)).


JAL

[linguoboy]

Unless he also says [tʰɪθ]...

[Jonlang]

Unless he also says [tʰɪθ]...

Nah, tʊθ and tiːθ.

[Soap]

ephedra, and its derivative words like pseudoephedrine, which I had always assumed to have /i/, actually have /ε/.

[Vijay]

Kabyle is supposed to be /kəˈbaɪl/, not /kɑˈbiːl/.

[jal]

ephedra, and its derivative words like pseudoephedrine, which I had always assumed to have /i/, actually have /ε/.

I'd have guessed /i/ for ephedra, and /ə/ for ephedrine.


JAL

[linguoboy]

Kabyle is supposed to be /kəˈbaɪl/, not /kɑˈbiːl/.

Etymology: < Arabic ḳabā'il

Well I'll be goddamned.

[Vijay]

Kabyle is supposed to be /kəˈbaɪl/, not /kɑˈbiːl/.

Etymology: < Arabic ḳabā'il

Well I'll be goddamned.

Right? Apparently, English got it from the plural form, and French got it from the singular form (qabīla 'tribe'). Compare one of the Kabyle words for Kabyle, Taqbaylit [ˈθɐqβæjlɪθ].

[Qxentio]

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

I have lost several toenails to people pronouncing the famous Italian car manufacturer as /lam.bor'ʤi.ni/.

[jal]

I have lost several toenails to people pronouncing the famous Italian car manufacturer as /lam.bor'ʤi.ni/.

In fact, that's a pronunciation also often heard in Dutch. I never realized that's wrong.


JAL

[jal]

Just learned that it's [dɪˈfɒlt] not [ˈdiːfɒlt] (default).


JAL

[gmalivuk]

I've always treated it as an initial-stress-derived noun, so DEfault is the noun while deFAULT is the verb.

[linguoboy]

I've always treated it as an initial-stress-derived noun, so DEfault is the noun while deFAULT is the verb.

+1. By default can be pronounced either way, though the prosody is better with final stress.

A friend reminded me that 'zounds really should rhyme with wounds (from which it derives) rather than pounds, but I really prefer the sound of the spelling pronunciation.

[Salmoneus]

Just learned that it's [dɪˈfɒlt] not [ˈdiːfɒlt] (default).


JAL

Personally, for me it's stress-initial when a noun/adjective, but stress-final as a verb. With some exceptions:
- it's usually stress-final when talking about finance
- it's usually stress-final in the phrase "by default"
- it can sometimes be stress-final when it means a failure of an athlete to record a score
- conversely it can be stress-initial as a verb when talking about athletes (for both noun and verb, I could say either, I think)
- it might possibly be stress-initial sometimes in the verb "default to" (value or setting), although normally it's not

[Zaarin]

I've always treated it as an initial-stress-derived noun, so DEfault is the noun while deFAULT is the verb.

+1. By default can be pronounced either way, though the prosody is better with final stress.

A friend reminded me that 'zounds really should rhyme with wounds (from which it derives) rather than pounds, but I really prefer the sound of the spelling pronunciation.

I'm perfectly familiar with the etymology of zounds, but I too prefer the spelling pronunciation.

[Travis B.]

I've always treated it as an initial-stress-derived noun, so DEfault is the noun while deFAULT is the verb.

+1. By default can be pronounced either way, though the prosody is better with final stress.

A friend reminded me that 'zounds really should rhyme with wounds (from which it derives) rather than pounds, but I really prefer the sound of the spelling pronunciation.

I'm perfectly familiar with the etymology of zounds, but I too prefer the spelling pronunciation.

As do I.

[jal]

+1. By default can be pronounced either way, though the prosody is better with final stress.

Imho not when it's an adjective and the noun has initial stress (or has a singel syllable).


JAL

[Imralu]

+1. By default can be pronounced either way, though the prosody is better with final stress.

Imho not when it's an adjective and the noun has initial stress (or has a singel syllable).

As an adjective, though, it, at least for me, only has final stress. The flexible pronunciation linguoboy mentioned was only in the phrase "by default". I agree with all the above sentiments (except for having /ɪ/ in unstressed syllables without a postalveolar or velar consonant after it ... that's just weird).

[linguoboy]

A couple Yiddishisms ('cause those are fun):

zhlub

For years, I wrote this schlub and pronounced it /ʃləb/. But when I learned the etymology, I discovered I was missing an opportunity to pronounce initial /ʒl/, so I switched.

bupkis

For years, I had this folketymologised to "buttkiss". (Hey, it made sense for a word that means "bugger-all".)

chutzpah

Before I learned to produce initial /x/ (thanks, German!) I had /'hətspah/. Some time after that, I learned the stressed vowel was etymologically /uh/ and the final vowel is shwa (again, thank German, where the word is spelled Chuzpe) and adjusted my pronunciation accordingly.

And this isn't from Yiddish, but it sounds like it could be: babushka. A Russian friend of my brother's insisted on initial stress, so I shifted mine. (I also learned from her that the proper name for "babushka dolls" was matryoshky.)

[Zaarin]

I picked up the term meshuggah from a Jewish professor who had a strong dislike for computers and always referred to them as such. :p She was a great professor to learn Shakespeare from. :p

[Imralu]

Before I learned to produce initial /x/ (thanks, German!) I had /'hətspah/. Some time after that, I learned the stressed vowel was etymologically /uh/ and the final vowel is shwa (again, thank German, where the word is spelled Chuzpe) and adjusted my pronunciation accordingly.

In standard German, I can't think of a single word that starts with /x/ other than Chuzpe ... /x/ is basically only coda or medial.

[KathTheDragon]

There are a fair number of obvious loanwords beginning with <ch>, but other than that, there don't seem to be any native words. Which makes sense, since /x/ derives from Proto-Germanic *h, which became /h/ initially, or otherwise *k after a vowel, which clearly can't be initial.

[Travis B.]

What about some dialects of Alemannic, where initial /x/ can come from *k?

[KathTheDragon]

In standard German