Yosemite ! how do you pronounce it ?

[pigoo3]

Toronto deserves to be on that list. You can always tell when a non-Canadian says it (they always emphasize the second T). Canadians pronounce it with the second T being silent (so, it would sound like Torono).

I'm sure you're right…but I don't think that the locals are technically correct.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BynFBfK1fo8

I used to live in another place called "Bethlehem". Locals pronounced it "Beth-lem". Not the correct pronunciation…but they did it anyway!

- Nick

 

[pm-r]

Well, the Canadians from back East normally do but like many BCers who were raised with strict English speaking parents, we tend to leave the last T in when pronouncing it. Yup, just a Wes coaster here.

But we can sure tell where you Torono folks come from when you tell us, just like those from Winsor!!

 

[pm-r]

Toronto deserves to be on that list. You can always tell when a non-Canadian says it (they always emphasize the second T). Canadians pronounce it with the second T being silent (so, it would sound like Torono).

How about those from Bonavista, Newfoundland??? Their pronunciation can be just a wee bit different, just like the Nissan ad for their Bonavista SUV some years ago.

My wife has one and loves it, but for many they won't have heard of them as they were only released in Canada and a few other countries under a different name.

I wonder how this salesman would pronounce "Yosemite", or Torono... ???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m-y-qAbpL0

 

[vansmith]

I'm sure you're right…but I don't think that the locals are technically correct.

Wouldn't local pronunciation trump foreign ones? I'm no linguistic expert but it would seem that people from an area are implicitly the authority on its naming.

How about those from Bonavista, Newfoundland??? Their pronunciation can be just a wee bit different, just like the Nissan ad for their Bonavista SUV some years ago.

That's because Maritimers pronounce everything a little differently.

 

[Dysfunction]

Hah. Must be an east coast thing. People from Baltimore pronounce it "Balimore".


Reading? Luton-town then Harrogate here.


Well, along with Hesse and Swabia.

 

[pigoo3]

Wouldn't local pronunciation trump foreign ones? I'm no linguistic expert but it would seem that people from an area are implicitly the authority on its naming.

Not sure if you're serious or just pulling my leg.

But like I mentioned in my example. I used to live in a town called "Bethlehem" (Beth-le-hem)…but local folks pronounced it "Beth-lem". Not correct at all…but that's what many of the locals did.

Here is a dictionary entry for Toronto. Check out the phonetic spelling (two t's)…and click on the speaker icon for pronunciation:

Toronto: definition of Toronto in Oxford dictionary (American English) (US)

- Nick

 

[harryb2448]

Just as well you guys don't have place names like Currbubulla. Yarrahappiny and Yarrondilly.

 

[chscag]

Al right Harry, let's keep it clean. This is a "G" rated forum. ;P

 

[oncfari]

I never imagined that this would even be an issue! It's "yoh-sem-it-ee", and no, it does NOT 'rhyme' with vegemite!

 

[kathmat]

Yosemite

Hi there Lads and Lasses, we are due a new OS X operating system soon, I was invited to receive the BETA version, but declined (much to complicated for me)

One of my fellow english friends knew I had an invite, he asked me if I had installed the Beta version of "????????????" yet ?

I did not understand what he said and he repeated it 4 times as well, it was much later I realised he WAS talking about YOS-E-MITE

He had used the American (I guess) pronunciation, how do you Pronounce this word please.

Is it only the Americans that say this word incorrectly ????

Tim

Not to worry Tim,
I have lived in the US for twenty seven years, and I still cannot bring myself to pronounce the Boston Celtics with an "s", as Boston Seltics. And while I might with much perspiration force those words out of my mouth, I draw the line at pronouncing the university Noter Dame, instead of Notre Dame. My feeling is that it is a French name and it's rather a bit of an insult to *******ise the correct French pronunciation, but it is what it is, and while in Rome since I simply cannot bring myself in that instance to do as the Roman's do, I refrain from referring to the university at all. Tomato, tomarto. What can I say! But yes - definitely Yosemite. God alone knows I thought it was pronounced Yosamight for years before moving here. And finally - let us not even get into Arkansas. ;D Ha Ha and had to come back and edit this, as apparently what was a perfectly legitimate word and most definitely not an expression of profanity in any way shape or form, was **** out by the forum. And I rest my case.

