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English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Do you, though?
Ray
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt - Bertrand Russell
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt - Bertrand Russell
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Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Could?
Plough?
Cough?
Clough?
or that spelling of fish, "ghoti"?
Gnome?
Gnomon?
Inglish is a bitch.
Last edited by Mike Sales on 8 Nov 2022, 4:00pm, edited 1 time in total.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
I don't think I know anyone Englsih that says Wednesday as more than 2 syllables - unless they're joking about.
Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Not joking at all.
Wednesday is pronounced wed-nes-day, or maybe wed-nz-day perhaps. Either way, it has three syllables.
We know a lady ........... and known her since the mid 1970s ............ and she pronounces breakfast as break-fast and not brek-fust.
Wednesday is pronounced wed-nes-day, or maybe wed-nz-day perhaps. Either way, it has three syllables.
We know a lady ........... and known her since the mid 1970s ............ and she pronounces breakfast as break-fast and not brek-fust.
Mick F. Cornwall
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Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Utter tosh. I strongly suggest you get a decent dictionary and look at the parts where, after the word, they indicate its enunciation. Uttering Wednesday the way you suggest would flag the speaker as either weird or someone for whom English wasn't their first language.
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Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
I have heard it pronounced wed-nz-day by native English speakers, but I’d say it’s a pretentious, or possibly outdated, pronunciation, unless it’s a localism.
A lot of these things come down to regional pronunciations, and even within those the differences between casual and polite speech, or urban and rural speech.
Secretary? In southeast England the most common pronunciation is probably something like sec-ret-ree, but a rural gardening club might have a sec-a-terry.
Edinburgh Morningside pronunciation probably sounds all four syllables.
A lot of these things come down to regional pronunciations, and even within those the differences between casual and polite speech, or urban and rural speech.
Secretary? In southeast England the most common pronunciation is probably something like sec-ret-ree, but a rural gardening club might have a sec-a-terry.
Edinburgh Morningside pronunciation probably sounds all four syllables.
Last edited by Nearholmer on 8 Nov 2022, 9:21pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Wednesday, again from the phonetics in my Chambers Dictionary -
wenz'di & wed'nz-di, I think I use both
wenz'di & wed'nz-di, I think I use both
Nu-Fogey
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Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
I see what you did there ...Nearholmer wrote: ↑8 Nov 2022, 9:05pmSecretary? In southeast England the most common pronunciation is probably something like sec-ret-ree, but a rural gardening club might have a sec-a-terry.
Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
I've heard it said that way. I think Wed-enz-day is more common than Wed-nes-day but I wouldn't say either is weird. I've heard it more in Scotland and the North, than from English-second-language speakers, who are usually taught in school to say Wenz-day.sizbut wrote: ↑8 Nov 2022, 5:54pm Utter tosh. I strongly suggest you get a decent dictionary and look at the parts where, after the word, they indicate its enunciation. Uttering Wednesday the way you suggest would flag the speaker as either weird or someone for whom English wasn't their first language.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Plurals?
Just been listening to R4 and the lady said "cannons".
When I was at skool, we learnt that some plurals were the same as the singulars ............ sheep, salmon, cannon ......... There must have been a few more. Examples please!
Some plurals are plural of plurals.
Grass for instance?
We have a garden of grass, and it's called grass, and even one bit of it is called a piece of grass ............ but if we had different ones, we would have grasses.
Could it be that "cannons" means a variety of different ones?
Ship's - generally - had cannon (plural), and not cannons.
Just been listening to R4 and the lady said "cannons".
When I was at skool, we learnt that some plurals were the same as the singulars ............ sheep, salmon, cannon ......... There must have been a few more. Examples please!
Some plurals are plural of plurals.
Grass for instance?
We have a garden of grass, and it's called grass, and even one bit of it is called a piece of grass ............ but if we had different ones, we would have grasses.
Could it be that "cannons" means a variety of different ones?
Ship's - generally - had cannon (plural), and not cannons.
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Cannon(s), either is correct according to my dictionary, e.g. cannon fire - the cannons fired.
Nu-Fogey