Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Either data or route

I've been watching many "Alias" episodes lately and I noticed a
thing I'd never noticed before.
How do you say "data"? [deita] or [data]? And "route"? Is it [rut] or 
[raut]? (I really don't know the right symbols, but I guess you're 
getting what I mean)
And what about "either"? I remember reading the "i" pronunciation was 
British, while the "ee" pronunciation was American... but I hear 
Americans say it both ways.
-- 
Laz - [
http://www.dimensionedelta.net
]
"Everybody darlin' sometimes bites the hand that feeds" 

 Americans say it both ways.
As do Brits. Julie Andrews says ['i:D3:], not ['aiD3:], but I do think the
latter pronunciation is commoner in England; maybe in Britain as well. I've
a hunch that the former is commoner in AmEng, but I'm not positive.
Bye, FB
-- 
"Che cos'è un fallo da tergo? E non stiamo parlando della tua vita
privata."
(Intervista della Gialappa's Band a Elisabetta Canalis)

 I, for one, have always heard [deit@] and [ru:t].
Me too but the other pronunciation of "data" seems to be correct as well
(but I never happen to say it that way though),
and available on 
m-w.com
, check it out.


Most Americans say "ee", in either and neither, but some Americans do
attempt to follow what they perceive to be the correct "British"
pronunciation, but they are inconsistent in their allegiance.
You may hear people say "eyther" and "nyther" in the British manner,
but these same people will also say "tomayto" and "potayto", in the
American manner, all the while completely unaware of their
inconsistency. It is highly amusing when they combine the two.
Joe from Massachusetts

 inconsistency. It is highly amusing when they combine the two.
While you're right that the British pronunciation of "tomato" is "tomahto", 
there is no equivalent pronunciation of "potahto". We say "poteyto", too; 
nobody says "potahto".  I imagine the idea that the British say  "potahto" 
stems from the song in the film "High Society":
You say "eether" and I say "eyether"
You say "neether" and I say "neyether"
Eether, eyether, neether, neyether
Let's call the whole thing off.
You say "tomeyto" and I say "tomahto"
You say "poteyto" and I say "potahto"
... 

 ...
But you say "banahna", don't you?
Bye, FB
-- 
"What meaning of this, Mitter Twain?" "I will tell you, Mr Wang, if you can
tell me why a man who possesses one of the most brilliant minds of this
century can't say his prepositions or articles"
(Murder by Death)


Pro [rata] and [rut] for the noun are the same in UK English , but the other 
uses you mention  are (to me) distinctively American ; I've never heard any 
Brit pronounce them [data] or [raut] , though it's true I don't hobnob with 
many young scientists/technicians , and things may be changing ...
Mike


Yes, I do, but Americans don't say "baneyna": they say [b@"n&:n@]. It's an 
example of the particular pronunciation reserved by BrE for "a" before n, s, 
f and th (can't, pass, after, bath). AmE tends to lenghten the vowel but 
doesn't change its quality.
What is weird though is how, whereas the British don't extend that 
particular pronunciation rule to foreign and in particular Italian words and 
therefore say ["p&st@] and [l@"s&nj@], the Americans use an [A:] vowels in 
precisely these words, so you get:
past            BrE [pA:st]            AmE [p&:st]
pasta          BrE ["p&st@]        AmE [pA:st@]