 

[Iatros55]

Yosemite

I don't believe that 'Yosemite' is an English word. I think it originated in the language of one of native american tribes of that area, and was Anglisized by the early settlers.

Many words in English that have double pronunciations and meanings come from Old English, Celtic, Saxon, and Norman French. Some words just stuck around, while others have gone away. All languages move toward simplification as more and more of the populace use it. I don't think, for example, that Attic Greek and modern Greek have a lot in common, with changes in pronunciation, spelling, and usage over 2500 years.

Be glad you are not having to speak Chinese! ;D

 

[DougStocks]

Perhaps the Americans do pronounce it differently than the British; but since it is a National Park in the USA, I think the Americans get to pronounce it however they like. The same is true for Berkeley; however the British get to dictate how Berkshire should be pronounced. We will have to continue to disagree on certain words such as vitamins.

 

[JimInSD]

Yosemite Pronunciation

From the Apple Dictionary:

Yosemite: Yo-sem-i-te |yōˈsemətē| ;D

 

[soundbyte]

We Americans probably have an even harder time getting the correct pronunciation of UK geography. Leicester, Greenwich, even The Thames. As a teenager visiting UK, I remember worrying that I was making a fool of myself every time I uttered a street name or town.

Of course, we have Connecticut, Sault St. Marie and Arkansas.

 

[Tigermidge]

[
He had used the American (I guess) pronunciation, how do you Pronounce this word please.

Is it only the Americans that say this word incorrectly ????

Tim[/QUOTE]

WOW.

It's an AMERICAN WORD.
Yohhe'meti (Southern Miwok) or Yos.s.e'meti (Central Miwok) originally referred to the Indian tribe that lived in Yosemite Valley. Yosemite means literally “those who kill” (Yos, “to kill,” the modifier e, “one who,” and the plural suffix -meti). It was used by the surrounding Miwok tribes. The Yosemite people were referred to as killers by these surrounding tribes, who feared them. The Yosemite tribe, led by Chief Tenaya, were composed of renegades from multiple tribes, including Mono Paiute from the eastern Sierra. The Paiute were traditional enemies of the more-peaceful Miwok people.

 

[Iatros55]

Leicester - (a memory) Once in London, navigating via the tube, we asked a local where Leicester Square was. He did not know, he replied. Finally, after a couple more tries at it, he realized we were asking for directions to Lei'ster Square ( we were saying Lei-chester ). Wasn't it George Bernard Shaw who commented that the Americans and the British were something like a common folk separated by a common language?

 

[DougStocks]

I believe Shaw's statement was: "England and America are two countries separated by a common language." I am a Texan who has lived several years in England (Reading to be specific). I soon discovered that it is not as much accent that sets our languages apart as it is the pronunciation of common words. For example an American pronounces vitamin asV-EYE-TA-MEN whereas the English pronunciation is V-IT-A-MEN. Likewise, for example, if you are an American, then you know how we pronounce Berkeley and Berkshire. However the English pronunciation is BARK-LEE and BARK-SHIRE.

 

[erics72]

Fair comment chaps, there IS on word in the English language that has annoyed me for ever and ever.

It isn't the colour RED, it is the word READ !!!!!

"You can READ a book, after which you have READ the book"

the same word, used in both places, with a completely different sound and meaning !!!.

Tim

So how do you pronounce/spell "read" (as in the past tense, "I have read that book already") in the UK?

 

[erics72]

Apparently, English (North American English) is the hardest language to learn, if you don't speak it. So if your...say...German, you'll find it easier to learn Japanese, Chinese, or French than English.

 

[erics72]

Leicester - (a memory) Once in London, navigating via the tube, we asked a local where Leicester Square was. He did not know, he replied. Finally, after a couple more tries at it, he realized we were asking for directions to Lei'ster Square ( we were saying Lei-chester ). Wasn't it George Bernard Shaw who commented that the Americans and the British were something like a common folk separated by a common language?

After the war of 1812, I wager the colonials didn't want to have anything to do with Great Britain. Including their "language". Hence the different pronunciation of words.

However, I still get perplexed when I think of how homophones like, read, read (past tense), fare, fair, affect, effect, desert, dessert, produce (vegetables), produce (bring forth), etc... have come to be. Did some one just say, "hey, let's use read as a past tense and pronounce it read (red)". lol