Schedule

Liz   Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:43 pm GMT
<<Schedule USED to be pronounced shed - ule in Britain but this is limited to the 'older' generation now. I'm 27 and no-one my age says it like this any longer. Sadly it is skedule all the way. I do pronounce it the traditional British way, and I do get the Mick taken out of me - but most of my generation are familiar with it. The younger ones though, unless they watch the BBC news probably never have heard it.<<

Yeah, exactly.

Although I´m relatively young (22), I do pronounce it in the old BrE way, too. (Oh, what a rhyming couplet! :-)) Some people laugh at me but I don´t give a flying toss. There are more important things in the world than that...

However, if you pronounce the "dule" part palatalised (without the yod, so SEdZu:l), that´s not that old-fashioned, I reckon.
Pub Lunch   Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:06 pm GMT
Hi Liz - wow!! Shocked am I young lady. At 22 you pronounce it the BrE way?? Happy to hear it!!!! (Not that there is anything wrong with the American pronunciation). That'll teach me to generalise.

Surprisingly I really do get corrected constantly when I pronounce it, but then I am from Essex. Thinking about it, I suppose, persons from the 'upper classes' (not me) may still say it like that, but I have a hard time believing anyone picks it up ‘on the street’. Maybe I am wrong and I'd be more than happy to be.

I am doing an Access course at Uni and rather worryingly my English teacher always says sked – ule. Seeing as she’s an English lady teaching English in England and she is, ahem, quite old, my money would have been on shed-ule. Oh well.

My English is quite bad but thanks to you I now know what a rhyming couplet and palatalised mean. Add that to euphemism and I have had quite a day. Maybe not…
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:45 pm GMT
>>I am doing an Access course at Uni and rather worryingly my English teacher always says sked – ule. Seeing as she’s an English lady teaching English in England and she is, ahem, quite old, my money would have been on shed-ule. Oh well.<<

How is this worrying exactly?

>>My English is quite bad but thanks to you I now know what a rhyming couplet and palatalised mean. Add that to euphemism and I have had quite a day. Maybe not… <<

How can one's native language be "bad" (at least from a spoken perspective, and assuming that English is your native language)?
Guest   Wed Mar 14, 2007 7:51 pm GMT
Hi Travis; cheers for the reply.

>>How is this worrying exactly? <<

Worrying in the sense that if a person who has achieved degrees in English in England while being English and teaching British English (and I'd estimate being in her early 60's) uses American pronunciation for a word as opposed to the British one then this is surely an indication that the British pronunciation of that word is basically 'on its way out'. Some people may say so what, and I respect that. I personally think that is sad or 'worrying'.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I think there is nothing wrong with the American pronunciation of the word (I'm assuming you are American), but I think it would be nice if a word was pronounced in the British manner by a person born and bred in Britain. Actually, I can only speak for the region of Britain where I live, with all the dialects of Britain, maybe schedule being pronounced sked-ule has always been correct in Scotland or wherever. I don't know.

Until recently shed-ule was the typical pronunciation for schedule in my area. I know this because I remember being taught this at school, as well as this being the way older friends and relatives pronounce it (apart from my mum). Ok I have gone on long enough.


>>How can one's native language be "bad" (at least from a spoken perspective, and assuming that English is your native language)? <<

I meant that my grammar, punctuation and spellings are bad (to say the least - but I am trying to improve). Compared to most who post on here, their grasp of the English language far exceeds mine. I did not mean the actual language was bad. Its not, erm it’s great!!!
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:13 pm GMT
>>>>How can one's native language be "bad" (at least from a spoken perspective, and assuming that English is your native language)? <<

I meant that my grammar, punctuation and spellings are bad (to say the least - but I am trying to improve). Compared to most who post on here, their grasp of the English language far exceeds mine. I did not mean the actual language was bad. Its not, erm it’s great!!!<<

Punctuation and spelling are not language per se but rather orthography, which is an artificial layer atop such. As for grammar, the thing is that such does definitely vary from dialect to dialect, and calling the grammar of some dialect "bad" is just an artificial prescription imposed by grammarians (and generally propagated by people like English teachers, who often really do not know that much about the English language linguistically) more than anything else.
George   Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:34 pm GMT
<<Punctuation and spelling are not language per se but rather orthography>>

Orthography is part of language, as is grammar.
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:17 pm GMT
>>Orthography is part of language, as is grammar.<<

But hwot ai rait iz djust az mutj ingglisj az hwot ju hav ritten yven dho it luoks different diu tu biing ritten in e different oarthograffi.

