Pronunciation

or even 'chewmeric'!

Sorry, haven't ever heard "tuemeric".

I say ter mar ik but I ve definitly heard too mer ik

Well done RosiesMaw - I’m so often tempted to correct them, but I don’t 😂

What about Quinoa?

My friend insists it’s pronounced Kenya but I think it’s keenwah.

Quinoa is from Peru. In Spanish the pronunciation is Key-No-Uh. But in Peru there are a lot of people who speak Quechua who pronounce it Keen-Wa.

Just found this:

The word came into Spanish from Quechuan, so "keen-o-uh" appears to have resulted from a close-enough-for-government-work transcription.

In Mexico, the correct pronunciation of México is MEH-hee-co (más o menos). In the US, the correct pronunciation of Mexico is MECKS-ih-co (más o menos). In Mexico I have heard only kee-NOH-wah, and in the US only KEEN-wah. I propose that each is correct in context.

One of my pet hates too RosiesMaw John Torode pronounces it like that on Masterchef, he should know better.

Many people pronounce Tesday as Chewsday.

How about scallops pronounced scallops?

NotSpaghetti

Sorry, haven't ever heard "tuemeric".

This morning Radio 4!

Expresso, instead of Espresso. It's a drink, not a train.

Because we’re all human beings with our individual nuances, not AI clones, yet.

Jaxjacky

Because we’re all human beings with our individual nuances, not AI clones, yet.

So do individual nuances mean words can be pronounced any way we fancy?
How about spelling?
Meaning?

Jaxjacky

Because we’re all human beings with our individual nuances, not AI clones, yet.

Yes but we're human pedants so it bothers us! 😄

My MIL was raised by an ayah in India from the age of six weeks and she pronounced turmeric as ‘tumeric’. I think that’s as genuine a pronunciation as any! She said it was considered back then (1920/30’s) as a low-class ingredient, only to be used if you couldn’t afford other spices.

Basically, I believe we all pronounce words as we first heard them or were taught them.

I certainly talk of tuemeric, not turmeric, as that is what everyone I have ever known who uses the spice, calls it.

I also say tomato with a long, dark a, not tomayto, and like most Scots can hear and say a difference between which and witch, which I believe other native speakers of English cannot.

How we actually say words is as much subject to regional variations as grammar is.

Then there's 'scones'

My late father in law always called saute potatoes sortie potatoes, I did mutter once after he'd said it several times, "potatoes still looking for the way out then" but he just gave me a blank stare, so I shut up after that!

RosiesMaw

Why do some people refer to Turmeric as “tuemeric” ?
Burn, turn, spurn, murmur……

Because I thought that was how it was spelt! Didnt realise it had two rs.
I just asked my DH how he pronounces it. He said "timeric"!

Aveline

How about scallops pronounced scallops?

Scallops pronounced scallops - how is that?

Yes. Just checked and my phone changed what I wrote which was scollops. I don't know why some people pronounce scallops as scollops!

SueDonim

My MIL was raised by an ayah in India from the age of six weeks and she pronounced turmeric as ‘tumeric’. I think that’s as genuine a pronunciation as any! She said it was considered back then (1920/30’s) as a low-class ingredient, only to be used if you couldn’t afford other spices.

Oh my goodness, I have just realised I call it tumeric! I always thought the DD were pronouncing it incorrectly as turmeric but, being a kind Mum, never corrected them.

Aveline

Yes. Just checked and my phone changed what I wrote which was scollops. I don't know why some people pronounce scallops as scollops!

Oh no!

And I say scollops.
But never order them so that's ok.

😯