Heard on TV

[keyholekatebaron]

Often people say the word diretics when surely the proper word should be di-u-retics. Why do people especially on the shopping channels say jewlerry when the word is jewellery? Whilst I'm on my soap box----Why do people say barth and parth when it is bath and path no 'r' in there?
I am fascinated how accents change in this country when travelling only a few miles.Any thoughts anyone?
Kate B.

[conewood]

@bednobs. But calling out "A Hambag" would just not have worked in The Importance of being Ernest"

[DTCwordfan]

And don't get me going about split infinitives....

[plautus]

I agree. Clearly enuciating every single word in everyday speech sounds laboured and unnatural. This is common to all languages with which I am familiar. You will rarely hear a Frenchman pronounce 'quatre' correctly in a sentence; more often than not it comes out "quat' ".

[conewood]

@plautus. More so in French where dropping/pronouncing letters in order to make the sentence flow is fundamental to the language, whereas in English it is more to do with regional variation.

[vallaw]

Rysling for riesling
tewmeric for turmeric

[factor-fiction]

I haven't heard this on TV but when I worked in London some of my colleagues nipped out for a "sangwidge" at lunch? Has anyone else heard this?

[vallaw]

brooshetta for bruschetta

[bednobs]

i can't see whats wrong with those pronunciations of turmeric, reisling and bruschetta

[Bert]

For bednobs, turmeric is pronounced term-er-ik, bruschetta is an Italian word and should be pronounced broo-skett-a. Riesling is spelt like that, not reisling, and so should be pronounced ree-sling.
But we are too late with abseiling - it has absolutely nothing to do with sailing, and 'should' be pronounced ab-sile-ing. But, as I said, it's too late.

[boxtops]

I used to work with a woman who persisted in saying that I was her sekkertry.

[jno]

how are we pronouncing dachshund, then? Jacuzzi?

[Bert]

According to my dictionary, we are pronouncing dachshund more or less as the Germans do, certainly not as dash-hund. But Jacuzzi is one where the language police are too late.
There is still hope for chorizo (Spanish, not Italian), and machismo, (also Spanish, not Italian).