(Noot dhat sum daiakrittiks hav byn omittid from dhis poost foar lak ov dhe propper kiboord settup hyr. Oalso, dhe daigraf "uo" wuod noarmalli not by iuzd hyr.)
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:22 pm GMT
>>Orthography is part of language, as is grammar.<<

But hwot ai rait iz djust az mutj ingglisj az hwot ju hav ritten yven dho it luoks different diu tu biing ritten in e different oarthograffi foar ingglisj.

(Noot dhat sum daiekrittiks hav byn omittid from dhis poost foar lak ov dhe propper kiboord settup hyr. Oalso, dhe daigraf "uo" wuod noarmalli not by iuzd hyr.)
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:23 pm GMT
>>Orthography is part of language, as is grammar.<<

But hwot ai rait iz djust az mutj ingglisj az hwot ju hav ritten yven dho it luoks different diu tu biing ritten in e different oarthograffi foar ingglisj.

(Noot dhat sum daiekrittiks hav byn omittid from dhis poost foar lak ov dhe propper kiboord settup hyr. Oalso, dhe daigraf "uo" wuod noarmalli not by iuzd hyr.)
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:27 pm GMT
>>Orthography is part of language, as is grammar.<<

But hwot ai rait iz djust az mutj ingglisj az hwot ju hav ritten yven dho it luoks different diu tu biing ritten in e different oarthograffi foar ingglisj.

(Noot dhat sum daiekrittiks hav byn omittid from dhis poost foar lak ov dhe propper kiboord settup hyr. Oalso, dhe daigraf "uo" wuod noarmalli not by iuzd hyr.)
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:34 pm GMT
>>Orthography is part of language, as is grammar.<<

But hwot ai rait iz djust az mutj ingglisj az hwot ju hav ritten yven dho it luoks different diu tu biing ritten in e different oarthograffi foar ingglisj.

(Noot dhat sum daiekrittiks hav byn omittid from dhis poost foar lak ov dhe propper kiboord settup hyr. Oalso, dhe daigraf "uo" wuod noarmalli not by iuzd hyr.)
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:52 pm GMT
>>Orthography is part of language, as is grammar.<<

But hwot ai rait iz djust az mutj ingglisj az hwot ju hav ritten yven dho it luoks different diu tu biing ritten in e different oarthograffi foar ingglisj.

(Noot dhat sum daiekrittiks hav byn omittid from dhis poost foar lak ov dhe propper kiboord settup hyr. Oalso, dhe daigraf "uo" wuod noarmalli not by iuzd hyr.)
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:06 pm GMT
>>Orthography is part of language, as is grammar.<<

But hwot ai rait iz djust az mutj ingglisj az hwot ju hav ritten yven dho it luoks different diu tu biing ritten in e different oarthograffi foar ingglisj.

(Noot dhat sum daiekrittiks hav byn omittid from dhis poost foar lak ov dhe propper kiboord settup hyr. Oalso, dhe daigraf "uo" wuod noarmalli not by iuzd hyr.)
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:40 pm GMT
>>Orthography is part of language, as is grammar.<<

But hwot ai rait iz djust az mutj ingglisj az hwot ju hav ritten yven dho it luoks different diu tu biing ritten in e different oarthograffi foar ingglisj.

(Noot dhat sum daiekrittiks hav byn omittid from dhis poost foar lak ov dhe propper kiboord settup hyr. Oalso, dhe daigraf "uo" wuod noarmalli not by iuzd hyr.)
Travis   Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:50 pm GMT
>>Orthography is part of language, as is grammar.<<

But hwot ai rait iz djust az mutj ingglisj az hwot ju hav ritten yven dho it luoks different diu tu biing ritten in e different oarthograffi foar ingglisj.

(Noot dhat sum daiekrittiks hav byn omittid from dhis poost foar lak ov dhe propper kiboord settup hyr. Oalso, dhe daigraf "uo" wuod noarmalli not by iuzd hyr.)