[General] Concerning pronunciation of the word: 'Analogous'

[Rover_KE]

I've never heard it pronounced with a hard "g" in BrE.

Strange ... to the best of my recollection I've only ever heard it pronounced with a hard g.

I'll contemplate this conundrum tonight when I'm lying in bed waiting to drop off and listening to my tinnitus.

 

[jutfrank]

So, in essence, this rule of thumb could be applied to, for instance, 'monophagous'. Thus, /dz/ ​it should be?

No, only with words derived from logos, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not trying to defend the /dz/ pronunciation, by the way. Just pointing out that if it is an error, it's a common one.

 

[GrandLizard]

Very well, then. I see your point. When in doubt, dictionary be my guiding light.

 

[GoesStation]

I'll contemplate this conundrum tonight when I'm lying in bed waiting to drop off and listening to my tinnitus.

I'd better not tell you, then, that most Americans pronounce that condition like tin-EYE-tiss. (I don't.)

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd better not tell you, then, that most Americans pronounce that condition like tin-EYE-tiss. (I don't.)

:shock: Not that I didn't believe you, but I visited Forvo and had a listen to the 8 pronunciations on there. 3 of those 8 are as you described. It had never even occurred to me that anyone would consider pronouncing it like that! One of those 3 was a BrE speaker too.

I'm entirely prepared to be swayed on the pronunciation of "analogous". I can see that most dictionaries list it with a hard "g", and that all 5 pronunciations on Forvo use the hard "g". I'm glad it's not a word I need to say very often because I'm almost certain I will continue to use a soft "g", despite the contents of this thread.

 

[Rover_KE]

... most Americans pronounce that condition like tin-EYE-tiss.

I can't say I'm surprised when your sports commentators say 'Roger Federer has progressed to the sem-EYE final'.:roll:

 

[GoesStation]

I can't say I'm surprised when your sports commentators say 'Roger Federer has progressed to the sem-EYE final'.:roll:

Was he playing an EYE-talian?

 

[jutfrank]

Or possibly an EYE-ranian?

 

[GoesStation]

Years ago I worked at a medical testing and research laboratory. The office secretary, who was from West Virginia, had a striking way of pronouncing the name of the Aetna Insurance Company. I won't risk transcribing it here for fear of disturbing another night's sleep of a delicate forum member.

 

[jutfrank]

I won't risk transcribing it here for fear of disturbing another night's sleep of a delicate forum member.

That's very considerate of you, but I'm up most of the night anyway these days.

Since I've been off work and on lockdown for over two months now, questions like how to pronounce Aetna may as well be a matter of life and death.

 

[GrandLizard]

Is this typically an AmE thing? Sem-EYE truck, sem-EYE-autonomous, say?

 

[GoesStation]

Is this typically an AmE thing? Sem-EYE truck, sem-EYE-autonomous, say?

Many Americans use that pronunciation, yes. The common name for a semi-trailer truck is a semi, pronounced "SEM-eye".

 

[GrandLizard]

Sounds quite pleasant to my ear. Thank you!

 

[probus]

Sounds quite pleasant to my ear. Thank you!

Be aware, however, that the EYE pronunciation in semi is unique to the United States. It is never heard here in Canada nor in any other country I know of.

 

[GrandLizard]

Good to know! Thank you. Forewarned is forearmed, right?

 

[GoesStation]

Be aware, however, that the EYE pronunciation in semi is unique to the United States. It is never heard here in Canada nor in any other country I know of.

What do you call tractor-trailer trucks?

 

[Rover_KE]

In the UK we call them artics​ (articulated lorries).

 

[probus]

What do you call tractor-trailer trucks?

I was actually employed in that business for quite a few years. We just called them tractor trailers. Drivers usually called their tractors rigs, and we in management usually called the tractors trucks. The thing about the power units is that they are almost never stock. You order them custom built to your specifications. Once they are built they can be fitted with a fifth wheel to become tractors for inter-city freeway work or with a box to become "straight trucks" for urban work.

 

[Rover_KE]

... most Americans pronounce that condition [tinnitus] like tin-EYE-tiss.

I'm glad you gave me a heads-up about that. I've just heard it on a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond.

 

[GoesStation]

Since I've been off work and on lockdown for over two months now, questions like how to pronounce Aetna may as well be a matter of life and death.

Sensitive forumites (not "formites", a word of whose meaning I was blissfully unaware until the virus reared its crownèd head) having received adequate warning, I think it's reasonably safe to reveal my onetime co-worker's interesting and, hopefully, non-fatal pronunciation of the word. I've taken the precaution of coloring it white on white. Any hardy souls willing to risk exposure should use their mouse to select the invisible text that follows this, preferably while sitting and wearing appropriate eye protection.

AY-eht-nuh​

Neither I nor Tim Berners-Lee accept any liability for incidental or consequential damages resulting from the viewing of this pronunciation. Once it has been seen, it may remain with you for the rest of your life and, indeed, that of your descendants to the seventh generation. You have been warned: it cannot be unseen.