I Broke Free Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I'm sure we don't pronounce the 't' in the UK- but I guess there are regional variations here to. It's 'offen' as far as I'm concerned I started hearing this only after I moved from California to New England, but I believe I have heard some British dialects on television do this too. Since New Englanders are famous for dropping their Rs, I guess they have decided to put them where they don’t belong. Normal pronunciation: With-drawal New England: With-draw-Ral Normal pronunciation: Draw-ing New England: Draw-Ring There are several other cases, but I can’t remember them right now. Have you heard this in the U.K? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul34 Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Maybe a UKer could explain why "schedule" gets pronounced as "shed-yule" but "school" still gets pronounced as "skool." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Here's one I just remembered concerning names: My last name is fairly common. In fact it is a word used in every day language and can be spelled by any second-grader (other than Ga., of course). It is spelled exactly like it sounds. One day I ordered a pizza. The guy on the other end of the phone asked for my last name. Me: L _______. Him: M________? Me: No. L_________. Him: D__________? Me: No. L________, with an L. Him: Oh, R______L. Me: (obviously irritated) You know what? Just put it under my first name. Him: What's your first name? Me: Roxanne Him: Fer reel? That reely yor fist name? Me: Yes. Him: I never heerd a' that name afor. Me: Do I need to spell it? Him: Naw, I can spell that un. I pick up my pizza and on the way home I notice the order slip attached to the box. He spelled my name: Rock Sand. I kid you not! Would have been funny if my last name was Flintstone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadedAtheist Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 I feel your pain. My first name is a common name, let's say it was John. This is how a situation about a year ago went down when I was trying to call a customer and had to go through reception: Me: Hi, this is John from X, may I speak with Y please? Receptionist: Sorry, what was your name again? Me: John, from X Receptionist: Mark was it? Me: No, it's John. J. O. H. N. Receptionist: Sorry, was it Jeremy? Me: No, it's John. I'll spell it phonetically: Juliet, Oscar, Hotel, November. Receptionist: Oh okay, Julian was it? Me:.....*sigh*...yeah, that'll do. Receptionist: *sounding annoyed at my reaction* okay, transferring you now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 This isn't related to words and phrases, but I had a similar situation this week. My bill at the grocery store came to 329 Thai Baht, so I gave the cashier a 1000b note and an additional 30b thinking I was making things easier on her. She gave me back 731 baht in change. I explained to her that she gave me too much, showed her the calculation on the receipt and returned the extra 30b she gave me. She looked at me like I was nuts and clearly had zero understanding of even this simplest of math calculations. I'm still flabbergasted that someone in their 20s can't do basic addition and subtraction; especially if they work as a cashier. Another time, I was in Central Park in NYC with a friend. I bought her some ice cream giving the vendor a $20 bill. The guy couldn't speak English and had no understanding of US money or how to make change. He let me go into his till and make change for myself. I was honest about it, but I have a feeling his till was a huge mess at the end of the day before his uncle fired him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Maybe a UKer could explain why "schedule" gets pronounced as "shed-yule" but "school" still gets pronounced as "skool." Or why they thought they 'sawer' a putty tat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Jaded: Makes me wonder if I'm speaking in "tongues" and they can't understand me. How hard is "John" to understand??? Vigile: Had that happen too. The computer was down in a fast food place. The cashier was using a pocket calculator. Worked pretty well, until she had to make change!! It was pitiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadedAtheist Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Jaded: Makes me wonder if I'm speaking in "tongues" and they can't understand me. How hard is "John" to understand??? Yeah, I certainly think that I must speak retardedly because of situations like these. Another example that gives my hypothesis credibility is this: I would say that 1/3 times that I ask for a "Large Coke" (those words exactly) at McDonalds (funnily