Monday, March 02, 2009

I pronounce thee

Haven’t had a good CiF rant for what seems like ages:

Maybe I shouldn't have been listening to Woman's Hour in the first place, and then it wouldn't have happened. But that's what I did, and that's how I came to hear presenter Sheila McClennon describe something or someone as "mis-CHIEV-yous"...

More holding-back-the-barbarian-hordes stuff here.

PS: And while we’re being pedantic, this is funny. (Thanks to HH.)

15 comments:

garfer said...

Are you secretly Beryl Bainbridge? She's always getting her knickers in a twist about this sort of thing.

She calms herself down with a ciggie and a nice plate of egg and chips. I suggest you do likewise.

Rog said...

i'm wiv you on comment is for free Tim.

wv becoss

Anonymous said...

I must say I mind that sort of thing too but mind less and less people who don't.

Geoff said...

I love that Graham Parsons album, Grievious Angel.

Tim F said...

Garfer: I’m not BB, I’m her posh, sexy, ginger daughter who was in Grange Hill.

Fanks, Rog.

It’s like people eating KFC opposite me on the bus, Pleite. Can usually pretend it’s not happening, but every now and then...

Geoff: Didn’t he used to be in the Frying Bonito Brothers?

Vicus Scurra said...

I think she said it intentionally, and was just being impyish.

Christopher said...

It's just a Scoticism, like 'pattren' for Eng. pattern or 'thegither' for together or 'swally' for bevvy. Hoots, mon.

Dick Headley said...

And don't get me started on BBC pronunciation. Is it my imagination or is 'no' starting to sound like 'nay'?

Billy said...

What about people making three syllables out of nuclear?

Anonymous said...

Billy, there has been spelling reform to align words to their altered pronunciation. That word is now spelt 'nukular'.

patroclus said...

It never occurred to me that it might be a Scottishism. Maybe that's why I was confused about it. I thought 'outwith' was a perfectly good English word until I used it in a press release once and was told to remove it because there was no such word.

rockmother said...

I get the same feeling when people say 'tissues' over-pronouncing the S instead of a 'sh'. I have to run out of the room and block my ears in a silent scream.

crazyrivergirl said...

Aluminum...grrr. And I've always had problems with the word statue: statchew? Statyou?

rockmother said...

Licorish or licorisss? Agh - another horrible sss pronunciation.

Tim F said...

It may well be a Scotticism: McClennon is a Scouser, althugh her surname suggests lineage from further north. On the other hand, I went to school in Hampshire, and I remember kids saying mis-CHIEV-i-ous there.

The 'tis-yoo' thing is interesting. 50 years ago that would have been the norm, but now I suspect only Brian Sewell says it. In a few years' time, shed-yool will surely sound as quaint and affected. But liquorice is surely spelled thus (in UK English at least) and pronounced LICK-o-rish, isn't it?

Jesus, I'm turning into Simon Heffer. I'll be complaining about Blue Peter presenters not wearing ties next.