hard words on TV! Part deux

[Beverly Flanigan]

On singulars reanalyzed as plural:  I recently heard (yes, on national
news) reference to a "reconnaissan."  If the word was correctly spelled in
the script, it's hard to see how the announcer could have thought the 'ce'
was a plural marker, unless he ad libbed the word.

At 12:47 PM 5/10/2007, you wrote:
>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
>Subject:      Re: hard words on TV! Part deux
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>It seems to me a news anchor on national TV should have no doubt about the
>meaning and/or an acceptable pronunciation of "species." It was impossible
>to tell what the issue was. Carlson said "speeshees" each time."
>
>I say "speeshees," but "speecees" sounds OK too.
>
>Anchors sometimes refer to a single "specie."
>
>
>JL
>
>
>
>sagehen <sagehen at WESTELCOM.COM> wrote: ---------------------- Information
>from the mail header -----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society
>Poster:       sagehen
>Subject:      Re: hard words on TV! Part deux
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> >This is one of those words that I'm not really sure how I "usually"
> pronounce.
> >It's probably [spi:Si:z] half the time and [spi:si:z] the other half. It
> might
> >be the other way around.
> >
> >M-W lists both. The OED lists two pronunciations but not these two. It only
> >lists the 'sh' middle consonant. Its alternation is the final
> vowel/diphthong.
> >Either [spi:Si:z] or [spi:SIi:z]. Is the latter a two syllable
> pronunciation?
> >Any other words that would have the [-Ii-] diphthong?
> >
> >Michael Covarrubias
> >
> >
> >Quoting Jonathan Lighter :
> >>
> >> GRETCHEN CARLSON: They're the only ones of their species - is it
> >> "speeshees"?...
> >>
> >> BRIAN KILMEADE: "Speeshees."
> >>
>  ~~~~~~~~~~
>Am I missing something here?  I say "Speeshees, "  as do most of the
>scientists I know.
>The mistake to which this word is most susceptible seems to be assuming it
>to be the plural of the singular "specie."
>AM, the still older coot (/Fulica americana/).
>
>~@:>   ~@:>   ~@:>   ~@:>
>
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