Audiobooks have begun to outsell print

[Phogg]

Pronunciation and accented syllables have always been regional.
Normalizing differences in accented syllables has made American English vastly less rhythmic and more monotone during the course of my lifetime.



Quibbles over quays qualify as quackery.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

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

That's not correct, not in my book.

Dropped? The horror!

I love that audiobook. The pronunciation never bothered me; it's just a variant of Louis, not a mispronunciation.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

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

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

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.

My father's name is Luis and he goes by Louie.

I'd have used the word wharf.

This is kind of what I mean about life experiences and where you live being more of a key to pronunciation, word use and communication. It's never as cut and dried as it appears in grammar school.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

I'd have used the word wharf.

You misspelled it. It's "Worf" - a Lt Cdr in Starfleet

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

Recording audio versus how you might "write" it really are two different things. When I played around with recording the short stories, I definitely wanted to "rewrite" for audio. The only problem with that is that for an indie, Amazon doesn't allow that. In order for the audio to be accepted the book must follow 99 percent of the audio so that Amazon's whispersync works. This is actually a shame because you can do a lot with audio that you wouldn't necessarily want to do with the written work. You can add expressions such as shock, laughter, a door slamming--and then you don't need those exact words spoken.

Amazon controls a great deal of the audio market so I am not sure whether there will be innovative recordings if their rules for whispersync continue to dictate how an audio book is "read."

He didn't "rewrite" for audio; he wrote his books for audio in the first place.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by HarryT

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

What can I say, it sounded wrong when I heard it in the audiobook.

[Nate the great]

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".

Both pronunciations of buoy are valid in American english, but I would tend to use "boo-ee" when speaking in order to reduce confusion.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Both pronunciations of buoy are valid in American english, but I would tend to use "boo-ee" when speaking in order to reduce confusion.

How do you get an "ee" sound out of the word "buoy"? There's no "e" in the word. I can understand how "quay" might be pronounced as "kway" by people who are unaware of its French origin, but putting an "ee" in the word "buoy" is a lot more puzzling.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by HarryT

How do you get an "ee" sound out of the word "buoy"? There's no "e" in the word. I can understand how "quay" might be pronounced as "kway" by people who are unaware of its French origin, but putting an "ee" in the word "buoy" is a lot more puzzling.

Well, what about putting the "ee" sound in "quay"? Just as puzzling. I'll admit that the first time I read the word "quay" I pronounced it "kay" in my mind - but then I learned better. With a lot of English words, you just have to know.

As for the battle between English and American, where the heck did you folks get the "f" in "lieutenant"? Our pronunciation makes more sense as well as respecting its French origins, as with "quay."

[Ravensknight]

Originally Posted by HarryT

How do you get an "ee" sound out of the word "buoy"? There's no "e" in the word. I can understand how "quay" might be pronounced as "kway" by people who are unaware of its French origin, but putting an "ee" in the word "buoy" is a lot more puzzling.

Umm, the "y"?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by issybird

As for the battle between English and American, where the heck did you folks get the "f" in "lieutenant"?

From the same place that we got an "r" in the pronunciation of "colonel": history. "Lieutenant" is a very old word, and the "lieu" part of it used to be pronounced with an unvoiced "v" on the end, which morphed into a voiced "f". It's one of those words where the pronunciation has diverged from the spelling over time.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

What can I say, it sounded wrong when I heard it in the audiobook.

Never let the little things in life spoil the possibility of larger enjoyment.

I have learned a great deal from non-native speakers. They have a wealth of knowledge and ideas to share although they don't always choose the right word. Pronounced wrong or spelled incorrectly--if someone can communicate an idea or information, it's still valuable.

I recently spent a couple of hours with my neighbor. She switches freely from Spanish to English. My Spanish is pretty poor. Her English is perfect when she chooses to speak in English. The fault is mine that I am unable to parse all the Spanish meanings. But we have a great time laughing and chatting and I wouldn't miss her stories for the world. There are gems hidden in all languages and when she tells her stories in Spanish, they have a different culture attached that carries a vibrance that is somewhat lost in translation. Sure, it's nice if everyone knows everything and gets things perfect. But I'd hate to miss out by expecting perfection. (I am not suggesting that we should all go around misusing words or accepting slop.)

[soulfuldog]

Just listening to a Womans Murder Club audio book right now, and I've just learned the US pronunciation of oregano for some reason chooses to change the letter a to an e? Still threw me despite listing to the US accent reading the book for hours.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

Just listening to a Womans Murder Club audio book right now, and I've just learned the US pronunciation of oregano for some reason chooses to change the letter a to an e? Still threw me despite listing to the US accent reading the book for hours.

And you just taught me there must be another way to say oregano...! Well, as long as I cook with the right stuff, I'm good.