enough it only occurs here!?) the cashier will reply with "Sorry, was that a large orange juice?". I feel like screaming sometimes because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 The two that get me are "for all intensive purposes" and "Shur-burt" It's fucking sherbet you fucking nitwit! It also grates on me when the English emphasize the "t" in the word fillet. The Russians do the same with ballet and buffet. The words are French, why not use them the way the French do? I also think we should use the local names for cities and countries. For instance, why do we call the city of Torino (where they held the 2006 Olympics) "Turin"? Or why do we call Moskva "Moscow"? Are Torino and Moskva really that hard to pronounce? No doubt I'm being a pedant. Funny you should mention cities, I live in Wytheville. Pronounced "With-ville." Of course you can tell the old timers from the out-of-towners. Old timers say "wuffle" and out-of-towners say "Ytheville." We have a town nearby spelled Fries, yet its pronounced Freeze. But then I do also live near Hogback road which is Rte. 666, if that tells you anything about the area. Yeah, I've seen some weird ones down here. Pickle Simon Rd., Dead Possum Run, And here's one I see a lot: Leather Stocking Rd. Reminds me of some sort of bondage attire! Town names: Poulan: Poland Hoschton: Hooshton (rhymes with push-ton) Omega: ah-MEE-ga Alapaha: ah LAP aha (actually this is the correct pronunciation, it's others that butcher it. Did any of you see that documentary about Hogzilla? This took place in Alapaha. The announcer called it Alfalfa. Marietta, Ga.: MAY-retta, sometimes MAY-retter Villa Rica: Villa ricker Doerun: door-un Vidalia, Ga. You know, where the Vidalia onions come from? It is pronounced: vi (long i) DA ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Jaded: Makes me wonder if I'm speaking in "tongues" and they can't understand me. How hard is "John" to understand??? Yeah, I certainly think that I must speak retardedly because of situations like these. Another example that gives my hypothesis credibility is this: I would say that 1/3 times that I ask for a "Large Coke" (those words exactly) at McDonalds (funnily enough it only occurs here!?) the cashier will reply with "Sorry, was that a large orange juice?". I feel like screaming sometimes because of it. Down here every carbonated beverage is referred to as a coke. I swear if you order a coke they will ask you what flavor, even orange. Wonder if that cashier is from down here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Speaking of ordering a coke, here's a story for you. Down here people either draw out a one-syllable word into three, like the name Mike, becomes: Miiiiiiike, or there are words that are cut short, which brings me to this story. You must understand that what I "heard" and what was "said" were two different conversations. I was at a fast food drive-thru. I ordered a salad and a diet coke. You know how the voice coming over the speaker is sometimes garbled? Well combine that with a southern accent. Me: I'd like a xxxxx salad and a diet coke. Him: Ma'am what kind of dren?. Me: (thinking he had said drink) Diet Coke. Him: Yes Ma'am, but what kind of dren? Me: Diet Coke. Him: Ma'am, you ordered a salad. What kind of dren? Me: (ready to pull him though the intercom and slap him up side the head, and had there not been cars in front of me I would have pulled around to the window so he could read my lips) I leaned out of my car window and got as close to the speaker as possible and screamed, "DIET COKE!" Him: Ma'am (just as patient and polite as possible) Do you really want me to pour diet coke on you salad? Me: Finally understanding that he was asking me what dressing I wanted. I was laughing so hard I could barely spit out, "no" much less, "ranch". But I live down here. You'd think we could understand each other! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 That's funny. Thank you Roxie. I needed that laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadedAtheist Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Down here every carbonated beverage is referred to as a coke. I swear if you order a coke they will ask you what flavor, even orange. Wonder if that cashier is from down here? haha, it's actually more than one cashier at more than one location, but same franchise. My avatar is basically my reaction now whenever I get asked the question Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Down here every carbonated beverage is referred to as a coke. I swear if you order a coke they will ask you what flavor, even orange. Wonder if that cashier is from down here? haha, it's actually more than one cashier at more than one location, but same franchise. My avatar is basically my reaction now whenever I get asked the question Exactly!