Pronunciation watch

[french frank]

and have supposed it to be a kind of homage to 'posh' speech.

Pronounced o-MAAHge

[umslopogaas]

Hunstanton is pronounced Hunston by Norfolk folk, and Happisburgh is pronounced Hazebruh.

Which reminds me of a joke. A German visiting UK for the first time spends ages studying English pronunciation. Full of confidence he arrives at Waterloo Station and sees on the news screen "Pope is pronounced dead." Completely demoralised, he heads straight back home.

[jean]

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

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?

[french frank]

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

Aubrietia.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

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

Similarly in rhythm and accent to "Audrey Hepburn" - or as in "Aubrey ate a" - with a distinctly Lancastrian "etta".

[Pulcinella]

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

Origins ignored if spelt aubretia, surely now more common, and pronounced (at least by me) orbreesher.

Perhaps we should consider fuchsia next if we're talking origins?

[Serial_Apologist]

Aubrietia.

Orbreesha where I come from.

[french frank]

Origins ignored if spelt aubretia, surely now more common, and pronounced (at least by me) orbreesher.

Correction to my last: Oh-BREE-sha

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Perhaps we should consider fuchsia next if we're talking origins?

If we want origins, there's not much point looking to the Fuchsia.

[jean]

Origins ignored if spelt aubretia, surely now more common...

I thought so, but the spellilng aubrieta gets 537,000 hits, while aubretia gets only 170,000, and many of those are spelt the other way.

Thomson & Morgan try to have it both ways.

Perhaps we should consider fuchsia next if we're talking origins?

Not the same phenomenon, because the 'i' there is in the same place in the word however you pronounce it.

.

[french frank]

I thought so, but the spellilng aubrieta gets 537,000 hits, while aubretia gets only 170,000

The first i should surely be there, since it's named after Claude Aubriet. So Aubrieta or Aubrietia. The -ia ending is very common when the plant is named after a person: Poinsett-poinsettia, Lobel-lobelia, Gloxin-gloxinia, Abel-abelia. It seems that Aubrieta is the earlier name but OED says aubrietia is the 'common name of a member of the genus Aubrieta' and lists it under the 'common name'.

[jean]

A mere 91,000 Google hits for that spelling!

[Dave2002]

Hunstanton is pronounced Hunston by Norfolk folk, and Happisburgh is pronounced Hazebruh.

Quite. I have vague recollections re the pronunciation of Attleborough too - but that may actually be pronounced as written - can't remember well enough.

I always liked Cholmondeley, changing counties to the west of these isles.

[gurnemanz]

The first i should surely be there, since it's named after Claude Aubriet. So Aubrieta or Aubrietia. The -ia ending is very common when the plant is named after a person: Poinsett-poinsettia, Lobel-lobelia, Gloxin-gloxinia, Abel-abelia. It seems that Aubrieta is the earlier name but OED says aubrietia is the 'common name of a member of the genus Aubrieta' and lists it under the 'common name'.

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

[ahinton]

I always liked Cholmondeley, changing counties to the west of these isles.

I think that it's daft; I daresay that Joanna Lolmondeley would do so too!

As well one might likewise pronounce Featherstonehaugh "Ferney-ho"!