Distribute ⁰

If you understand what the person is saying let it be.
Some people must be very bored to notice. I could not care less.

And 'Math' 😃

Americans do say "Aloominum" though.

JackyB

I agree totally kircubbjn2000. It's bothered me for a while now that people suddenly started saying CONtribute and DIStribute. I. can understand why people do it and I am wondering how far back both versions are mentioned in the OED. I did say at the time too, that you never hear Americans say CON-tribute or DIS-tribute, which is backed up by graphite's quote. If I can find the conversation I'll post a link.

People haven't just started saying this - I have stressed the first syllable of those words for the while of my life, as has my 93 year old mother, and my grandparents before that. I never heard it pronounced any other way when I was growing up (in Yorkshire).

From a purely linguistic angle, I would be interested to know which pronunciation came first. However, I really don't think it matters in the slightest when they have clearly coexisted for a very long time.

But it does irritate me (mildly) when I hear people who should know better, such as TV reporters, say perspective instead of 'prospective' and vice versa.

It's rather pointless having "rules" if nobody is quite sure what they are.

"Morning Mrs Jones.
Was just admiring your.... hang on"

Quickly consults the online pronunciation checker....

"Clematis"

It’s scone as in cone… 😁

Indigo8

Clematis:

Is it ClemAYtis or Clemmertis?

AFAIK it’s clemmertis but that always sounds wrong to me. I’m firmly in the cleMAYtis camp.

Giraffe or girARffe?
Zebra or ZEEbra?
And the old favourite, sCOne, or
.. well SCONN?

Clematis:

Is it ClemAYtis or Clemmertis?

I say camPANula.
No idea if its wrong or right though.

Flowers - I say CampaNUla and was corrected by a friend that it should be CamPANula.

Don't get me started on PEEnees (Peonies). I'm always a bit nervous to say it out loud 😅

This thread could go on for ever

If pedantry was an Olympic sport, this thread would win gold 🥇😁

To be fair, how people pronounce words often depends on where they're from. For example, the word 'bath' is often pronounced 'barth' in the south of England, but not up north. Which is correct? Both, depending where you live, or where you're from.

An entertaining thread for Sunday morning all the same.

...just read that the "t" went in the 17th century and started to come back into usage about 70 or 80 years ago.

Both are in the Oxford and the Cambridge dictionaries.

Grammaretto

Is it offen or often?

"Offen", obviously!

Whitewavemark2

Do we all understand what they are saying?

Yes

End of

Quite

That must have been a slow news day, two years ago!

I've found it! Started by kircubbin two years ago!!!

share.google/EpPFORVqh5Uu0cBqs

You say Tomato, I say Tomayto ....

I agree totally kircubbjn2000. It's bothered me for a while now that people suddenly started saying CONtribute and DIStribute. I. can understand why people do it and I am wondering how far back both versions are mentioned in the OED. I did say at the time too, that you never hear Americans say CON-tribute or DIS-tribute, which is backed up by graphite's quote. If I can find the conversation I'll post a link.

Do we all understand what they are saying?

Yes

End of

kircubbin2000

MaizieD

I don’t see the problem. Who isn’t saying them properly and how are they going wrong?

Every time it's mentioned on TV they pronounce it distra bute instead of dis Trib ute.

Aaahhh. I get it. That is awful, I'd be shouting at the screen.

On the other hand, the matter of which syllable is stressed is not so serious

Though the modern tendency to say ree search drives me up the wall

Grannybags

Now you've got me walking about muttering distribution out loud and doubting myself 😁

😂😂😂

Now you've got me walking about muttering distribution out loud and doubting myself 😁

Grannybags yes because it can't be a disTRIbution lorry. Or can it?

kircubbin2000: If you can't say this properly just Google it.

All is not lost. I can say 'this' properly without the need to Google 'it'.