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 That's funny. Thank you Roxie. I needed that laugh. You're welcome. This is pretty much an everyday thing 'roun these here parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 haunt/haunted - hain't, hain'ted booger - not what you might think. Booger around here refers to a dark, evil entity that gobbles up children. ghosts - ghost-ez texts - text-ez texted - text-dead bleached - bleach-dead asked - ax-dead Referring to the age of an animal. They are always 2 year old or 16 year old. They fail or refuse to make the word "year" plural. Drive me nuts! boil/boiled - bull or bulled peanuts - pay nuts you all or ya'll - yaw (the "L" is seldom pronounced) non and none - Apparently people down here don't know the difference. I have seen 2 signs in the same town; one reading "Non Such Biscuts" and another reading "None-Stop Cafe" shrimp - Always, always shrimps, even if it's just one. 2 or more are shrimps-ez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ireckinso Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 haunt/haunted - hain't, hain'ted booger - not what you might think. Booger around here refers to a dark, evil entity that gobbles up children. ghosts - ghost-ez texts - text-ez texted - text-dead bleached - bleach-dead asked - ax-dead Referring to the age of an animal. They are always 2 year old or 16 year old. They fail or refuse to make the word "year" plural. Drive me nuts! boil/boiled - bull or bulled peanuts - pay nuts you all or ya'll - yaw (the "L" is seldom pronounced) non and none - Apparently people down here don't know the difference. I have seen 2 signs in the same town; one reading "Non Such Biscuts" and another reading "None-Stop Cafe" shrimp - Always, always shrimps, even if it's just one. 2 or more are shrimps-ez. Yeah we get the plural thing a lot here. People around here seem to not realize the words are already plural. Deer-z text-ez Gravel-z that one drives me crazy. fish-ez children-z or they won't use the plural word such as mouse-ez instead of mice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Jaded: Makes me wonder if I'm speaking in "tongues" and they can't understand me. How hard is "John" to understand??? Yeah, I certainly think that I must speak retardedly because of situations like these. Another example that gives my hypothesis credibility is this: I would say that 1/3 times that I ask for a "Large Coke" (those words exactly) at McDonalds (funnily enough it only occurs here!?) the cashier will reply with "Sorry, was that a large orange juice?". I feel like screaming sometimes because of it. Down here every carbonated beverage is referred to as a coke. I swear if you order a coke they will ask you what flavor, even orange. Wonder if that cashier is from down here? At the risk of being called "Cliff Claven," there's actually a legal principal regarding this issue in the US. The best way I know how to describe it is through example. The brand Xerox has become so intertwined with copiers as jargon it lost some of its its copyright protection. I'm pretty sure the word coke is not longer exclusive either for the same reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Speaking of ordering a coke, here's a story for you. Down here people either draw out a one-syllable word into three, like the name Mike, becomes: Miiiiiiike, or there are words that are cut short, which brings me to this story. You must understand that what I "heard" and what was "said" were two different conversations. I was at a fast food drive-thru. I ordered a salad and a diet coke. You know how the voice coming over the speaker is sometimes garbled? Well combine that with a southern accent. Me: I'd like a xxxxx salad and a diet coke. Him: Ma'am what kind of dren?. Me: (thinking he had said drink) Diet Coke. Him: Yes Ma'am, but what kind of dren? Me: Diet Coke. Him: Ma'am, you ordered a salad. What kind of dren? Me: (ready to pull him though the intercom and slap him up side the head, and had there not been cars in front of me I would have pulled around to the window so he could read my lips) I leaned out of my car window and got as close to the speaker as possible and screamed, "DIET COKE!" Him: Ma'am (just as patient and polite as possible) Do you really want me to pour diet coke on you salad? Me: Finally understanding that he was asking me what dressing I wanted. I was laughing so hard I could barely spit out, "no" much less, "ranch". But I live down here. You'd think we could understand each other! That reminds me of an old story. Years ago I had a friend who liked to mess with people. At the drive thru his order went like this: Friend: two burgers, three fries and some hbghlewklweee... Clerk: can you repeat your order? Friend: three fries, ghlewiueriue, and two burgers... And, repeat... He also used to do the start and stop at 4-way stops. [no, no, you go ahead *he nodded* oops!, I thought you weren't going to go. Go ahead... ooops!] