"Clique": kleek? klick?

[Patty Davies]

hey!  Just a couple weeks ago I was quite teased while my husband
(also a Scotsman, hmmm) was trying to teach me the proper
pronunciation when I was talking about 'this nitch' or 'that nitch'.

Patty


At 08:15 PM 12/31/05, you wrote:
>On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 22:36:52 -0500, Douglas G. Wilson typed:
>
> > >I learned "clique" through reading and assumed that it was
> > >pronounced "kleek." When I got to high school,
> > >I found "clique" to be in common use among black high-school kids
> > >with the pronunciation, "klick." ....
> >
> > I've wondered about this too. But I've heard both pronunciations: I
> > only wonder why "kleek" doesn't seem to predominate.
> >
> > I have the vague impression that I heard the "kleek" pronunciation
> > more often 40 years ago than I do now.
>
>I'm reminded of an exchange I heard a month or two ago on a podcast
>from an international digital media convention somewhere in
>California. The first speaker ("Californian born and bred", white)
>talked about filling a "niche" or reaching a "niche audience". He
>pronounced the word, several times, rhyming with "snitch" or
>"bitch" ([nItS]). Another speaker (Scottish, from Glasgow) entered
>the conversation, but pronounced it [ni:S], then corrected himself
>with the words "or 'nitch', as you guys say it".
>
>Happy New Year!
>
>Chris Waigl