DEE-fense

[Dale Coye]

I wrote about this -or-ending business in an AS article a while back;  they
are spelling pronunciations, and my theory was that the more unfamiliar the
word, the greater the likelihood that the spelling pronunciation would kick
in and stick.  For example I don't think anyone would use the /-or/
pronunciation for 'doctor, actor, tutor'  but I hear it all the time for
'mentor' which is somewhat erudite compared to those everyday words.  Then
take a really unusual word like 'servitor' and nearly everyone, even a
college professor, will use /-or/.

Dale Coye
The College of NJ