Pronunciation watch

[Pulcinella]

Undoubtedly the northerners (myself included) in our 'posh' Oxfordshire choir articulate the words far better than the southerners.

[teamsaint]

... toff-bashing is just so lazy... :sigh emoticon:

Tho' we can probably take it.

I never thought of it that way.
It all makes sense now.

The non -toffs' laziness not only explains their lowly position, but also their idle resort to blaming the upper classes for their impoverished situation, instead of getting on and improving themselves.


Suddenly I see., in the words of Royal Holloway's favourite daughter.......

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

... toff-bashing is just so lazy... :sigh emoticon:

Tho' we can probably take it.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Moving on, how does one pronounce David Silva? As a rather weak student of Spanish at the present time, I would have thought "Dabid Silba" would be correct, but I've never heard our football commentators pronounce it like that.

[french frank]

Moving on, how does one pronounce David Silva? As a rather weak student of Spanish at the present time, I would have thought "Dabid Silba" would be correct, but I've never heard our football commentators pronounce it like that.

Intervocalic (David) will be the fricative sound we don't have, a bit like a buzzy w. But then you have to go the whole hog and the final d of David should be a gentle 'th' sound. So for myself, I'd recommend pronunciation as in English, with v's and d's. At most, Dahvid rather than Dayvid, but I wouldn't even insist on that. 'Our football commentators' are presumably speaking English (?) not Spanish.

[Lat-Literal]

Intervocalic (David) will be the fricative sound we don't have, a bit like a buzzy w. But then you have to go the whole hog and the final d of David should be a gentle 'th' sound. So for myself, I'd recommend pronunciation as in English, with v's and d's. At most, Dahvid rather than Dayvid, but I wouldn't even insist on that. 'Our football commentators' are presumably speaking English (?) not Spanish.

Rightly or wrongly, they tend to say Davvid Seelva.

Some nice attempts by BBC news today at Fianna Fail. I've heard Feena Fale and Feena Fall.

I would suggest Fianna Foil but am happy to be corrected.

Slightly off topic, I am enjoying the canal programmes featuring Timothy West and Prunella Scales.

What struck me this evening was, in view of Pru's illness, how certain her French appears to be.

It is pleasing to hear.

[jean]

I'd always thought it was pronounced Port Tallbot, even in Welsh.

[french frank]

I'd always thought it was pronounced Port Tallbot, even in Welsh.

I think 'in Welsh' it would be 'Tal' rhyming with 'pal'. That's how I think the first name Talfryn is pronounced.

[Bryn]

I think 'in Welsh' it would be 'Tal' rhyming with 'pal'. That's how I think the first name Talfryn is pronounced.

Indeed, as in Henry Fox Talbot, who hailed from the same family as those who built the port.

[Pabmusic]

OED gives both pronunciations - the 'tawlbot' one first. It's Norman French, the name of the Earls of Shrewsbury, who (probably) gave their name to the now-extinct breed of hunting dogs. A talbot was the badge carried on the Sunbeam Talbot in the 1930s (and used by the Rootes Group into the 1960s).

Port Talbot is named for the new docks built in 1837 by the Talbot family (ie: that of the Earls of Shrewsbury, who did pronounce it Tawlbot - at least in recent centuries).

[Nick Armstrong]

It's Norman French, the name of the Earls of Shrewsbury, who (probably) gave their name to the now-extinct breed of hunting dogs. A talbot was the badge carried on the Sunbeam Talbot in the 1930s (and used by the Rootes Group into the 1960s).

And then of course there's one of the best things I've ever tasted....

[Pabmusic]

And then of course there's one of the best things I've ever tasted....

...

Oh, unfair... I sit here with my Californian red.

[vinteuil]

... I notice that many when referring to Port Talbot omit the 'double t' - very much Portalbot rather than PorT-Talbot. I assume this is the received pronunciation?

There was a running joke in Private Eye years back which regularly referred to 'Talbot'. Does anyone remember what it was about?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

And then of course there's one of the best things I've ever tasted....

But that isn't a port.

[Pabmusic]

... I notice that many when referring to Port Talbot omit the 'double t' - very much Portalbot rather than PorT-Talbot. I assume this is the received pronunciation?

There was a running joke in Private Eye years back which regularly referred to 'Talbot'. Does anyone remember what it was about?

I think it started after Hillman cars (I had one) were rebranded as Talbots (I had two), but I can't remember what the analogy was.

Wasn't it something to do with Goldsmith's Now! magazine?