>>>>One of the worst spelled word in the English language (depending on where you live) has to be 'Colonel'. Where the heck's the 'R'?
>>>
>>>The lack of the "R" bothers you but not the fact that "colon" if pronounced "Ker". Does it
>>take a lot of guts to be a "colon-el"? :-)
>>
>>I don't mean to be picky, but it's only the 'Colo' that is 'Ker' the 'n' is pronounced properly, as in 'colo-nel'. Well... ok, so I do mean to be picky.
>
>Yeah, you#re right, typo, whatever! The main point is that we have a "ker" sound when the vowel is an "o". OK, so it is in "worst" (except worsted cloth is pronounced "woosted", I think!, and Worcester is "wooster") but there's an "l" instead of an "r"
>>>
>>>It seems that many words coming from the original French (where this word is pronounced correctly) get corrupted in English. Another rank, "lieutenant" is pronounced "left-tenant" in Britain. There is a stately home called "Beaulieu" -"bo-lyuh" you'd think? - no, "byew-lee". Go figure.
>>
>>Hah, Britain!! Cholmondeley = Chumly???
>
>I mentioned this one a wee way back in another thread. The name "Cholmondeley-St John" is pronounced "Chumley-Sinjun". Anyway, you guys should talk! Your nationality, I hear, is "Kineedian", you eat hens' "agues" (as in plagues), and go "owoot" in the snow! :-)

Close, but no cigar. We say Kinayjun. Sort of like 'jeet?' = "did you eat?". At least you've answered a question for me. In a movie called Sleuth, Laurence Olivier refers to the protagonist in his books as 'Sinjun Lord Merridew'. I now know it must have been St. John Lord Merridew, which still sounds odd to me.


>>
>>There is an old thing about how to pronounce 'GHOTI'. It's pronounced 'fish'.
>>
>>Take the GH from 'cough', the O from 'women', and the TI from 'nation' -> fish.
>
>Ah the old "ghoti" example. I've discussed that one with Dragan.