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Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Pseudojim, Feb 19, 2011.

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  1. Pseudojim

    Pseudojim
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    Why do americans pronounce "craig" as "creg"?

    I've had a cousin Craig all my life, and it's always "cray" with a G on the end.
     
    #1 Pseudojim, Feb 19, 2011
  2. Chip

    Chip
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    I've known several Craigs in my life and all of them have been "Creg" or somewhere in between "creg" and "crayg" But none "crayg". No idea why it's that way :slight_smile:
     
    #2 Chip, Feb 20, 2011
  3. Pseudojim

    Pseudojim
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    Yeah i've known a few, and they've all been 'crayg's.... i guess it's just one of those random things that no-one's likely to be able to explain >.<
     
    #3 Pseudojim, Feb 20, 2011
  4. TraceElement

    TraceElement
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    I just chalk it up to accent.
     
    #4 TraceElement, Feb 20, 2011
  5. Ridiculous

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    The first time I ever heard it being pronounced as "Creg" was on Ellen, when she said "Craiglist" (well, she actually said "Cregslist", not "Craigslist" :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:).

    Needless to say I had absolutely no idea what she was saying until the words appeared on screen afterwards.
     
    #5 Ridiculous, Feb 20, 2011
  6. Pseudojim

    Pseudojim
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    how would you pronounce the surname "haig"?

    I don't think it's part of the american accent to pronounce "ai" as "e" when followed with a "g", that doesn't seem to make sense... it probably roots back to a single point in history, but i'm buggered if i know what that point would be

    since it's a scots name, it's probably derived from the scottish way of pronouncing 'craig' which sounds a little bit like 'creg', but with the mouth just slightly wider and the tongue more forward.
     
    #6 Pseudojim, Feb 20, 2011
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2011
  7. Arex

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    I would have to say accent, down here in the south we always pronounce "craig" as "creg" though up in the north I know some that pronounce it correctly.
     
    #7 Arex, Feb 20, 2011
  8. Kerze

    Kerze
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    Because Americans have ridiculous accents and can't spell the word colour correctly; but they have other qualities that make up for this (&&&)
     
    #8 Kerze, Feb 20, 2011
  9. x2x2x2x2y2

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    I say "crayg" unless someone else says "creg" and the guy doesn't correct him/her. Then I assume it's "creg" and start using that.

    I think we need to just ban the name craig. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     
    #9 x2x2x2x2y2, Feb 20, 2011
  10. Pseudojim

    Pseudojim
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    If every 'ai' were pronounced as 'e', then i'd be inclined to agree... but think about the words rain, braid, bait.... they're not not ren, bred, or bet. Unfortunately it's impossible to compare with actual words ending with "aig", as i could only find one and it's very obscure... Who feels like going stravaiging with me? =P

    'craig' seems to be an isolated case, which to me suggests that it's of cultural derivation, not just an idiom of the north american accent. In fact, it's incongruous with the american accent... that's what's got me so curious. If it's a linguistic idiom not born of natural phonological evolution, that implies that the pronunciation has a distinct origin in time. Whether it's due to a person(s), place, or just the influence of scottish english (for example, maybe Craig was a common name amongst Scots immigrants many years ago whilst being relatively little known in american society, and early american borrowings of Scots pronunciation of the name became widespread and eventually stuck?), i have no idea.
     
    #10 Pseudojim, Feb 20, 2011
  11. Bryan44

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    My name is Krieg, but its pronounced as "Craig." Reading all of this made me really glad that my name is spelled different because if it was spelled as Craig I would probably question if I have been pronouncing my name the wrong way all of my life. Although since my name is German, technically it's pronounced as "Kr-ee-g."
     
    #11 Bryan44, Feb 20, 2011
  12. Pseudojim

    Pseudojim
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    there's no real right or wrong when it comes to name pronunciation, it's just interesting how they evolve
     
    #12 Pseudojim, Feb 20, 2011
  13. Kevin42

    Kevin42 Guest

    I have read that today's American accent would be closer to what the British sounded sounded like in the 18th century than what the British sound like today. Apparently it became trendy in England during the last part of the 18th century to start doing crazy shit like dropping the "r" sound on certain words. I can't remember where I read that, but I found it interesting. Perhaps someone else is a little more knowledgeable on the subject.
     
    #13 Kevin42, Feb 20, 2011
  14. Pseudojim

    Pseudojim
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    I'm not so sure on that. The many british accents of english (or the vast majority, anyway), at least since it's been the language of the court, have never been rhotic (where r is pronounced even in the absence of a following vowel), which is the most distinctive difference between american and british english. I'm pretty sure that came from the irish influence earlier in american history

    hmm, never mind that, apparently the article i was reading referred to london. Much of western england has historically been speaking with a rhotic accent, and it's been in steady decline throughout britain since the 18th century.
     
    #14 Pseudojim, Feb 20, 2011
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2011
  15. TheEdend

    TheEdend Guest

    And THIS is why I have a hard time pronouncing certain words! :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     
    #15 TheEdend, Feb 20, 2011
  16. Witchcraft

    Witchcraft Guest

    HAHAHA XD lol I dnt know, they just do.
     
    #16 Witchcraft, Feb 20, 2011
  17. RaRa

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    Wait, there's another way to pronounce that name? :lol:
     
    #17 RaRa, Feb 20, 2011
  18. Black Cat

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    I've always pronounced it as cray-gh. :confused:

    It drives me bonkers when people pronounce things differently. And if (by a very rare happenstance) there is something that I don't know how to pronounce, I find a way around it in conversation. With names that's a little more difficult, but then I just man up and ask the person how they pronounce their name. Especially if I've only seen their name in writing before; because someone named Georgette could spell her name S-M-I-T-H.
     
    #18 Black Cat, Feb 21, 2011
  19. RaRa

    RaRa
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    When you have a name like I do (especially the last name), you actually WANT people to ask you how you pronounce it. =p
     
    #19 RaRa, Feb 21, 2011
  20. Kerze

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    'A rhotic (pronounced /ˈroʊtɨk/, sometimes /ˈrɒtɨk/) speaker pronounces the letter R in hard; a non-rhotic speaker does not pronounce it in hard.'
    In the west country like Sumerset people would probably pronounce the r in hard making it sound like harrrd but around where I live at least people would sortof say haaard; theres still a bit of an r sound but it's only theer as the end of the a sound and it's not as prnounced, if that makes sence. People kinda make fun of rhotic accents because it makes them sound like farmers...
     
    #20 Kerze, Feb 21, 2011
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