caramel. Look it up; listen and be wise.
I'm off on one of my language rants today. Yes, I know I live in a glass house, but I'm throwing these stones anyway. I have been known to seethe over language abuses. This annoyance is particularly egregious. The advertisers of the product should know what it is that they are purveying. The whole thing smacks of a sort of faux elitism that I find especially grating.
Did you grow up in an environment in which the word was pronounced "care-uh-mel"? No, you did not. I know how the word is spelled, you know how the word is spelled. So pronounce it correctly, too.
Dang. Too much TV.
I'm off on one of my language rants today. Yes, I know I live in a glass house, but I'm throwing these stones anyway. I have been known to seethe over language abuses. This annoyance is particularly egregious. The advertisers of the product should know what it is that they are purveying. The whole thing smacks of a sort of faux elitism that I find especially grating.
Did you grow up in an environment in which the word was pronounced "care-uh-mel"? No, you did not. I know how the word is spelled, you know how the word is spelled. So pronounce it correctly, too.
Dang. Too much TV.
4 comments:
That's "fancy" talk, Vanilla. It's supposed to make you want to buy it. I'm like that with the car ads for "Jaguar". They say it "Jag. U. Are.
It's just silly if you ask me.
Much like the rose, a caramel by any other name would taste as sweet.
Uh, Lin, it's a Brit car and that is the way they pronounce it. Really it is. To them that Central American country is "Nicar ahg you ah."
According to the dictionary:
car·a·mel
\ˈkär-məl; ˈker-ə-məl, ˈka-rə-, -ˌmel\
The 2 syllable version comes first so I guess that is the preferred.
Actually I did grow up where it was pronounced with three syllables - the two syllable "correct" version sounds weird...Let's see - Carmel is a girl's name and the name of mountain that a lot of church's are named after, you know, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
As an aside, my brother's favorite church name is "Our Lady of Perpetual Motion" - needless to say we are not Roman Catholic.
Lin-- If it's supposed to make me want to buy it, why does it grate on my nerves? I think the Jag U ah commercials are a hoot. Envy, of course. For the car, not the accent.
Chuck-- Yes. I bow to your wisdom. I shall enjoy even if they call it "clackamack".
Grace-- I had considered the possibility that some did grow up using the three-syllable version. No insult intended. But the 3-syl pronunciation sounds as strange to me as does the 2-syl version to you.
Actually used to tell people that I attended "Bedside Chapel at St. Mattress Cathedral". I am much less delinquent nowadays.
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