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Pedants' corner

Pronunciation

(66 Posts)
SueDonim Sun 05-May-24 13:33:27

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.

Mizuna Sun 05-May-24 13:26:08

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! 😄

RosiesMaw Sun 05-May-24 13:12:46

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 Sun 05-May-24 12:57:56

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

Freya5 Sun 05-May-24 12:49:02

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

RosiesMaw Sun 05-May-24 12:44:16

NotSpaghetti

Sorry, haven't ever heard "tuemeric".

This morning Radio 4!

Aveline Sun 05-May-24 12:43:07

How about scallops pronounced scallops?

mabon1 Sun 05-May-24 12:41:39

Many people pronounce Tesday as Chewsday.

sodapop Sun 05-May-24 12:35:40

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

NotSpaghetti Sun 05-May-24 11:39:13

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.

Primrose53 Sun 05-May-24 11:27:51

What about Quinoa?

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

crazyH Sun 05-May-24 11:27:46

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

BlueBelle Sun 05-May-24 11:20:54

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

NotSpaghetti Sun 05-May-24 11:18:43

Sorry, haven't ever heard "tuemeric".

annodomini Sun 05-May-24 11:17:46

or even 'chewmeric'!

RosiesMaw Sun 05-May-24 11:07:18

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