Pronunciation guide

[annaj]

My family is quite churchie and they've always said di-o-sees I think.

[KalamityKel]

::o ur family "is"?

[david_carnell]

The International Phonetic Alpahbet - geek time!

Not sure whether the forum will even recognise some of the characters if you try and copy them across so we might have to make do with doh-ray-me for now

[Izodia]

Blimey! Now I'm even more lost but then I can't listen to the sound files at work so it's just tables of squiggles.

I think whether it's "my family is" or "my family are" depends on the context i.e. are you talking about your family as one big mass or a collection of people.

[david_carnell]

I did English Language A-Level, including linguistics, and this stuff still confuses the hell out of me!

ʢɧʤǂ...eh?

Heh...this ɬ is apparently the "unvoiced alveolar lateral fricative"!! That's the silent LL in Welsh. Who writes this gumph?

[Brendan]

I have a degree in English and I have to say I have no idea what those little squares mean.

Fuckit I can?t hardly spell.

[Keef]

I'll ask Mrs Keef (MA English), but suspect that No one alive actually knows!

[Jah Lush]

Those little squares you talk of Brendan are written by little squares. Somebody's got to do it.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Annaj has an archbishop in her family so she should know. But, having worked in the dear old CofE for the last 11 years, I can confirm that current pronunciation is dio-sis.

[Brendan]

The last time I went to church it was pronounced dio-sees

That was a catholic church in Seffrika though.

[Ant]

Perhaps it's one dio-sis and two dio-sees?

[annaj]

Hmmm sleep deprived and suggestible I'm doubting my dio-sees now. PGC is bound to be more up to date and I also think Ant might be right.

After careful consideration however, I'm standing by my is". I am referring to my family as a unit so it's singular. If I'd said my relatives or the members of my family that would be different.

A local one now, De'Crespigny Park anyone? I'm going for a silent "pig" as it were and d-cres-nee.

[wee quinnie]

annaj Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> A local one now, De'Crespigny Park anyone? I'm

> going for a silent "pig" as it were and

> d-cres-nee.

Oh, I always think of it as De Cress-peen-ye. But that's just me.

[Ant]

Nope, me too wee quinnie.

[mlteenie]

The 'family is' 'family are' one really gets my goat, but then again I lsten to R4 too much... it's a side effect. I DO need to get out more.

I DIDN'T do english at uni or anything, but surely it is something to do with subject and object in the sentence? 'My family' is a single object, like 'the government' which similarly contains many people although is referred to singly. It really drives me mental when I hear 'a large flock of pigeons were...', when it ought to be 'a large flock was...'.

Anyway, these days I deliberately refer to 'sliver' when I mean 'slither' and vice versa. Drives the partner mad and can be quite challenging knowing which one you mean. I do this because of the number of numpties who don't know the difference. Ainsley Harriett, stand up!

[mlteenie]

Warming to the subject now!!

I once read a fantastically pedantic book which contained a list of 20 of the most commonly mispronounced words in common english usage. The list was called Stevenson's Twenty or something and may be somewhat archaic, but some words I remember were 'dirigible', 'maraschino', 'schism', and er... can't remember any more.

Anyway, you get the idea.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Annaj, I completely agree with you on your use of 'is'.

Sticking with local, A-dys Road, not Addies; and Ond-een Road, not On-dyne - that simply has to be French!

[lozzyloz]

Then there's 'Under'ill Road', 'Bazzzano Street' and 'Hill-brow Road'.

[????]

W*a*n*k*e*r is a word owned by the South whereas B*a*s*t*a*r*d only sounds right from a northener

[mockney piers]

I seem to recall there had been some confusion in the early days of aluminium's discovery, and so here's the whole sorry aluminium/um saga

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm

[jollybaby]

What really gets me is when people say less when they should be using fewer as in 'Let's go to that bar there are fewer wankers/bastards/c**ts in there!'

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Well if we're branching out, I hate it when people say 'firstly' when they mean 'first' - Paxman on University Challenge is the worst offender.

[wee quinnie]

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Annaj, I completely agree with you on your use of

> 'is'.

>

> Sticking with local, A-dys Road, not Addies; and

> Ond-een Road, not On-dyne - that simply has to be

> French!

Yes - I think it is ond-een. (Spirit of the water)

[KalamityKel]

The use of "basically" Should it be BASE-ick-ally, bas-ik-ally, basic-ally or just not used at all

(personally can't stand the word and avoid using it where ever possible)

[Guest]

As a fairly posh English female myself, I gave several free demonstrations of the C-word between Townley Road and Goose Green as as I cycled down Lordship Lane this morning; also F@*&wit, B%?"tard and W?$ker. I love Dulwich, but why so many appalling drivers?