chaise longue and nuclear (new-kew-lar as our you-know-who says it)

[Carol]

Lee wrote:
> I haven't been really reading this thread, so some of these may have
popped up:
> "Lie-berry" for Library
> "Febuary" for February (in fact, my speech synthesizer says "Febuary")
> "Amboo-lance" for Ambulance (which most easterners, at least,
pronounce with a long U "Am-BU-Lance."
> "Ruff" for Roof (with long U sound)
> "Spaycial" for Special
> And don't forget the "on-velope" "en-velope" thing.

Carol responds:
Yes, Steve brought up "liberry." I mentioned "Febuary" (no first "r")
as the preferred, or rather, first-listed pronunciation in my
dictionary, so it must be becoming standard. I can't tell whether
you're including a "y" sound before the "u" in "ambulance," which I
pronounce "AM byou lans" (that is, the "u" sounds like the word "you"
with a "y" before the long "u" and a soft final "s"--not quite "lance"
but the "a" isn't a schwa, either). I say "roof," not "rUf, but that's
purely regional. (I don't say "ruff," as in the thing NHN wears around
his neck.)

"Spaycial" is annoying, I agree, but, fortunately, not common. my
son-in-law says "RAY dee" for "ready"; no idea where that comes from,
but I try to ignore it. He also talks about driving "down to Phoenix,"
which is north of Tucson (where we live), but I try to ignore that,
too. (If he ever says "down to Flagstaff," which is not only 240 miles
to the north but something like 4,000 feet higher than Tucson, I'll
complain. It's "down to Mexico" and "up to Canada" because north is at
the top of the map!)

I'm not sure whether "onvelope" for "envelope" is an affectation or a
regionalism, but, presumably, it reflects the French origin of the word.

Carol, who would look up the "onvelope" thing but assumes that someone
who knows the answer will provide it