Rhetterick!?

[collinsca]

I have heard the word 'rhetterick' used alot recently and have no idea what it means. Pronounced - rhett-er-ick. I think this is not the correct spelling as i cant find it online anywhere! (I dont mean rhetoric)

Any ideas!?

thanks very much

[Anglika]

Welcome to the forums.

Most likely to be a misspelling of Rhetoric.

Can you provide any context?

[collinsca]

thanks - but ive been a user on here before under collinsc- however i have been unable to post - and unable to contact anyone to find out why!

sorry - cant think of anything - i heard it a lot during the US election - so perhaps the americans pronounce rhetoric that way!?

[mykwyner]

Generally, when Americans pronounce rhetoric it sounds like ret-er-ik, but when we pronounce the adjective rhetorical, it sounds like reh-tor-ikal.

[collinsca]

great - answers my question - thanks

[collinsca]

not so sure now...! i have some context...
David Cameron (British politician) on the andrew marr show this morning:
"the government has changed its retterick"

it wont be what we thought previously therefore!

[BobK]

not so sure now...! i have some context...
David Cameron (British politician) on the andrew marr show this morning:
"the government has changed its retterick"

it wont be what we thought previously therefore!

I don't see how this disproves anything. David Cameron speaks Br English, and his pronunciation is /'retərɪk/. The schwa sound in an unstressed syllable is very common in both British and American English.

b

[collinsca]

im pretty sure he'd use the english version, being english...

besides, "the government has changed its rhetoric" doesnt mean anything does it..! does it!?

[bhaisahab]

Why would you expect something said by a politician to make any sense?

[BobK]

im pretty sure he'd use the english version, being english...

besides, "the government has changed its rhetoric" doesnt mean anything does it..! does it!?

It does, in the sense that politicians have for 'rhetoric' - "a system of pronouncements that has rhetorical value but that we disagree with". (And thanks for alerting me to the emergence of a new figurative meaning for 'rhetoric" )

b