That's nyooz to me

Having trouble viewing this message? [Click here to view it online.]( To unsubscribe or change contact details, scroll to the bottom and follow the link. [GrammarBook.com]( Your #1 Source for Grammar and Punctuation That's nyooz to me Today we are repeating an article from January 2016 as we mourn the demise of the traditional pronunciation of the word electoral. Like many of you, we word nerds at GrammarBook.com have been surfing the TV news networks as we follow pre- and post-election coverage. We can't count the number of times we’ve heard the news anchors, reporters, and pundits, mentioning the electoral college. Unfortunately, we’ve noted about a ten to one trend favoring the pronunciation ee-lec-TOR-ul. But those of us who care have the option to follow our 2016 advice below: "don’t be like them." --------------------------------------------------------------- Pronunciation changes gradually through the years—that's evolution, and nothing could be more natural. But nowadays, if an influential public figure goes on TV or the internet and says a word wrong, millions of people hear it, and the mispronunciation may gain an undeserved legitimacy. That isn't evolution, it's weeds taking over a rose garden. Virtually overnight, a word's long-established pronunciation can be upended because some big shot misspoke. Examples of widespread mispronunciations for which we blame the media include [alleged]( [camaraderie]( [controversial]( [divisive]( [homage]( … we could go on. We recognize that with language the majority rules, but it's frustrating to realize that those who don't know or care much about words ultimately decide how they're spoken. So here is another installment in our series of pronunciation columns. (Note: capital letters denote a stressed syllable.) News Don't say nooze; in many regions of the U.S., it's nyooz (rhymes with fuse). Era The er should sound like ear. Say EAR-a, not AIR-a. Dais It's a raised platform for speakers (the human kind). The right way to say it is DAY-iss, but you often hear DYE-iss. Dalai Lama DAH-lye LA-ma is the pronunciation unanimously accepted by our office dictionaries, which span the last seventy-five years. The ai in Dalai is pronounced like the first syllable in aisle or the last syllable in samurai. Avoid “Dolly Lama”—that second a in Dalai was not just thrown in arbitrarily. Daiquiri More trouble with ai. In the 1959 British film Our Man in Havana a character orders a DYKE-er-ee, and our 1966 Random House dictionary prefers that pronunciation. But for years now, Americans have said DACK-a-ree. Even so, the American Heritage online dictionary still lists DYKE-er-ee. Maybe the best bet is to order a mai tai. Guillotine Despite the oft-heard GEE-uh-teen, this word is traditionally pronounced GILL-uh-teen. In the early 19th century, Noah Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language called for the l's to be pronounced. Our 1941 Webster's New International Dictionary also insists on saying the l's. GEE-uh-teen as an alternative is a relatively recent trend. Electoral We're right in the middle of an important election season, and soon we'll be hearing semiliterate media types saying ee-lec-TOR-ul. Well, don't be like them. The word is properly pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable. The 1999 Webster's New World and the 2006 American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language list only ee-LEC-ter-ul. However, it is our sad duty to report that the latest edition of each now lists ee-lec-TOR-ul as an alternative. Why is something acceptable now if it wasn't all right ten years ago? The moral: When it comes to correct pronunciation, a new dictionary might not be the first place you want to look. [View and comment on this article on our website.]( Free BONUS Quiz for You! {NAME}, because you are a subscriber to the newsletter, you get access to one of the Subscribers-Only Quizzes. Click here to take a [Subjunctive Mood Quiz]( and get your scores and explanations instantly! We will be adding many more quizzes this year to our already substantial list of quizzes. If you have suggestions for topics we have not yet covered, please send us a message at help@grammarbook.com. Hundreds of Additional Quizzes at Your Fingertips Subscribe now to receive hundreds of additional English usage quizzes not found anywhere else! Teachers and Employers Save hours of valuable time! You may assign quizzes to your students and employees and have their scores tallied, organized, and reported to you! Let [GrammarBook.com]( take the hassle out of teaching English! "Fun to test my skills." "The explanations really help ... thanks!" "I can select the quizzes to assign to my students, and then the results are reported to me automatically!" [Find out more about our subscription packages]( Don't need all the quizzes? You can now purchase the same quizzes individually for ONLY 99¢ each. [Purchase yours here.]( If you think you have found an error in a quiz, please email us at help@grammarbook.com The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation by Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, and Tom Stern The Authority on English Grammar! Eleventh Edition Now Available An indispensable tool for busy professionals, teachers, students, homeschool families, editors, writers, and proofreaders. Available in print AND as an e-Book! Over 2,000 copies are purchased every month! The publisher of The Blue Book, Jossey-Bass, A Wiley brand, is offering a 35 percent discount for those of you who order the book through Wiley.com. Shipping and tax are not included. Simply go to [bit.ly/1996hkA]( and use discount code E9X4A. Offer expires December 31, 2020. [Order Your Copy Today!]( Wordplay English In A Snap: 68 One-Minute English Usage Videos FREE Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. [Click here to watch](. Forward this e-newsletter to your friends and colleagues. If you received this FREE weekly e-newsletter from a friend, [click here to have it sent to you each week](. Look for more Hot Tips from [GrammarBook.com]( next week. Miss a recent newsletter? [Click here to view past editions](. p> Lester Kaufman, P.O. Box 472, Mill Valley, CA 94942, United States You may [unsubscribe]( or [change your contact details]( at any time. [Powered by:](