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Broke Free Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 [ At the risk of being called "Cliff Claven," there's actually a legal principal regarding this issue in the US. The best way I know how to describe it is through example. The brand Xerox has become so intertwined with copiers as jargon it lost some of its its copyright protection. I'm pretty sure the word coke is not longer exclusive either for the same reason. Yes, I remember reading about this in my Business Law class. The same thing applies to "Band Aid" for adhesive bandage and "Kleenex" for tissue. There were a few more but I can't remember. I suppose that would apply to "Hoover" in the U.K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Okay, you know that a five pointed star is a pentagram. Is has been used by the (gasp) chrisitans at one time to represent the five wounds of Christ. In paganism it represents the four elements: earth, air, fire and water, with the fifth point representing spirit. It is also used by pagans as protection. I had this wind chime (would that be plural?) in the shape of a pentagram, hanging under my carport. One day some guy comes over to my house to talk to my husband. As they are standing around talking, the guy sees my wind chime. Him: Oh! I know what that is. That's a pentacostal! Husband: No, that's a pentagram. Him: Oh, yeah. That's one of them thar devil worshiping things. Husband: No, it's actually for protection. Him: Yep, I heerd 'bout those pentacostals. Husband: (roll eyes and shake head and changes the subject) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agnosticator Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Referring to the age of an animal. They are always 2 year old or 16 year old. They fail or refuse to make the word "year" plural. Drive me nuts! Your comment reminds me of a friend's Granny (in Tennessee)who argued with her (my friend) about majoring in Radiology. Granny insisted it was pronounced "Radio-ology. WTF? She studies radios? After getting Webster's dictionary as proof, Granny dismissed it with: "That's not right, 'cause some damn Yankee wrote that!" My friend couldn't stop laughing for days! If it ain't in the Wholly Bahbble, it ain't worth it's weight in pigshit! Who needs book learnin' when them damn Yankees wrote all them thar books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agnosticator Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Him: Oh! I know what that is. That's a pentacostal! Husband: No, that's a pentagram. Him: Oh, yeah. That's one of them thar devil worshiping things. Them Pentacostals done worshipped the Debil hisself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Him: Oh! I know what that is. That's a pentacostal! Husband: No, that's a pentagram. Him: Oh, yeah. That's one of them thar devil worshiping things. Them Pentacostals done worshipped the Debil hisself! LOL! Too funny! I have a brother-in-law that was worried that his pregnant wife might have postmortem depression after the baby was born! (Not unless the baby dies, you moron! - He meant postpartum) He also asked me if I had tracheotomy disease, while I was pregnant.. (Huh?) Finally figured out he was asking about toxemia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Referring to the age of an animal. They are always 2 year old or 16 year old. They fail or refuse to make the word "year" plural. Drive me nuts! Your comment reminds me of a friend's Granny (in Tennessee)who argued with her (my friend) about majoring in Radiology. Granny insisted it was pronounced "Radio-ology. WTF? She studies radios? After getting Webster's dictionary as proof, Granny dismissed it with: "That's not right, 'cause some damn Yankee wrote that!" My friend couldn't stop laughing for days! If it ain't in the Wholly Bahbble, it ain't worth it's weight in pigshit! Who needs book learnin' when them damn Yankees wrote all them thar books! Yep, "damn Yankee" is a term used frequently down here. In fact there is a phrase used by adults with small children, referring to a Yankee dime (which is a kiss). Can't figure that one out. We refer to a kiss as sugar, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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