How do you pronounce these words?

[Janna]

I just got home from a weekend getaway with 4 other ladies. One of the ladies works at a library and has an English degree and 2 Masters degrees, one of which is library science. So as she and I were together, knowing that we both like to read, we would talk about different books, or would be reminded about something we had read etc.... Well it just so happened that within the span of about an hour, 3 different words - 2 of which were proper names - came into the conversation that she and I pronounced completely different and we both thought the other was wrong, LOL! It was quite humorous and surprising to each other at the same time. So how do YOU pronounce these?

 

 

• Oke, as in Janette Oke (I say "oak", she says "Oh-key" - but I did find a website that said it was indeed, pronounced "oak". Score one for me! LOL)
  

 

 

• Herriot, as in James (I say "harry-ot" she says "harry-oh")
  

 

 

• Guacamole (I say "wha-caw-mole-ay, she was "Gwa-caw-mole-ay)
  

[OhM]

Here are mine:

 

Oke - none of the above - I've always thought "O-kay"

 

Herriot - like yours

 

Guacamole - like hers

[Snickerdoodle]

I'm with you on all of them (OP).

[Chris in VA]

You are correct on Herriot (remember, he's English, not French), she's got the Guac, and, since you already know about Oke, I'll give ya that one, too! lol

[pooh bear]

Not sure about Oke and Guacamole, but I know how to say Herriot.

 

Say the ladies name Harriot, but change the 'a' to and short 'e'

 

My grandparents lived not too far from where James Herriot lived and worked.

[Snickerdoodle]

I don't understand? It's tor tee ya, and fa hee ta, why not wa ca mole?

[Aggie]

I don't understand? It's tor tee ya, and fa hee ta, why not wa ca mole?

 

IIRC, from my one year of Spanish in college during the dark ages...

 

"ll" is a Yee sound

 

"j" is not a J sound...more of an eeee

 

"G" is our g sound

 

I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong, which I've been known to be on occasion.:001_smile:

[WTMindy]

IIRC, from my one year of Spanish in college during the dark ages...

 

"ll" is a Yee sound

 

"j" is not a J sound...more of an eeee

 

"G" is our g sound

 

I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong, which I've been known to be on occasion.:001_smile:

 

J makes an "h" sound. G is a g sound. But, I'm with you on the other two.

[Snickerdoodle]

:)

Edited May 4, 2009 by Snickerdoodle

[secular_mom]

IIRC, from my one year of Spanish in college during the dark ages...

 

"ll" is a Yee sound

 

"j" is not a J sound...more of an eeee

 

"G" is our g sound

 

I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong, which I've been known to be on occasion.:001_smile:

 

 

Errr, the Mexican dudes at the restaurants in San Diego all say wa, not gwa for guacamole. I defer to them. Also, Gorge is pronounced Hor-Hay, not like George. :D

[Aggie]

La verdad es que no conozco a nadie que pronuncie guacamole asi.

 

Oi....you got me here! I really should know more Spanish considering where I live. Can you translate, please?:001_smile:

 

Thanks for the correction, Mindy! It's been so long since I took Spanish.

Edited May 4, 2009 by Aggie

[fivetails]

Oke - not familiar with the name, I'd have said "oak" like the tree

 

Herriot - Harry-it (only heard this said by people in my family who have some of his books and that's how they say it)

 

Guacamole - gwawk-a-mole-ee

[Snickerdoodle]

Honestly, I've never heard anyone say guacamole with a hard g sound. My husband reminded me about an episode of Family Guy where the dad said "fa ji ta" with a hard j sound and we had a good laugh about it. It must be a regional thing.

[Janna]

See, now I say "wha"camole because it's how I was raised. While I'm Caucasian, my mother has a degree in Spanish and studied in Spain. When I said this to the ladies (on this one, all 4 of them said "gua" - I was the only one saying "wha"), one of them said that Spanish in Spain vs. Mexico is different. While that's true, I think some of the spanish is the same. We determined that perhaps this was a regional thing, because even looking it up online it seems like some people say one and some say another. I can't find a difinitive answer.

 

Glad to know I was right about Herriot. I said that he was English, not French, and she said that it was still a French name so it was Herrioh. It cracked us up, our differences of pronunciation!

[Janna]

Not sure about Oke and Guacamole, but I know how to say Herriot.

 

Say the ladies name Harriot, but change the 'a' to and short 'e'

 

My grandparents lived not too far from where James Herriot lived and worked.

 

Oh, that's kinda hard to say, isn't it? With the short 'e'? Instead of "hair ee ot", it's "heh ree ot"?

[newbie]

Names, I dont take a stab at, unless I hear the person who owns it speak it.

 

But, guacamole, can me whacamolay(which is Spanish version) or Gwakamolee(english version), if I order at Mex rest, its Span version, if at home eng. version.

[Peek a Boo]

You are correct on Herriot (remember, he's English, not French), she's got the Guac, and, since you already know about Oke, I'll give ya that one, too! lol

 

:iagree:

 

while i SAY GWAhkamolee, it's my understanding growing up in San Antonio that it's really /Whah-/ --in fact, there was a cute Chinese/Mexican restaurant called Wok-a-Mole.... ;)

[HeatherLynn]

Oke - not familiar with the name, I'd have said "oak" like the tree

 

Herriot - Harry-it (only heard this said by people in my family who have some of his books and that's how they say it)

 

 

 

Ditto this

 

But Guacamole is most definately wa-ca-mole (my kids call it wa-caca-mole because of what it resembles). However, I think it is acceptable either way.

