The Strength Question.

[Colmc54]

For over 50 years living in the UK I have been pronouncing strength as 'strenth'. Recently on BBC 4 I have heard the Open University people saying strength with a hard 'g' between the 'stren' and the 'th'.

Have I been guilty of mispronunciation all these years?

[Mamyalynne]

I used to get my knuckles rapped for pronouncing the first 'g' in Mortgage.

[Mamyalynne]

and the 't' oops

I would say mort gage

[naomi24]

How can you pronounce 'mortgage' without the first 'g'?

[mikey4444]

I don't think I have ever heard mortgage pronounced mort-gage. I have always said more-gage.

[Colmc54]

Very good Mikey4444. Serious contender for best answer.

Margot Asquith correcting Jean Harlow's mispronunciation of her Christian name, 'No the 't' is silent as in Harlow'!

[jomifl]

Thanks for that colm, I didn't get the joke when first heard it 50 years ago:o)

[Tilly2]

hwy, are you being sarky, colm?

[Colmc54]

Tilly2
No, honestly I hadn't heard the joke before and it made me laugh.

[Tilly2]

What joke?

[Colmc54]

The p in bath is silent.
p meaning as it sounds- pee! I wouldn't test it out in the bath to check if a pee is silent, but at least have a shower afterwards!

[ToraToraTora]

She was basically calling Jean Harlow a Harlot

[Colmc54]

And she was famously using the eccentricities of the English language to deliver the blow!

[Peter Pedant]

BC is right as ever - how does he do those crazy letters ?

BBC RP /strength/ has an ng as in singing - but you dont sound the first g in singing do you ?

One of my father's frenz was Banger - and his wife insisted on stressing the rhyme with manger. No one else did.

[jno]

as in Pret a Manger?

[Peter Pedant]

was it Margot Asquith who said to Bertrand Russell
Oh Mr Russell your ideas just arent logical !

and mortgage without the first g rhymes with porridge dunnit ?

[Peter Pedant]

bhg - the r in law as in lor n order.

Have you noticed this far eastern God called Aller ?

as in Aller rand the Prophet. I shouldnt but I do hoot with laughter but I know its disrespectful and not particularly to Aller reither.

[ferlew]

Same as Pixie here.

[Colmc54]

Should we blame the Norman conquest when two languages, Anglosaxon and French were forced into a forced marriage. Perhaps the degree to which they merged varied from one part of 'Greater Brittany' (sound familiar?) to another explains how our various local dialects and accents began.

So what now for English following an invasion that makes Willie the Conk and his pals seem like a small party of tourists in comparison.

[THECORBYLOON]

I pronounce finger to rhyme with singer rather than as fing-ger with a hard g.

[bundleone]

Let the g be silent as in 'night'