I'm from the south of the country and say the above word with the "qu" pronounced as in the word "queen." i.e. "TURKWOISE" However, my girlfriend from up north swears blind you don't pronounce the "qu" sound, and the word is correctly pronounced "TURKOISE." I know it's not important, but we both think we're right! Any opinions?
Well, I'm from The Mighty North and have taken time out from walking a whippet to tell you that I have only ever heard it pronounced as you do. Where the bejesus is your girlfriend from??
She's from Durham. They're all a bit strange up there. There's something called 'First Footing' where you take round a piece of coal(?) to a neighbour's house on New Years Eve. They also produce 'Paste Eggs'(??) at Easter, which involves staining hard boiled eggs with vinegar. They also love something called 'Dip' which involves soaking a piece of bread in gravy, etc, etc... All a bit disturbing, to be honest.