[Unicorn.]

Oke- never heard of her, but I would say oak, Herriot- I say it like Harriet, and it's Gwok-uh-mole-ee. At least that is the correct Tex-Mex, southern -I'm lazy- drawl pronunciation! :0)

[Matryoshka]

Oke - I'd guess "oak", but if it were a name I'd be prepared to be wrong (anyone else watch "Keeping up Appearances"? It's "bou-KAY" :lol:)

 

Herriot - HERR-ee-ot (with short "e", not "a")

 

Guacamole - well, I've lived in both Mexico and Spain, and although they've never heard of guacamole in Spain (and they think a tortilla is a potato omlette), it would be prounounced the same there. "G" before U, O, or A is prounounced like a hard "G" in English.

 

G before E or I is prounounced like the Spanish J, which is not actually prounounced "h" but closer to "kh", in the back of the throat.

 

LL is like y, except in parts of Spain where it's like "lli" in "million" and I think down in Argentina where it's a bit like zh.

 

So, guacamole "Gwa-ca-moll-eh", fajita - "fa-khi-ta", tortilla - "tor-tee-yah".

 

I'm not sure how it follows if a J is close to an H, and LL is like Y, that a G would be anything like a W?? :confused: :001_smile: Or is it that elusive "hw" that we've already determined I can't prounounce?? :tongue_smilie:

 

ETA: Pondering this a bit more, as a bunch of people said they heard Mexican waiters pronouncing it "wa" - many Spanish speakers speak very rapidly - the second sound is a "W" and the "G" sound is very quick.

Edited May 4, 2009 by matroyshka

[mazakaal]

Oke, as in Janette Oke (I say "oak", she says "Oh-key" - but I did find a website that said it was indeed, pronounced "oak". Score one for me! LOL)Herriot, as in James (I say "harry-ot" she says "harry-oh")

 

 

Guacamole (I say "wha-caw-mole-ay, she was "Gwa-caw-mole-ay)

 

 

 

I'm with you on Oke.

 

I think Herriot is more 'herr-i-ot' than the /a/ sound that you put at the beginning, but definitely pronouce the /t/ at the end.

 

And I'd pronounce guacamole more like your friend, but not quite the same - 'gwa-ca-mole-ee'.

[Peek a Boo]

Or is it that elusive "hw" that we've already determined I can't prounounce?? :tongue_smilie:

 

ETA: Pondering this a bit more, as a bunch of people said they heard Mexican waiters pronouncing it "wa" - many Spanish speakers speak very rapidly - the second sound is a "W" and the "G" sound is very quick.

 

who's got the light bulb smilie???!!!

 

i think that's it: they say it SO fast that it sounds almost like that weird darn /hw/ sound.....

 

there ya go :)

[SnowWhite]

Agreeing that guacamole begins with a hard g, but pronounced VERY quickly.

 

The Spanish name for George is Jorge, not Gorge. And yes, it is pronounced Hoar Hay. G before e gets a soft pronunciation, or j sound in Spanish (which is h, not jay).

[Laura Corin]

 

 

• Herriot, as in James (I say "harry-ot" she says "harry-oh")

 

 

 

It should have a short 'e', not an 'a' sound. So an 'e' like in 'hen': He-ree-ut.

 

Laura

[Jean in Wisc]

 

 

 

• Oke, as in Janette Oke (I say "oak", she says "Oh-key" - but I did find a website that said it was indeed, pronounced "oak". Score one for me! LOL)

 

 

 

 

• Herriot, as in James (I say "harry-ot" she says "harry-oh")

 

 

 

 

• Guacamole (I say "wha-caw-mole-ay, she was "Gwa-caw-mole-ay)

 

 

Oak. I thought that is how I heard it when they read her books on the radio.

??

 

Harriet.

 

And the G? Well, I think you are getting into the various Spanish dialects where many of the consonants are not as clearly plosive and more fricative in nature. Some will say a clear, crisp /g/ while others will make it more guttural. To our ears, it sounds like a hoarse /hw/ that often has some voicing (use of the vocal cords--not all "air"). Since we do not have the exact same phoneme (speech sound) in English, we "hear" that which is closest to what we know--and it we copy it as /g/ or /hw/.

 

Gee. I knew there was some reason I got up to say bye to hubby at 5:30. LOL!

 

Jean

[Jean in Wisc]

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:bigear: charles free :iagree:

 

SPAM

[SquirrellyMama]

 

• 
  
  • Oke --I say Oak but I have heard other people pronounce it Oakee.
    
  • Herriot - I say it with a t sound at the end.
    
  • 
     
    Guacamole - I say this like your friend did except with an "ee" sound at the end and that's how I've always heard it pronounced in the US.
    

   

   

 

[dirty ethel rackham]

I don't understand? It's tor tee ya, and fa hee ta, why not wa ca mole?

 

In Spanish, G is a hard 'g' sound unless followed by an "e" or "i".

[Perry]

nm

[Perry]

nm

[MamaT]

I'm with you on Oke and Herriot, but your friend on guacomole (except I say the end like -ee).

[bella_gitana]

It's "Gwa-kah-moh-leh". The 'g' is always pronounced, there is no silent 'g' only the 'h' is silent in Spanish. The way some people may pronounce guacamole may make it sound like the 'g' is silent, but it may be a regional thing. Oh, and the 'e' at the end is 'e' like in 'exit' not 'ee'.

 

How do I know? I'm Hispanic.