Timeline for What words are commonly mispronounced by literate people who read them before they heard them?
Current License: CC BY-SA 2.5
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Dec 6, 2011 at 18:15 | comment | added | Jay | I'm reminded of a British immigrant to the U.S. who ran for some minor office. His opponent was currently the county sheriff. In a debate the sheriff made a big point about "goals", saying we need clear goals, etc. So the Briton replied, "His experience is gaols, not goals!" The quip fell rather flat to Americans, who pictured it as "jails, not goals". | |
| Nov 23, 2010 at 13:06 | comment | added | Brian Hooper | @Konrad, it does say in their style book "jail, not gaol" (guardian.co.uk/styleguide/j). | |
| Nov 23, 2010 at 12:38 | comment | added | Konrad Rudolph | @Brian: Most amusing: site:guardian.co.uk +gaoler vs. site:guardian.co.uk +jailer | |
| Nov 23, 2010 at 12:17 | comment | added | Brian Hooper | @Konrad, the Guardian still did, last time I read a copy. But they are uncommon. | |
| Nov 23, 2010 at 7:32 | comment | added | Konrad Rudolph | In the same vein: “gaoler”. But since nobody uses these spellings any more … | |
| Aug 24, 2010 at 12:52 | comment | added | niXar | Fr.: geôle; like most words related to justice, a legacy of William the Conqueror. | |
| Aug 23, 2010 at 1:53 | comment | added | Jared Updike | Anyone who reads Dickens in high school would come across this word. I always thought, "gosh, I'm glad we don't have gaols in America, they sound horrible." | |
| Aug 21, 2010 at 2:59 | comment | added | kitukwfyer | Wait, so it's not pronounced "gowl"...? Whoopsie. Not only do I have a lot of these, I also apparently haven't discovered some of them yet...This is educational AND saving me from some possible future embarrassment. Awesome. | |
| Aug 19, 2010 at 22:21 | history | answered | Brian Hooper | CC BY-SA 2.5 |