How Do You Pronounce Vase?

[PaphMadMan]

I was taught that as an ordinary household object it should rhyme with face, but as something of archeological or artistic significance as might be displayed in a museum it should be pronounced as in French (same spelling), closer to rhyming with Oz.

[jcec1]

On this side of the pond it is definitely "vahz". I did live in Texas for a few years and although we all spoke 'English', we would often be unintelligible to each other, but then again being Scottish I'm often misunderstood south of the border.

---------- Post added at 04:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:49 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Orchid Whisperer

I pronounce it to rhyme with face or space.

Things are (mis) pronounced differently all over the world.

I grew up in Indiana, where a small town in the southeastern part of the state is spelled Versailles, but is locally pronounced "Ver-sales". I didn't know it should be pronounced any differently until I was in my teens. Hoosiers seem particularly unkind to pronouncing the French language - "Vincennes" in southwest Indiana is also pronounced poorly. I am just as guilty. Probably best that I attempted learning German in college and Spanish later on; not sure my pronunciation of those languages is an improvement though.

I nearly fell out of my chair hearing a BBC announcer pronounce Don Quixote as "Don quick sot" I've heard that pronunciation more than once on the BBC.

---------- Post added at 07:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:40 AM ----------

Oh, remembered one more -

Almost universally in the USA, aluminum is "ah-LOO-mih-num". I always hear it as "al-you-MIN-i-um" when spoken by UK English speakers, and I think that there may be an extra "i" in the spelling near the end of the word on the other side of the pond.

We don't have an extra "i" in aluminium, you're just missing an "i"

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by jcec1

On this side of the pond it is definitely "vahz". I did live in Texas for a few years and although we all spoke 'English', we would often be unintelligible to each other, but then again being Scottish I'm often misunderstood south of the border.
---------- Post added at 04:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:49 PM ----------

In need to get one thing straight; when you say south of the border, do you mean Northumberland??

Originally Posted by jcec1

---------- Post added at 04:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:49 PM ----------

We don't have an extra "i" in aluminium, you're just missing an "i"

Aye, but there's only one "i" in aluminum! For you to hope that Yanks would spell it any other way would be . . . . Quixotic!

[Tschimm]

Thank you for this entertaining thread !

Alumin(i)um is not only pronounced differently, it's spelled different.

[estación seca]

So, to convert a 4-syllable US word to SI, insert an extra "I"? How do you decide where it goes? By the way, in the upper Midwest of the US, I often heard it pronounced ah-LOOM-noom.

[jcec1]

Originally Posted by Orchid Whisperer

In need to get one thing straight; when you say south of the border, do you mean Northumberland??



Aye, but there's only one "i" in aluminum! For you to hope that Yanks would spell it any other way would be . . . . Quixotic!

Indeed, as soon as you cross the border the accent changes, the difference between say Gretna on the Scottish side of the border and Carlisle just the other side in Cumbria is huge. Northumberland is less noticeable as the English town of Berwick has changed nationality many times over the centuries. They have even subtitled Scottish TV programmes (note we haven't lost an extra "m" or the "e" ) for broadcast in England.

---------- Post added at 11:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

So, to convert a 4-syllable US word to SI, insert an extra "I"? How do you decide where it goes? By the way, in the upper Midwest of the US, I often heard it pronounced ah-LOOM-noom.

The USA lost the "i" at some time, maybe it was someone who made aluminium foil and wanted to make the roll skinnier, and so decided to call it aluminum foil and saved one inch (or as I prefer 2.5 cm) of width on each roll

[Leafmite]

I pronounce it with a long a sound.
English is a difficult language, I think, as words that should rhyme do not and words are not always spelled as they sound. Then there are the words like wood and would. How can they possibly be pronounced exactly the same? But, somehow, they are.

[NYCorchidman]

Thanks everyone for participation.
Some interesting things have been brought up.

Regarding the words not being pronounced as spelled.
Yes, it took me some getting used to, but there are still words, especially certain uncommon names that I encounter and have no idea how to say correctly. It really drives me crazy. lol
That's why I love German. Pretty much every word is pronounced as written.

[Fernando]

Well, not really. The german word 'Vase' can be pronounced in different ways, so, when my mother once asked for a 'Fase' everybody turned their heads and one screamed 'but - you are from Aachen!' LOL

And most people surnamed 'Sauerbier' prefer this word pronounced like if it was a french name ... !

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Fernando

Well, not really. The german word 'Vase' can be pronounced in different ways, so, when my mother once asked for a 'Fase' everybody turned their heads and one screamed 'but - you are from Aachen!' LOL

And most people surnamed 'Sauerbier' prefer this word pronounced like if it was a french name ... !

I believe NYCorchidman was referring to high German. Indeed, it is a logical language with none of the grammatical exceptions English is rife with. I'm sure the word is pronounced differently in many of the myriad local dialects of German.