The most annoying expressions...

I'm another one who is completely irritated by the refusal to pronounce in the french way. 

I will admit to pronouncing "foyer" with the r in America, simply because I come from an area where if I didn't pronounce the r I'd be considered pretentious.    I made the mistake of saying "foyer" while with my BF over the summer, and got practically laughed out of the country. Yet, I'm supposed to sit back and accept filleT, GARage and Herb.

...there are no other words for it other than simply IRRITATING

I think it's pretty pretentious for you to think that YOUR reason for not pronouncing something in the French way is perfectly valid, but OUR reason is just... as you say, irritating. 

What's that thing they say about being "divided by a common language" lol!

The pity of it, what is considered pretentious by one set of people, is considered just the "normal" way by another set of people, and vice versa.

I guess a fellow Brit would think I'm being pretentious if I say (correctly) fill-ay and gar-rahzhj, yet in the US I've heard people tell me they think it's pretentious to call an apartment "a flat" because it would sound like a person is trying to have some "European flair" lol!

Yet "flat" is the perfectly mundane word for it in the UK, and "apartment" is considered pretentious by Brits....because then one is trying to have American flair! You can't win! It's all relative and interchangeable. 

Its weird but I forgot the American way of saying herb for a minute, until DH reminded me!

I was just back in America and my family made fun of me for the way I speak now.  I didn't think I had an accent, but they think I speak a bit strange.  Its probably more the words I use now (or the way I say them).

My husband always laughs at me when I say 'erb', because he says it sounds like I am talking about something else. 

I find it amazing that in 31 years (aka my entirel life) of living in London, with British parents, friends and family, I seem to be wrong about the general pronounciation of words. 

Perhaps people pretending to be posh pronounce the letter 'h' in this strange and incorrect way, and perhaps they also do so in some parts of Surrey, but it is NOT widespread, and it is certainly not 50 percent of people in London. 

*just to clarify, we are talking about the way the letter is pronounced, not the use of the sound as in 'herb', right?


Vicky

I find it amazing that in 31 years (aka my entirel life) of living in London, with British parents, friends and family, I seem to be wrong about the general pronounciation of words. 

Perhaps people pretending to be posh pronounce the letter 'h' in this strange and incorrect way, and perhaps they also do so in some parts of Surrey, but it is NOT widespread, and it is certainly not 50 percent of people in London. 

*just to clarify, we are talking about the way the letter is pronounced, not the use of the sound as in 'herb', right?


Vicky

I have lived in the southest for 20 years and I know a lot of people from all over the southest because I do travel outside a small area of Surrey. I also have friends and family from all over the southeast and indeed the UK. And I maintain that it IS widespread and it is said by a LOT of people.  And I find it amazing that just because I'm a foreign national I somehow don't know what I'm talking about or my experiences and knowledge don't count as much as someone who happened to be born here.

I have lived in the southest for 20 years and I know a lot of people from all over the southest because I do travel outside a small area of Surrey. I also have friends and family from all over the southeast and indeed the UK. And I maintain that it IS widespread and it is said by a LOT of people.  And I find it amazing that just because I'm a foreign national I somehow don't know what I'm talking about or my experiences and knowledge don't count as much as someone who happened to be born here.

Snap!

I'm on the phone all day every day with English people from all over Buckinghamshire who often have to tell me their postcode, which most often starts HP and the VAST majority say "haitch pee". In fact I hear it so often it sometimes slips out of my own mouth. Which I hate.

We'll have to all agree to disagree then.

Vicky

Does anyone else hear "J-eye" instead of "J-ay" for J?

I'm another one who is completely irritated by the refusal to pronounce in the french way. 

I will admit to pronouncing "foyer" with the r in America, simply because I come from an area where if I didn't pronounce the r I'd be considered pretentious.    I made the mistake of saying "foyer" while with my BF over the summer, and got practically laughed out of the country. Yet, I'm supposed to sit back and accept filleT, GARage and Herb.

...there are no other words for it other than simply IRRITATING

My thought on this whole subject is that if you're not a native French speaker, nor are you in France, who gives a rat's patootie how it's pronounced?

Does anyone else hear "J-eye" instead of "J-ay" for J?

That's a Scottish one! 

We'll have to all agree to disagree then.

Vicky

Just so we also agree that being born here doesn't mean that you somehow are always the one with the definitive answer.

I think you are putting words in my mouth now, Mindy.  I would never suggest that someone has less of a valid opinion than me because they weren't born here.  But as I said, we disagree, let's leave it.

Vicky

I hate when people say "naught" for zero.  I don't mind nil, but naught just does my head in!

I think you are putting words in my mouth now, Mindy.  I would never suggest that someone has less of a valid opinion than me because they weren't born here.  But as I said, we disagree, let's leave it.

Vicky

I find it amazing that in 31 years (aka my entirel life) of living in London, with British parents, friends and family, I seem to be wrong about the general pronounciation of words. 

Perhaps people pretending to be posh pronounce the letter 'h' in this strange and incorrect way, and perhaps they also do so in some parts of Surrey, but it is NOT widespread, and it is certainly not 50 percent of people in London. 

*just to clarify, we are talking about the way the letter is pronounced, not the use of the sound as in 'herb', right?


Vicky

I think only a fool would think that this post didn't imply that you being born here(living in London your entire life) somehow made you right.  But I'm certainly glad  you've agreed from here on out that your opinion carries no more weight than anyone else's.