Pronunciation watch

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I know how a Hispanophone would say it, but as long as I can remember it's been George Bollette on the radio! I assumed that was what he used for international consumption.

The Bollette bit is quite correct. It was the King George bit that shocked me. But, as you say, it could well be that having moved from Cuba to the USA, he may have bent the Spanish pronunciation rules himself. But the insults to the beautiful French language .

[Mary Chambers]

I've never heard the title of Britten's arrangement of 'O Waly, Waly' pronounced as 'O Wally Wally' before today's lunchtime recital, when that's how Louise Fryer introduced it. Definitely not what Peter Pears said!

[Don Petter]

I've never heard the title of Britten's arrangement of 'O Waly, Waly' pronounced as 'O Wally Wally' before today's lunchtime recital, when that's how Louise Fryer introduced it. Definitely not what Peter Pears said!

That brought us up short, too! (She didn't say 'Wally, Wally' as in 'Where's Wally?' but as in 'Ally Pally'.)

[Mary Chambers]

That brought us up short, too! (She didn't say 'Wally, Wally' as in 'Where's Wally?' but as in 'Ally Pally'.)

Thank you! I knew I should point that out, but couldn't think of an example. (I didn't like the way Elizabeth Watts sang it, much to my surprise, but that's off-topic on this thread. The water seemed a bit choppy.)

[Mary Chambers]

I've never heard the title of Britten's arrangement of 'O Waly, Waly' pronounced as 'O Wally Wally' before today's lunchtime recital, when that's how Louise Fryer introduced it. Definitely not what Peter Pears said!

My apologies to Louise Fryer. It was Katie Derham who got it wrong.

[Panjandrum]

It was Katie Derham who got it wrong.

Now there's a surprise.

[Bryn]

Not Radio 3 but Radio 4 this morning, on the Today Programme, on three occasions the sports reports had "unpresidented". Must be all the news about Tunisa and Egypt.

[subcontrabass]

My apologies to Louise Fryer. It was Katie Derham who got it wrong.

The pronunciation seems to have been corrected on today's repeat.

[Mary Chambers]

The pronunciation seems to have been corrected on today's repeat.

I was just about to say that! it was indeed

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

And to all announcers, please note that this month is called February, not Febyooary. Last month was January. This month doesn't quite rhyme with it.

[vinteuil]

[feb-roo-er-ee, feb-yoo‐er-ee]
"Many people try to pronounce February with both  /r/ sounds, as shown above. The common pronunciation  /ˈfɛbyuˌɛri/
[feb-yoo-er-ee], with the first /r/ replaced by  /y/, is the result of dissimilation, the tendency of like sounds to become unlike when they follow each other closely. An additional influence is analogy with January. Although sometimes criticized, this dissimilated pronunciation of February is used by educated speakers and is considered standard."

[french frank]

this dissimilated pronunciation of February is used by educated speakers and is considered standard."

That surprises me! My most modern Oxford Dictionary (1995) has both r's pronounced - as I would pronounce it.

[When I was in Scotland someone asked people whether they pronounced the 'd' in Wednesday. One student insisted that she did. It isn't as difficult as I thought, though I'm not sure that listeners detect much difference.]

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Yes, many educated speakers do pronounce it incorrectly, but just because they're educated does not mean they should get away with it. It's the same with the so-called "educated" people saying "different to" or "slowed up" (instead of "different from" and "slowed down").

Having a posh voice misleads people into sounding well-educated. It isn't necessarily the case.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

[When I was in Scotland someone asked people whether they pronounced the 'd' in Wednesday. One student insisted that she did. It isn't as difficult as I thought, though I'm not sure that listeners detect much difference.]

This begs me to ask a question of our Scottish friends. I have a colleague who is an excellent flautist, but cannot flutter-tongue as she cannot roll her Rs. Does this particular affliction affect those north of the border?

[vinteuil]

I was brung up to say febyuary.

I consider pronunciation of the first R almost as bad as pronouncing the L in almond, the H in forehead, the first T in waistcoat, or the the first D in Wednesday...