Re: Let Me Introduce Myself
| From: | Tristan McLeay <conlang@...> |
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| Date: | Saturday, January 1, 2005, 5:34 |
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On 1 Jan 2005, at 3.12 pm, Ph. D. wrote:
> Local newscasters here seem to pronounce "tsunami" as
> though the |t| is silent. I don't seem to have trouble pronouncing
> all the letters. Is this the normal pronunciation in English?
> Should I even care?
Normal English pronunciations of words beginning with unenglish
affricatives convert them to fricatives. German words/names beginning
with <Pf> are usually pronounced /f/ (I'm aware of the current
discussion and don't mean to say this is universal amongst English
speakers either); words beginning with a foreign /ts/ are pronounced as
either /z/ (zeitgeist, tsar) or /s/ (tsunami) in English. Words like
tsunami and tzaziki (a cucumber and yoghurt dip, I believe) can get a
/ts/, though.
I used to pronounce 'Mitsubishi' as /mItSubIsi/ when I was younger
(until I eventually got my tongue around the /ts/), and I still often
pronounce schnitzel as /snItS@l/.
Caring about this seems a waste of energy, so I wouldn't be bothered.
#include standard disclaimer
--
Tristan.
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