Audiobooks have begun to outsell print

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

But then, I've not only never heard anyone say "kway" I've never heard the word at all.

Same here. Had to look it up. Looking at it, I would've pronounced it "kway" too.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Same here. Had to look it up. Looking at it, I would've pronounced it "kway" too.

KWight right.

Now, I suggest we be KWiet about this subject and return to talking of audiobooks.

[rdfry]

I have only ever heard it pronounced kay.

[arjaybe]

I must admit that the first time I heard Paul Simon sing "drop off the key, Lee" I thought he was saying "drop off the quay, Lee." I thought it must be some New York thing.-)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Same here. Had to look it up. Looking at it, I would've pronounced it "kway" too.

That's interesting - it's a pretty common word in these parts. What word would you have used instead?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's interesting - it's a pretty common word in these parts. What word would you have used instead?

Dock.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Dock.

"Dock" is a more general term. A quay is the specific part of a dock onto which goods are unloaded from (or loaded onto) a ship.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by HarryT

"Dock" is a more general term. A quay is the specific part of a dock onto which goods are unloaded from (or loaded onto) a ship.

To me, a dock is a dock is a dock. I've never heard anyone refer to specific parts of it with other terms.

[Fbone]

We use dock, wharf or jetty. Quay is seldom used and is pronounced kway possibly to avoid confusion with key and cay.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

To me, a dock is a dock is a dock. I've never heard anyone refer to specific parts of it with other terms.

You've learnt something new. That's good .

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by HarryT

"Dock" is a more general term. A quay is the specific part of a dock onto which goods are unloaded from (or loaded onto) a ship.

But if you lived somewhere totally landlocked you probably wouldn't have come across the word. I've also heard it called a loading dock on US TV.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Until I started listening to audiobooks I was unaware that British and American English pronounce, as well as spell, so many words differently. A lot of words are pronounced completely differently even if they're spelt the same. One example is the word "buoy" (as in a floating marker in a harbour or at sea). In the UK, the word is pronounced the same as the word "boy", but in one book by an American narrator, he pronounced it "boo-ee". I don't know if that's the standard American pronunciation, or if he just didn't know how to say the word? Another one which always strikes me as strange is that American narrators say the word "shone" the same as the word "shown", whereas in British English, "shone" has a short "o".

Regional accents will change the words pronunciation a lot as well (on both sides of the pond) Grass, Stairs etc.
And there are always words like "Scone" that no one can decide how to pronounce - it either rhymes with Stone or Gone in English even if you speak to someone a couple of miles away the pronunciation can be different.

I mean, Americans can't even pronounce zed correctly, so it's bound to get worse when you have more than one letter

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by issybird

Seriously, I listen to a lot of books with egregious mispronunciations (non-fiction, major publishers, etc.). I only wish this were part of the process!

I'm still shuddering at the biography of John Quincy Adams where the word "quay" was pronounced "kway." No, I'm not making that up. And it's not even as if the narrator got it wrong once and someone clued him in so he could fix it subsequently. It was consistent throughout the book.

How is that word supposed to be pronounced? (I thought it was "kway")

I know how you feel. I just dropped Niven's Ringworld because the narrator pronounced Louis as "Louie".

That's not correct, not in my book.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

How is that word supposed to be pronounced? (I thought it was "kway")

Key.
Although I believe Wharf is more used than Quay in the U.S.

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I know how you feel. I just dropped Niven's Ringworld because the narrator pronounced Louis as "Louie".

That's not correct, not in my book.

What about Louis XIV, Louis Armstrong?
I always read Louis as "Louie" not "Lewis"

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I know how you feel. I just dropped Niven's Ringworld because the narrator pronounced Louis as "Louie".

That's not correct, not in my book.

The name "Louis" can be pronounced as either "Loo-iss" or "Loo-ee"; some people prefer one, some the other. Both are correct.