Invisible wrote:

> Hell, I *still* don't know how to pronounce genre! ;-)

johnruh or zhanruh ... take your pick.

> 
> [And lingerie is just hard to physically utter. Still, not something I'm 
> ever likely to need to do...]
> 
>>> I guessed that "platonic" would be something to do with regular solids.
>>
>>   Ever heard of platonic love?
> 
> Yes. I never knew what it meant though.
> 
> Actually there are lots of words I've heard and wondered what they 
> meant. [Obviously I can't think of a single example *right now*...]
>

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Warp wrote:

>   OTOH, sometimes even "native" words are hard to pronounce, even to
> natives. One example which comes to mind is worcestershire sauce.

That one always trips me up :/

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On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:31:12 -0400, Sabrina Kilian <"ykgp at
vtSPAM.edu"> wrote:

>John VanSickle wrote:
>> Oedipus complex:  n.  A romantic attraction towards ones own parent of 
>> the opposite sex.
>> 
>
>Usually refers only to a male's attraction to his mother. A female's 
>attraction to her father is an Electra complex.

Since we are showing off with our Greek. I point Andrew to the "Medea
complex" if he wants to worry :)
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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>I'm also
> re-reading Haldeman's The Forever War. Definitely not inane tho' the
> ending is a fraction weak.
>
> John

The epitome late '60s early '70s mainstream Sci-fi.

--

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"Invisible" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message
news:480dae0b@news.povray.org...
> http://blog.orphi.me.uk/archives/268
>
> How many of these words can *you* figure out, without looking them up?
>
> Am I just supremely illiterate, or are these words actually rare?

I got about 90% of them. Guess I don't read enough..

How much fiction (excluding web comics) do you read?

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"John VanSickle" <evi### [at] hotmailcom> wrote in message
news:480dd27b@news.povray.org...
> Invisible wrote:
> > http://blog.orphi.me.uk/archives/268
> >
> > How many of these words can *you* figure out, without looking them up?
>
> Barista:  Don't know this one.  Possibly either a Spanish term for a
> lawyer, or a resident of a Hispanic ghetto.

Think starbucks.

From dictionary.com - a person who works at the counter of a coffee shop; a
coffee bar server

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> 'on-TON-druh' might 
> be a rough approximation (apologies to the French).

"Critics of ad hoc pronunciation schemes point out that such schemas are 
inherently self-referential, since they rely on the ability of the 
reader to already know how a large number of words are commonly 
pronounced. In addition, such schemas often assume a certain language, 
dialect or accent on the part of the reader, and due to its popularity 
in the US, this is very often a US accent."

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"Gail Shaw" <initialsurname@sentech sa dot com> wrote in message
news:480e018e@news.povray.org...
>
> "Invisible" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message
> news:480dae0b@news.povray.org...
> > http://blog.orphi.me.uk/archives/268
> >
> > How many of these words can *you* figure out, without looking them up?
> >
> > Am I just supremely illiterate, or are these words actually rare?
>
> I got about 90% of them. Guess I don't read enough..
>
> How much fiction (excluding web comics) do you read?
>

p.s. if you want to improve your vocabulary -
http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/list/

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And lo on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:33:55 +0100, scott <sco### [at] laptopcom> did  
spake, saying:

>>  OTOH, sometimes even "native" words are hard to pronounce, even to
>> natives. One example which comes to mind is worcestershire sauce.

Mmm windy-river fort sauce.

> I don't think many English natives would find that hard to pronounce,  
> there are several (3?) counties in England that finish in -cestershire,  
> and plenty more towns and cities that end in -cester.

Damn Romans got everywhere. :-)

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

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Nicolas Alvarez wrote:

>> 'on-TON-druh' might be a rough approximation (apologies to the French).
> 
> "Critics of ad hoc pronunciation schemes point out that such schemas are 
> inherently self-referential, since they rely on the ability of the 
> reader to already know how a large number of words are commonly 
> pronounced. In addition, such schemas often assume a certain language, 
> dialect or accent on the part of the reader, and due to its popularity 
> in the US, this is very often a US accent."

What? do you propose we use IPA?

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