[Ads-l] Antedating of "Apartheid"

[Barretts Mail]

I don’t hear this word a lot, but I agree that “apart hide” (but with no “h” sound) sounds normal to me.

Merriam-Webster (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apartheid <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apartheid>) gives ə-ˈpär-ˌtāt and ə-ˈpär-ˌtīt.

Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/apartheid <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/apartheid>) has an interesting analysis, giving the “apart (h)ide” pronunciation as “lax”:

Strict: əˈpɑɹthaɪt
Alternatively: əˈpɑɹtheɪt
Lax: əˈpɑɹ.taɪd

The OED offers only one pronunciation, əˈpɑːtheɪt, which runs the risk of making people think there is a θ pronunciation there, even though they do have separate symbols for the voiced and voiceless sounds.

Benjamin Barrett (he/him/his)
Formerly of Seattle, WA

> On 18 Jul 2020, at 17:13, Baker, John <JBAKER at STRADLEY.COM> wrote:
> 
> Although the “apart hide” pronunciation seems to be more or less standard in American English, there are a number of online sources, many of them seemingly quite knowledgeable, that agree that it should be pronounced “apart hate.”
> 
> 
> John Baker
> 
> 
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of Wilson Gray
> Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2020 5:02 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Antedating of "Apartheid"
> 
> External Email - Think Before You Click
> 
> 
> Some time more or less in the same era, LIFE published an article on
> apartheid. The article, among other things, explained that _apartheid_ is
> an Afrikaans word and that its pronunciation is approximately "apart-hate."
> 
> Apparently, nobody else in the English-speaking world read this article.
> I've heard this word pronounced as bizarrely as "appe(r)tite" even by UK
> speakers.
> 
> 
> On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 1:02 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu<mailto:fred.shapiro at yale.edu>> wrote:
> 
>> apartheid (OED 1947 Oct.)
>> 
>> 1947 _Rand Daily Mail_ 23 Jan. 9/3 (Readex) The Opposition had no native
>> policy. He [S. J. Tighy] had asked the Leader of the Opposition for a
>> definition of the word "apartheid." It could not be found in any dictionary.
>> 
>> Fred Shapiro
>> 
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>> 
> 
> 
> --
> -Wilson
> -----
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -Mark Twain
> 
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> 
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