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

Re:

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

not really. was just thinking. names, it happens sometimes; i have a friend who pretty persistently pronounces (or at least she used to -- haven't heard it in a while, but the subject hasn't really come up) mr. neeson's first name "lie-um". (er, no. but good try. [g]) also pronounced zine to rhyme with "wine", but (a) that was easier to talk her out of and (b) current slangy words i'm less comfortable relying on for such a thing.

my father really believes the name of harry potter's godfather is pronounced "sir-EYE-us." me: "no, dad -- SEER-ee-us. like the star -- he's named after the dog star, you know, sirius?" him: "right. sir-EYE-us, the dog star." that's a conversation that goes nowhere in a hurry. :-) (but the man also pronounces donkey to rhyme with monkey, so it's a wonder i turned out as reasonable as i did. [g])

Re:

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm with your dad...I also pronounce "donkey" to rhyme with "monkey." Of course, I also insist on pronouncing "February" as "Feb-you-airy," so what do I know? *G*

I had a student who did a presentation on food and drink in the Middle Ages last semester who pronounced "mead" to rhyme with "said." It wouldn't have been so distressing if she hadn't used the word eight times in a five minute presentation. :)