Phrases/words that set your teeth on edge.

[vinteuil]

In my experience it's always been quite common for English speakers to say 'weddensday'. I've always said 'wensday'.

... nice ambiguity there

[cloughie]

For me it is Vorjacques, Wenzdi ( how else would an Owls supporter say it? ), however I have always included both ‘r’s in February, but there is only one ‘r’ in drawing!

[oliver sudden]

Wensday or Weddunsday?
It's the spelling they need to get right if they're of the Wensday brigade.
I do try to be more Wednusday myself, ha ha!

Well fancy that! I’m definitely Wensday (Australian, and I don’t think you would want to hear my Febyury) but if I think very carefully about it there is a tiny residual d before the n…

[oliver sudden]

For me it is Vorjacques,

Not Jacques as in Hattie I hope!

I have discussed ř at length with various Czechs and it does appear to be a sound which non-Czechs can only produce with a certain amount of associated spray. (Although somehow Beno Blachut singing Janáček manages to make music with it. Hats off.)

[Roger Webb]

Spelling in English is sometimes illogical as GBS highlighted in his proposed spelling of GHOTI (fish). He explained for those not familiar with his 'new phonetics' thus: F from enough; I from women; SH from station.

[french frank]

For me it is Vorjacques, Wenzdi ( how else would an Owls supporter say it? )

The D in Dvořák is not actually silent, but not Duh-vořák. Rather like the/a Scottish way of pronouncing Wednesday: the d is very lightly pronounced (they may think they're pronouncing a d but it's actually more like a reverse glottal stop).

[vinteuil]

Well fancy that! I’m definitely Wensday ... but if I think very carefully about it there is a tiny residual d before the n…

... but probably at speed, and in informal situations, that vestigial d will be lost

[kernelbogey]

I have become mildly phobic about how common - er, frequent - it now is to hear 'January' reduced to 'Jan', other months to 'Feb, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov and Dec'. I hear this when having diary sessions - to fix future meetings - with well-educated friends. E.g., 'How about four Feb?'.

[oliver sudden]

... but probably at speed, and in informal situations, that vestigial d will be lost

Vestigial, that’s the word I was looking for! (Twenty years in Germany…) Absolutely, no one else would ever notice it.

It is quite amusing (at least to me) to note how even French announcers and musicians pronounce non-French composers’ names. That symphony chap from Bonn I have quite often heard pronounced ‘bit of’, for example. On the other hand spending a bit of time this side of the Sleeve does put into perspective what we Anglophones do with, say, d’BYOUSS-y…

[vinteuil]

It is quite amusing (at least to me) to note how even French announcers and musicians pronounce non-French composers’ names.…

... the joy when they attempt "Ralph Vaughan Williams", perhaps particularly "The Wasps"

.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Vestigial, that’s the word I was looking for! (Twenty years in Germany…) Absolutely, no one else would ever notice it.

It is quite amusing (at least to me) to note how even French announcers and musicians pronounce non-French composers’ names. That symphony chap from Bonn I have quite often heard pronounced ‘bit of’, for example. On the other hand spending a bit of time this side of the Sleeve does put into perspective what we Anglophones do with, say, d’BYOUSS-y…

Well we’ve just had a CANdide on Radio Three with Can as in tin can . It should be Condide with Con pronounced the French way . The whole point of his name is that Con is the French word for idiot as well as a few ruder things.

[oliver sudden]

... the joy when they attempt "Ralph Vaughan Williams", perhaps particularly "The Wasps"

.

Ze Vaughan eez reengeengg…

[cloughie]

The D in Dvořák is not actually silent, but not Duh-vořák. Rather like the/a Scottish way of pronouncing Wednesday: the d is very lightly pronounced (they may think they're pronouncing a d but it's actually more like a reverse glottal stop).

I didn’t necessarily say my options were correct but I’m unlikely to change at my time of life!

[cloughie]

Not Jacques as in Hattie I hope!

I have discussed ř at length with various Czechs and it does appear to be a sound which non-Czechs can only produce with a certain amount of associated spray. (Although somehow Beno Blachut singing Janáček manages to make music with it. Hats off.)

Certainly not like Hattie more Chirac!

[Serial_Apologist]

In my experience it's always been quite common for English speakers to say 'weddensday'. I've always said 'wensday'.

Yessir: Common is me second name!