h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ah, so ore for are is a straight substitution?
Watching some of your recent exports, such as Dara O'Briain there seems to be some variation - but that could just be picking the pronunciation over here I guess.

Well a given individual's pronunciation varies all over the shop, with context and situation.

So. Who's writing the entry, then?

My opinion on how to pronounce any of the above examples is unlikely to be taken seriously when I reveal the fact that it wasn't until I'd watched Thunderbirds, in my early teens, (several times), that I realized that 'Penelope' isn't pronounced 'Penny-lope'.

Indeed.
Pleneleope is the correct way.

I heard of a woman who called her daughter Sigh-bon, because she read it in a book.

But then as Recumbentman has pointed out - here on the big island we pronounce [Kathleen] as Kate-Lynne

On telly the other day there was a woman called Vhari. That was odd, because if you wanted to call a girl that, and if you knew it had an h in it, you'd usually spell it Mhari. And then when she grew up and went to England people would alternate between Mary and Mu-hairy,

I must have been 15 before I pronounced envelope 'en-vello-pee'

I can't believe I used to say 'en-vel-lope'.

ah, the brief, embarrassing period when I thought Siobhan was pronounced Sea-oh-bahn.

Did a course with a Niamh once who put 'Neve' on her nametag cos 'it was easier than constantly correcting everyone'. That one I did know.

Then again, up until middle teens I call Peugeots Pee-oo-gee-ohs. Better than pee-u-gots I guess.

Although at work I am still trying to get the pronunciation of a colleagues name correct. She's from southern India and apparently the 'Vi-' is pronounced more like a 'Wi-' but not like a full on english 'W'.
Ho hum, fun with names.

When my wife first tried a coffee with milk drink (Lattee)
she pronounced it late (opposite of early).

and Broelin, what makes you think there is an article here?

Italians are always amused when English speakers ask for a latte. Because latte just means milk. The correct term is a caffè latte which means coffee with milk.

"Ore" for R is an interesting one - most of the Irish people I know in the south don't pronounce it as "ore", but nearly all of the newsreaders do.

If we're going for other mispronunciations, I have heard grown-ups on Radio 4 pronouncing the following words in a way which shows they've only seen them written down:

Harbinger
Indictment

(There are loads more examples but these are the most recent and I haven't made a note of the others.)

And the jury still seems to be out over "hommage".

Words in English which came from French a long time ago have generally acquired an English pronunciation, but some people still use the French pronunciation.

So valet can be val-utt or val-ay.
Hommage can be homm-idge or omm-azh
Garage can be garridge or garr-azh

But without exception, we all say Par-iss

And MI-lan?

Controversy is still contentious . I pronounce it both ways, though not in the same paragraph.

Polite request.

If you're discussing words mispronounced due to speakers only having seen them written down, please include the correct way to prounounce them. There's a word or two in this thread that I would appreciate knowin the right way to prounounce if I'm doing it wrong.

Seconded.*

Deb

* That's "se-con-did" not "se-CON-did" which is a whole other word.

Well, indictment is "in-DIGHT-ment". Harbinger is HAR-bin-jer.

And Milan is Mi-LAN.