Why do brits say "aluminium" instead of...

[London Geezer]

And for God's sake, what's with Word and the autocorrect of "Cheque" to "check". It is SO friggin annoying.

A cheque is that thing u write an amount on and sign to pay someone, check is a verb. Different things.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Kind of like a masque and a mask? :|

 

[Frank]

I wrote an editorial a few years ago (can't remember what it was used for), in which I claimed that people nowadays only think something is correct when Word says so, no matter what a dictionary or whatever has to say about it.

And yes, in Dutch there are quite some annoyingly incorrect "corrections" as well, most of which are now proclaimed to be the right way by almost everyone.

I never use a spelling checker, mostly because of that. It annoys me. Sorry if I make the occasional error! But almost everyone feels the need to do so, in my experience.

 

[Gerry]

Chiner, for example, is the one that irritates me the most when listening to BBC news.

Bah humbug. I call your Chiner, and raise you an "eye-raq".

 

[London Geezer]

*CRINGE*


Call your Eye-raq, raise a Mah-slim.

 

[RussSchultz]

Its usually 'eh-rock' on the tele. Though I know people who say it "eye-rack"

 

[digitalwanderer]

"Nukaler" is the one that really raises my hackles lately.

 

[London Geezer]

"Nukaler" is the one that really raises my hackles lately.

What is THAT?!

 

[digitalwanderer]

"Nukaler" is the one that really raises my hackles lately.

What is THAT?!

How Emperor George mangles the word "nuclear".

 

[RussSchultz]

To be fair, he says "new-queue-lar", not "new-k-lar'

Jimmy Carter did the same thing. I think its a southern thing.

 

[London Geezer]

To be fair, he says "new-queue-lar", not "new-k-lar'

Jimmy Carter did the same thing. I think its a southern thing.

I never knew!!! I've got to find a clip somewhere....

 

[Mariner]

I can actually remember almost everyone saying Nuclear in the same way as Georgie-boy back when I was a kid. Perhaps it was just because we were kids!

Another thing that gets my goat is the way in which 'disrespect' seems to have become widely used as a verb in recent years. It might actually be a correct usage for all I know but it still sounds wrong to me. I always prefer to show disrespect to someone myself.

Russ, I can't quite think what you mean when you say we English mispronounce 'China'. I can only think of one way to say it and can't think of an alternative pronunciation!

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Russ, I can't quite think what you mean when you say we English mispronounce 'China'. I can only think of one way to say it and can't think of an alternative pronunciation!

Yes, I've never heard "Chiner" from anyone round here - it's always "Chine-a".

 

[RussSchultz]

Russ, I can't quite think what you mean when you say we English mispronounce 'China'. I can only think of one way to say it and can't think of an alternative pronunciation!

Your BBC radio news people regularly refer to it as "Chiner". Perhaps its not super distinct, but there is an 'r' sound at the end. I've heard it from quite a number of Brits, actually.

 

[Mariner]

Can't say I've noticed that at all.

I'll keep an ear open for it!

 

[sytaylor]

And for God's sake, what's with Word and the autocorrect of "Cheque" to "check". It is SO friggin annoying.

A cheque is that thing u write an amount on and sign to pay someone, check is a verb. Different things.

seconded, thirded and fourthed! I hate those dman red wavy under lines!

 

[sytaylor]

Russ, I can't quite think what you mean when you say we English mispronounce 'China'. I can only think of one way to say it and can't think of an alternative pronunciation!

Your BBC radio news people regularly refer to it as "Chiner". Perhaps its not super distinct, but there is an 'r' sound at the end. I've heard it from quite a number of Brits, actually.

Yeah we think we're saying "china", but its "chy-nuh" which sounds like it has an "r" on the end.

 

[nutball]

Ah the famous gutteral stop.

China will be pronounced differently depending on your regional accent. I'm a Chiner meself, where I grew up it was Choy-nerr, where I live now it's Choy-no'h. In Liverpool it'd be Chin-nehh. In the mid-North it's Chah-nah.

 

[Mariner]

In the mid-North it's Chah-nah.

E by gum - tha's reet (as my brother-in-law might say).

 

[sytaylor]

In the mid-North it's Chah-nah.

E by gum - tha's reet (as my brother-in-law might say).

at'eh reet sitheh? Chah-nah is more manchester than yorkshire, but I kinda say stuff like that by accident. My accent is hard to place because my mum is from hebbden bridge which is right on the borderline between yorkshire and evil lancishire.