pronounciation of common words

I do think that TV presenters and anchors should speak without distinctive regional accents. The same for quiz & game show presenters.

Escalate. Not esculate!

Hidge Yes that annoys me too.

I meet many foreign students in my work and have realised I am not consistent in my pronunciation. I say Alicia (not Aleesha) instead of the Spanish Alithia but I keep Hosey rather than Josey as I detest the way English footballers say Josey (Jose) Merinho (not sure about the spelling of that)

Latte for me. Double shot please

'a' as in apple not 'a' as in article

Latte or larrte?

Is it only me who has noticed that the letter 'T' seems to have disappeared from the English language. There are so many people (even presenters) who speak words and leave the letter T out of it. It drives me mad. Perhaps I should say i drives me mad !!!

But why should we be picky about the pronunciation of Ibiza? We are British and we say Eye-bee-tha, rather than adopting the Spanish (or local) pronunciation. People don't generally pronounce Paris 'Paree', although we all know that is the French pronunciation. Nor do we say Firenze or Roma or Lisboa or München.

I don't like H being pronounced as Haitch - but so many people do say it that way.

I am amazed, that nobody has mentioned controversy which is my pet hate when pronounced contraversy. My other half and I both shout at the radio or TV. Just to be very pedantic, I think it should be lazy speech rather than a lazy way of talking.

I think the haitch thing may have evolved over the 'phone. Just to distinguish it from 'a' maybe ? Not needed in face to face spelling though

When I was young I never heard h pronounced hatch. Why now ? I hate it .

Although i too am pernickity about pronunciation I always try to remember that each generation makes its own rules . My grandmother spoke in quite a different way. Shakespeare our greatest magician with words would have pronounced and spelled words completely differently from the way we do today. So onwards through the centuries.! Our wonderful language can stand development and often the richer for it. Imagine what Shakespeare would have done with the amazing new computer and texting speak. Much of it so vital and descriptive. Breaking down the class barriers of U and non U which once haunted us.

@Cosafina - The word was originally SUB-sidence - I remember the BBC defending their use of sub-SIGH-dence to prevent confusion with subsidies.

OK - 'decorous' - almost universally mispronounced now as 'DEC-orous' instead of 'de-CORous' - as though its root was involved with painting and paper-hanging, rather than with decorum...

My other one is Eye-bee-tha (Ibiza): it should be Eee-bee-tha, unless you want to pronounce it the way the locals do, then it's Ey-vee-sa (where Ey is Hey without the H)

My DH comes from Islindn that's Islington to you and me !

I used to go out with a guy from Camden, and it always irritated me that he called it Candem!
I hate tiss-you, haitch and seckertary, but am also riled by subsidence being pronounced sub-sid-ence instead of sub-sigh-dence - the building subsides, it doesn't receive a subsidy!!

I'd defend local accents to the hilt but as a former reading & spelling tutor I know it makes learning to read and spell more difficult when the local pronunciation of a word is very different from its original pronunciation (on which its spelling is based)

Personally I can't bear it when my DP insists on calling a garage a 'garridge'.

And all the local children round here say 'drownded' and 'filum' (film)

It always annoys me when I hear the weather forecasters on TV say it is going to be 'clardy' tomorrow instead of cloudy.

Oh......and Wimpletin!!

I live in Australia so I have become very tolerant!!!

I think tissues can be pronounced either way. Species is usually pronounced 'speeshees' in this country, but in the US both versions are used.

My pet hate (well, one of the many!) is secerterry instead of secretary. Jingle, my lovely mum (Yorkshire born) always said 'thee-etter and my grandma (a London cockney) pronounced it 'thee-ay-ter. I wonder if it is a regional thing?

I think Attenborough is wrong, Bellanonna. It should be speeshees.

Pronunciation was much more accurate when people couldn't read

I sometimes pronounce words wrongly, and get laughed at by DDs. I say 'duvet' with a 'you' sound instead of the 'oo'. And apparently there is something wrong with the way I say 'theatre'. I stress an 'et' sound. Totally wrong. Apparently. [yawn]

And I can't keep up with the 'zebra' or 'zeebra'. It seems to change periodically.