Barack Obama taught me something important last night.

[Botany]

It might not seem like much but it was the correct way to
pronounce Pakistan.

It is pronounced Pockii stan.

Not Packii stan. (like I have said for years)

Little things like that might help our country gain back some trust and respect.

This summer I want to go fishing in K-Beck I used to go to Quee - Beck.

[jlake]

1. If only he could pronounce "Massachusetts"

[Kittycat]

2. Yes, and if only the rest of the country could pronounce Illinois (silent S).

How do you pronounce Massachusetts? Seriously. I was raised in IL, educated in IL, and short of my 5.5 years in OH during my 20's, have always lived in IL. There are many things I pronounce as a product of how I was educated.

[polmaven]

7. Certainly not ......

as he did several times last night.....Massatwoshits.

Maybe his National co-chair, the governor of Mass-a-choo-sets will give him some lessons.

To be very fair....the Senator is not the only one who pronounces it that way....:D

[ellenfl]

12. texans also say 'massa-too-sits', which is what i heard from

obama last night. are you sure you didn't add the 'h' for effect? :evilgrin:

ellen fl

[polmaven]

14. Actually, no..

I listened closely after the first time....just a little "ch" sound was there....It is like a dyslexic pronounciation, that's all.......!

[JackORoses]

6. just so long as he can pronounce 'Victory'

[movonne]

11. Very good...

[littlebit]

3. I have a thick

southern accent that prevents me from pronouncing most words properly.

[leftofcool]

4. and maybe

check the dictionary for the difference between 'renounce' and 'reject?' My colleagues, also retired English teachers and all Obama supporters had a field day with this one.

Left of Cool

[SoxFan]

5. The Brudnoy Theory

Years ago, the late, great Boston talk show host David Brudnoy posited a theory. He said that you could figure out a person's position on Central America by the way they pronounced the name of a certain Central American country.

If you said "Nick-er-agwa", you probably supported aid to the Contras.

If you said "Neeek-harrrr-ah-wah" you deinitely opposed it.

[EFerrari]

9. Ha. He was likely right.

:)

[Branjor]

13. Wrong....

I say Nick-ah-rah-gua and I never supported aid to the Contras.

In related idiocy, I once read a psychologist who thought that how one pronounces the word "bird" might indicate criminal tendencies. A "criminal" is likely to pronounce it "burrd" and a "noncriminal" "bird". I don't think the theory gained any traction.

[SoxFan]

15. It's "boyd"

[eleny]

8. When I was little I used to say Sy-Yox Indians

I haven't thought about that in years and years.

[SoxFan]

16. Sy-ox and the Banshees

A great post-punk band!

[ellenfl]

10. i have noticed that pakistan pronunication error more,

since hearing benazir bhutto correctly speak the name of her country. heck, who better to take the cue from?

the pronunciation correction applies to afghanistan, too . . . and iraq, which is ee-rock, not eye-rack.

ellen fl

[Muttocracy]

17. I learned that from a friend in college who was born in Ear-an, not Eye-ran nt

[Dukkha]

18. but is New Orelans

New or-LEENS or New AW-lins? I prefer the latter

[Igel]

19. Do you pronounce the 'p' and 'k' properly, without aspiration?

Otherwise the difference between the vowel in the first syllable is trivial.

Most English speakers will strongly aspirate the 'p', less strongly aspirate the 'k', and in any event produce sounds that are meaningfully different in Urdu and most other Indo-Aryan languages. Every bit as bad as the 'ae' 'a' difference you're pointing out.

Do you fret about the palatalization of the 's' and the reduction of the 'o' to 'a' in 'Rossiya'? How about the tones in "Zhongguo" and "Việt Nam"? (Oh, wait, you probably don't even try for 'Zhongguo'.) The pharyngeal in "Sa'udiyya"? The vowel quality in "Masr"--do you pronounce the 's' as a normal dental, or try to maintain the high literary style, with pharyngealization? How about the length of the vowel in "Ceska republika" or the syllabic liquid in "Srbija"?

Ah, I see. A one-vowel show. "Ooh! Ooh! I know a fact and will insist on telling others how to behave. And I'll exaggerate its importance!" Just as my pre-schooler was explaining to me how to navigate the rootkit detecting software I installed this morning, pointing to the mouse and telling me to move it and click here or there.

Bhutto spoke a different dialect of English (the status of English in Pakistan is a vexed problem, to be honest). Either we can start deciding which dialect is the One True Dialect, receive special training in making sure that we pronounce each country's name (and those of its leadership) with an 'authentic pronunciation'--sure to be a problem in multilingual countries, or those where the dominant dialect of the dominant language is controversial--or we and others embrace the diversity that is language in general and English in particular.

Purists and prescriptivists. Bah.

[Botany]

20. Have you always been an asshole or is a more recent "thing?"

I found out one tiny new fly speck of info that made me stop and think
and enjoy my day a little more ... so I posted it and everybody else
added their thoughts to this thread in a manner of friendly give
and take. A give and take which I have found nice and makes me
proud to be a member of DU and then I see your bilge and all those
good thoughts are stripped away by my anger at your "punk ass"
posting.

Your mind obviously is poisoned, by what I don't know but as a father
I beg you to please not infect your child w/ your toxic thinking.

BTW No shit ... the way I say a country's name will not be like a native
speaker .... i speak German & Spanish but in Germany I could never pronounce
the city of Munich ... Properly.