Pronunciation watch

[kernelbogey]

Mis-CHEE-vious is apparently more common nowadays than the, er, 'correct' pronunciation.

This mispronunciation has irritated me for some time.

I imagine the confusion could be based on kind of false analogy with the pronunciation of montbretia

I had the idea in the middle of the night (as you do) that mischievious might be a kind of back-formation via previous. Gurners' 'false anaology' is a better term, however.

[jean]

I'm quite sure the pronunciation misCHEEvious came about by analogy with words like previous and devious.

I'm equally sure that the pronunciation aubretia owes its existence to the fact that

The -ia ending is very common when the plant is named after a person: Poinsett-poinsettia, Lobel-lobelia, Gloxin-gloxinia, Abel-abelia.

That's why I brought it into this discussion!

[Beef Oven!]

I’m confused. I’ve always said and heard miss-ch'vous not mischeevious - this is a new one on me. Which is correct for a British man to say?

[kernelbogey]

I'm quite sure the pronunciation misCHEEvious came about by analogy with words like previous and devious.

I'm equally sure that the pronunciation aubretia owes its existence to the fact that

That's why I brought it into this discussion!

Apologies if I've overlooked an earlier statement by you which my n1291 then reproduced....

I've just looked up in OED another bugbear of mine: empathetic, which I've always taken as in error for empathic. But I find both of almost equal age, 1909 - 1912; and if I understand the OED entry correctly, both translations of the German.

[ahinton]

I’m confused. I’ve always said and heard miss-ch'vous not mischeevious - this is a new one on me. Which is correct for a British man to say?

I've always said it the same way as have you, i.e. the way that's suggested by its spelling; accenting the second syllable and amending the pronunciation implies that the word derives from "mischeev", which it doesn't. I would therefore suggest that the correct way is the way that you and I pronounce it, although I don't see why such pronunciation should be confined to British males.

[jean]

Apologies if I've overlooked an earlier statement by you which my n1291 then reproduced....

It was here. The apparent non sequitur hid the connexion I wwas hoping my readers would make:

I have the impression that this (mis)pronunciation was more common when I was a child, but perhaps it's just that the word was more common then.

As to its origins...how do people here pronounce aubrieta?

I've just looked up in OED another bugbear of mine: empathetic, which I've always taken as in error for empathic. But I find both of almost equal age, 1909 - 1912; and if I understand the OED entry correctly, both translations of the German.

...which are themselves derived from Greek εμπαθής, which doesn't have an ending that's obviously adjectival in either English or German, so either ending seems a reasonable choice.

[kernelbogey]

It was here. The apparent non sequitur hid the connexion I wwas hoping my readers would make:....

I go a bit glassy-eyed around plant names, I'm afraid.

I have sadly no Greek - beyond 'kalimera' etc - but I get your point - thanks.

[vinteuil]

...which are themselves derived from Greek εμπαθής, which doesn't have an ending that's obviously adjectival in either English or German, so either ending seems a reasonable choice.

... and of course 'pathic' and 'pathetic' have rather different meanings.

[kernelbogey]

... and of course 'pathic' and 'pathetic' have rather different meanings.

Although OED makes empathic and empathetic exact equivalents.

[Beef Oven!]

I've always said it the same way as have you, i.e. the way that's suggested by its spelling; accenting the second syllable and amending the pronunciation implies that the word derives from "mischeev", which it doesn't. I would therefore suggest that the correct way is the way that you and I pronounce it, although I don't see why such pronunciation should be confined to British males.

Hmm. You and I seem to be in a minority. Maybe I will move over to the contemporary pronunciation.

[Padraig]

[QUOTE=Beef Oven!;589459]Hmm. You and I seem to be in a minority.

A grevious position these days.

[Sir Velo]

It was here. The apparent non sequitur hid the connexion I wwas hoping my readers would make:

Oh, do you write for one of the papers?

[jean]

Hmm. You and I seem to be in a minority. Maybe I will move over to the contemporary pronunciation.

I am not sure it is 'contemporary' - as I said above, I heard it a lot more in my childhood than I ever do now (but that could be because the word itself is less common).

[jean]

A grevious position these days.

I didn't think I'd ever heard that, but it says here:

grevious
adjective
Common misspelling of grievous.

[Padraig]

I didn't think I'd ever heard that, but it says here:

grevious
adjective
Common misspelling of grievous.

I've never seen that, jean, but I hear it all the time on the BBC local news when violence against the person is being reported.