The Clerk Test of Ex-pat pronunciations

Question

I went to the British Library today, and whilst waiting out the front of Waterloo for a bus noticed a sign on a building opposite which declared it to be "The Robert Clerk (Somebody) Building" of King's College.
I realised it was a longish wait that I've completely internalised the BrEng pronunciation of "clerk", in all contexts. My mind's ear simply doesn't register the standard North American pronuncation any more.
In my case, there are very few words I'm aware of that this applies to. I don't mean word swaps like "gas/petrol" or "aluminum/aluminium", or conscious adaptation to the foreign pronuncation, but rather unconscious changes of pronunciation. (The only other one that comes to mind is "garage", which in the past year or so for some entirely unknown reason and slightly to the surprise of my mind's ear I've found myself stressing on the first syllable.)
What pronunciations have others who have lived "elsewhere" for long periods find they've unconsciously altered? (Do any ex-pat BrEng speakers find they've abandoned the "clark" pronunciation so thoroughly that they automatically hear the NAmer pronunciation when they see it written down?)

Cheers, Harvey
Canada for 30 years; S England since 1982.
(for e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van)

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]What pronunciations have others who have lived "elsewhere" for long periods find they've unconsciously altered? (Do any ex-pat BrEng speakers find they've abandoned the "clark" pronunciation so thoroughly that they automatically hear the NAmer pronunciation when they see it written down?)[/nq]
Well not clerk, which still says "clark" to me, nor "Berkshire" which I still pronounce "Barkshire". The word that springs readily to mind is "schedule", which I now think of as "sk" rather than "sh".

Fran
20-year resident of the USA

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]What pronunciations have others who have lived "elsewhere" for long ... hear the NAmer pronunciation when they see it written down?)[/nq]
[nq:1]Well not clerk, which still says "clark" to me, nor "Berkshire" which I still pronounce "Barkshire". The word that springs readily to mind is "schedule", which I now think of as "sk" rather than "sh".[/nq]
Ah: I'd forgotten about that one. I still tend to think "sk" rather than "sh" for that, but I've often used the latter when I want the pronunciation to be unremarkable.

Cheers, Harvey
Canada for 30 years; S England since 1982.
(for e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]What pronunciations have others who have lived "elsewhere" for long ... hear the NAmer pronunciation when they see it written down?)[/nq]
[nq:1]Well not clerk, which still says "clark" to me, nor "Berkshire" which I still pronounce "Barkshire".[/nq]
How about 'the Berkshires'?
I wonder how Ron pronounces 'Erk'.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]What pronunciations have others who have lived "elsewhere" for long periods find they've unconsciously altered?[/nq]
During six months in the US 25 years ago, I completely internalised the US pronunciation of "schedule". Just that one word, as far as I'm aware. No, I'm wrong - "pipette" was the other.
"Schedule" now completely foxes me - it sounds wrong whichever way I pronounce it. I very rarely find myself using "pipette", so I don't know about that.

Katy Jennison
spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]What pronunciations have others who have lived "elsewhere" for long periods find they've unconsciously altered? (Do any ex-pat BrEng speakers find they've abandoned the "clark" pronunciation so thoroughly that they automatically hear the NAmer pronunciation when they see it written down?)[/nq]
I have to say I was never conscious of being a "pat" so I'm not sure if I ever ceased to be one.

John Dean
Oxford

Usenet · Answer

Katy Jennison:
[nq:1]During six months in the US 25 years ago, I completely internalised the US pronunciation of "schedule". Just that one word, as far as I'm aware. No, I'm wrong - "pipette" was the other.[/nq]
I didn't know "pipette" had multiple pronunciations.

As to "Clerk", I received this in email today (under the subject line "Maxwell's Silver Hummer (sic)"):
Listen my children and shortly you'll hear
How Jimmy C. Maxwell cost me some beer
It happened the day I decided to bet
On spelling his name, which I now do regret.
I'd heard the name spoken, and, clear as a bell
It sounded exactly like James Clark Maxwell.
"I know how to spell that," I thought, "I'm no jerk, The name is spelled Clark, and it cannot be Clerk."

But what I forgot was that Maxwell was British,
And spelling in Britain is, at its best, skittish. I don't take it lightly, but view it quite darkly, That something spelled Berkeley is verbalized "Barkley".

Driving to Louisville, you can quite sure be
That you will witness the Kentucky Derby.
Driving to Ascot, if you in your car be,
Brings you surprise! to a race called the "Darby".

In England the way that they spell is perverse;
In Scotland, if anything, it's even worse.
Jimmy C.'s middle name's spelling is queer,
And that's why I owe everybody a beer.
The poem doesn't seem to be on the Web, and I have no idea who wrote it. For those philistines who don't recognize the name, Maxwell was the most important physicist of the 19th century; notably, he's the one who worked out that electricity and magnetism are forms of the same thing.
Mark Brader > "In the USA politicians run for office. In Britain they Toronto > stand for office. Of course... once elected... (they) (Email Removed) > neither run nor stand, they lie." John Cletheroe

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I realised it was a longish wait that I've completely internalised the BrEng pronunciation of "clerk", in all contexts. My mind's ear simply doesn't register the standard North American pronuncation any more.[/nq]
data = 'dayta' = 'dahta'
I believe it to be a trans-atlantic difference, although I'm antipodean and so pick and choose: dayta goes in a dahtabase
Cheers!
Rick Measham

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I realised it was a longish wait that ... simply doesn't register the standard North American pronuncation any more.[/nq]
[nq:1]data = 'dayta' = 'dahta' I believe it to be a trans-atlantic difference,[/nq]
Not really, or not entirely at least. In AmE it seems to be a generational difference. Today one mostly hears "dayta" /deIt@/, but sufficiently old speakers often say /d&t@/.
I'm pretty sure *I* used to say /d&t@/, and I'm younger than Erk.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]What pronunciations have others who have lived "elsewhere" for long periods find they've unconsciously altered? (Do any ex-pat BrEng speakers find they've abandoned the "clark" pronunciation so thoroughly that they automatically hear the NAmer pronunciation when they see it written down?)[/nq]
No, clerks remain clarks, while clurks are the people who sent Capt. Willard to collect a bill. I'm still a tran-SLAY-tuh, not a TRAN-slater; laboratories aren't yet labra-Tories and pr/oU/gress hasn't become pr/A./gress in the pr/oU/cess.
I do catch myself saying CON-troversy sometimes, though but I think I've been doing that since before I left the UK.

Ross Howard

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]On 17 Jun 2005, Frances Kemmish wrote[/nq]
[nq:2]Well not clerk, which still says "clark" to me, nor ... which I now think of as "sk" rather than "sh".[/nq]
[nq:1]Ah: I'd forgotten about that one. I still tend to think "sk" rather than "sh" for that, but I've often used the latter when I want the pronunciation to be unremarkable.[/nq]
Did you learn that in shool?

The Clerk Test of Ex-pat pronunciations

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