[Ads-l] 'tor toyce

[Laurence Horn]

At least one British English speaker a while back took it for granted that TOR-toyss was not the pronunciation his readers would assume:

“When we were little," the Mock Turtle went on at last, more calmly, though still sobbing a little now and then, "we went to school in the sea. The master was an old Turtle - we used to call him Tortoise -"
"Why did you call him Tortoise, if he wasn't one?" Alice asked.
"We called him Tortoise because he taught us," said the Mock Turtle angrily: "really you are very dull!”

--AiW, Chapter IX

Only works if it’s “TAW-tuss” /ˈtɔːtəs/, not “TAW-toyss” /ˈtɔːtɔɪs/ (or TAW-toyz).

LH

> On Nov 8, 2023, at 10:58 PM, James Eric Lawson <jel at NVENTURE.COM> wrote:
> 
> According to OEDO, TOR-toyss is the second common pronunciation in British English, with TOR-toyz third.
> 
> On 11/8/23 17:28, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>> That's how English archaeologist / YouTuber Stefan Milo pronounces
>> "tortoise" on his YouTube channel.
>> JL
> 
> -- 
> James Eric Lawson
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org