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Usenet Posted 18 years ago
Usage
Pronunciation of words begining with wh like whale.
There seems to be a camp who insist that words beginning with wh like "whale" "white" should be pronounced with a "hwuh" sound at the beginning, as if the w & h were transposed - like the way Al Gore pronounces it in that campy commercial that ran recently where he says something like "a whale is in trouble" and runs off. This sounded silly to me years ago in elementary school when a teacher tried to tell us this was "proper" and I still think it sounds affected, silly and illogical.
This runs counter to the whole idea of "sounding out" a word - the letters are pronounced in the order they're written. It's not spelled hwale, it's spelled whale.
And I still say Brett Favre pronounces his name wrong.
This runs counter to the whole idea of "sounding out" a word - the letters are pronounced in the order they're written. It's not spelled hwale, it's spelled whale.
And I still say Brett Favre pronounces his name wrong.
Top answer
[nq:1]There seems to be a camp who insist that words beginning with wh like "whale" "white" should be pronounced with a "hwuh" sound at the beginning, as if the w & h were transposed -[/nq] If you don't pronounce "whale" as if the w & h were transposed, how else do you pronounce it? I see only two alternatives in practice: 1. Keep w & h in order and pronounce it "wuhail" 2.
- [nq:1]There seems to be a camp who insist that words beginning with wh like "whale" "white" should be pronounced with a "hwuh" sound at the beginning, as if the w & h were transposed -[/nq] If you don't pronounce "whale" as if the w & h were transposed, how else do you pronounce it?
- I see only two alternatives in practice: 1.
- Keep w & h in order and pronounce it "wuhail" 2.
- Ignore the h and pronounce it "wail" Neither of these sounds right to me.
- uk
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45 Answers
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[nq:1]There seems to be a camp who insist that words beginning with wh like "whale" "white" should be pronounced with a "hwuh" sound at the beginning, as if the w & h were transposed -[/nq]
If you don't pronounce "whale" as if the w & h were transposed, how else do you pronounce it? I see only two alternatives in practice:
1. Keep w & h in order and pronounce it "wuhail"
2. Ignore the
If you don't pronounce "whale" as if the w & h were transposed, how else do you pronounce it? I see only two alternatives in practice:
1. Keep w & h in order and pronounce it "wuhail"
2. Ignore the
00
[nq:1]There seems to be a camp who insist that words beginning with wh like "whale" "white" should be pronounced with ... out" a word - the letters are pronounced in the order they're written. It's not spelled hwale, it's spelled whale.[/nq]
The Old English originals are (with ligature and accent removed):
hwaet - what
hwaer - where
hwael - whale
It is less than a thousand year
The Old English originals are (with ligature and accent removed):
hwaet - what
hwaer - where
hwael - whale
It is less than a thousand year
00
[nq:2]There seems to be a camp who insist that words ... beginning, as if the w & h were transposed -[/nq]
[nq:1]If you don't pronounce "whale" as if the w & h were transposed, how else do you pronounce it? I ... order and pronounce it "wuhail" 2. Ignore the h and pronounce it "wail" Neither of these sounds right to me.[/nq]
I think the vast majority of English speakers use your No. 2.
[nq:1]If you don't pronounce "whale" as if the w & h were transposed, how else do you pronounce it? I ... order and pronounce it "wuhail" 2. Ignore the h and pronounce it "wail" Neither of these sounds right to me.[/nq]
I think the vast majority of English speakers use your No. 2.
00
[nq:1]There seems to be a camp who insist that words beginning with wh like "whale" "white" should be pronounced with ... out" a word - the letters are pronounced in the order they're written. It's not spelled hwale, it's spelled whale.[/nq]
The "wh" spelling convention was developed at a time when this really was a separate sound, a voiceless "w". It can sound like "hw", just as the Welsh voi
The "wh" spelling convention was developed at a time when this really was a separate sound, a voiceless "w". It can sound like "hw", just as the Welsh voi
00
[nq:1]There seems to be a camp who insist that words beginning with wh like "whale" "white" should be pronounced with ... when a teacher tried to tell us this was "proper" and I still think it sounds affected, silly and illogical.[/nq]
So, you had Miss Hennessey too?
She had us hold our hands up to our mouths while we said various words that started with either "wh" or "w" and insisted tha
So, you had Miss Hennessey too?
She had us hold our hands up to our mouths while we said various words that started with either "wh" or "w" and insisted tha
00
[nq:2]There seems to be a camp who insist that words ... order they're written. It's not spelled hwale, it's spelled whale.[/nq]
[nq:1]The "wh" spelling convention was developed at a time when this really was a separate sound, a voiceless "w". It ... pronunciation may be an attempt to hang on to a usage which is disappearing by forcing an emphasis on it.[/nq]
This is weird. It's all news t
[nq:1]The "wh" spelling convention was developed at a time when this really was a separate sound, a voiceless "w". It ... pronunciation may be an attempt to hang on to a usage which is disappearing by forcing an emphasis on it.[/nq]
This is weird. It's all news t
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[nq:2]The "wh" spelling convention was developed at a time when ... usage which is disappearing by forcing an emphasis on it.[/nq]
[nq:1]This is weird. It's all news to me. Here in the States, I think I have heard very few people, ... words in which it is pronounced here. Maybe none of the people I talked with used "standard British English" pronunciation.[/nq]
Car 54, wear are you? Wen in
[nq:1]This is weird. It's all news to me. Here in the States, I think I have heard very few people, ... words in which it is pronounced here. Maybe none of the people I talked with used "standard British English" pronunciation.[/nq]
Car 54, wear are you? Wen in
00
There seems to be a camp who insist that words beginning with wh like "whale" "white" should be pronounced with a "hwuh" sound at the beginning, as if the w & h were transposed - like the way Al Gore pronounces it in that campy commercial that ran recently where he says something like "a whale is in trouble" and runs off. This sounded silly to me years ago in elementary school when a teacher tried
00
[nq:2]In some accents of English - I think in most ... usage which is disappearing by forcing an emphasis on it.[/nq]
[nq:1]This is weird. It's all news to me. Here in the States, I think I have heard very few people, if any, who don't pronounce "witch" and "which" differently.[/nq]
Yes, I wasn't writing about the States.
[nq:1]My daughter has just finished a 3.5-year assignment in Eng
[nq:1]This is weird. It's all news to me. Here in the States, I think I have heard very few people, if any, who don't pronounce "witch" and "which" differently.[/nq]
Yes, I wasn't writing about the States.
[nq:1]My daughter has just finished a 3.5-year assignment in Eng
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[nq:1]something like "a whale is in trouble" and runs off. This sounded : silly to me years ago in elementary ... rest of America. A college friend from West Virginia is the only person I've ever heard make the w/wh distinction.[/nq]
Bill McCray has just said the exact opposite about the States - he claims to find it "weird" even to hear that some people don't make a w/wh distinction.
Matt
Bill McCray has just said the exact opposite about the States - he claims to find it "weird" even to hear that some people don't make a w/wh distinction.
Matt
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