rhymes with urinal

[Michael Quinion]

Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> CNN's Karl Penhaul is covering the rescue of the miners in Chile. He "holds
> a bachelor's degree with honors from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh,
> Scotland and a master's degree in Latin American Politics from The London
> School of Economics."
>
> But that didn't stop him from saying that the miners will be checked, among
> other things, for / IntEst 'ai n at l / ailments.
>
> Yes, that's  intest-EYE-nal. The OED does not list it as a possibility.

It's given in John Wells's Longman Pronunciation Dictionary as an
alternative pronunciation. I've used it myself.

--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
Web: http://www.worldwidewords.org

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