linguistics-y musings

[fox]

so i was thinking this morning about people who pronounce words wrong (or, to use non-judgmental language, "people with non-standard pronunciations")([rolls eyes]). three examples that leaped to mind immediately were:

• theferrett pronounced row (argument) to rhyme with "whoa" rather than with "wow"
  
• a friend of mine in junior high once said something like "innudioes" when she meant innuendoes
  
• just the other day, i heard someone say "drawt" and it took a little sorting out before it became clear to me that she meant draught, which is pronounced "draft"

i wonder if this has anything to do with how much reading people do, or more precisely how much listening they may or may not do. it seems pretty clear that children who read a great deal acquire a lot of vocabulary that way -- but while they may know a word in context, they may never have (had occasion to) hear it used, so they're more likely than less-heavy readers to pronounce things wrong.

maybe. i mean, i was thinking about this in the shower this morning. i don't know if there's ever been any sort of study made of different groups, much-readers vs. not-so-much-readers; and if there hasn't been, i wouldn't know how to put one together. i'd have to consult with someone who had more knowledge of research methods. and then i wouldn't expect it'd be as useful a thing to know about too many languages other than english, since we're the ones with kooky unpredictable correlations between spelling and pronunciation.

ellen_fremedon? therealjae? others? any thoughts?

Comments

[darthrami.livejournal.com]

theferrett pronounced row (argument) to rhyme with "whoa" rather than with "wow"

I do that. It's the way my mom pronounces it, too. I think I got it from her. I also got a lot of my anglicized (sp?) as opposed to americanized pronunciations and spellings from my grandmother, although I'm not sure why she spoke/wrote like that, when she was born and raised in Deleware. ::shrug::

I always forget how many words I don't know how to pronounce until I read out loud. I've been reading the Dark Tower books to C in the car, and there've just been a ridiculous number of times that I've had to go "um. I don't know how to say that word." and it's a bit embarressing...