Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 7 down vote favorite

I recently heard a BBC radio announcer pronounce "Wednesday" in a peculiar way. The 'd' wasn't dropped, resulting in something like "Wedinzday" (wɛdnzde).

I've read some Scottish dialects use this pronunciation. Is it class- or region-based? Something from RP or "broadcaster English"? Also, it doesn't appear that other words containing "dn" are affected (e.g. madness, midnight, etc.), so is this just a phonological anomaly?

share|improve this question
3  
Glaswegians I know -- and no one else -- pronounce the D in Wednesday. – JAM Sep 27 '12 at 20:41
@JAM Thanks. That led me to information about the Standard Scottish English pronunciations. Feel free to make this an answer so I can accept it. – Zairja Sep 27 '12 at 20:54
@JAM, Zairja: I don't think it's at all "standard", even for Scottish speakers. I suspect it's largely a form of "hypercorrection" that's maybe higher among Scots because they tend to enunciate everything a bit more clearly than the UK average. – FumbleFingers Sep 27 '12 at 21:38
@Zairja, why not answer your own question -- I didn't say enough for an answer. – JAM Sep 27 '12 at 22:07
1  
@donothingsuccessfully: There are conflicting stereotypes involved - for example, Rab C. Nesbitt wouldn't get a job reading the BBC news, but Kirsty Young and others have done well there. And I believe many UK-based call centres use Scots because they tend to speak clearly (perhaps because they wouldn't be so easily understood by us Sassenachs if they spoke more casually, and they need the jobs! :) – FumbleFingers Sep 28 '12 at 12:59
show 4 more comments

1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

My parents are both from Northern Britain, my mother from Newcastle upon Tyne and my father from Glasgow. They both say "Wed'nzday". By contrast, I was brought up and live in the South-west of England, where the local pronunciation is "Wenzday"

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.