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#157771 03/24/06 07:04 PM
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(This may have been covered previously B.K.)

I know that I have been mispronouncing "iron, irony, ironing, etc.". My wife has been correcting me for years. I have been saying "I-ron" instead of "I-ern". I pointed out to her that it is peculiar that we don't pronounce "Ironic" the same as we do "Irony". Though I'm not a linguist, I'm sure it has something to do with there being a vowel after the "N". But what about "Ironist", or "Ironing", they have the "ern" sound.

As an aside, Alanis Morissette's Ironic is really a series of unforntunate incidents. Poor gal!

#157772 03/25/06 12:01 AM
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Yep; if you Search on any of those terms, you should find lots of hits.

#157773 03/25/06 01:12 AM
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Really, I've never hear irony pronounce i-ern-y, only as i-ron-y. Are you sure Kelly?

#157774 03/25/06 12:03 PM
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Yes, I've only ever heard irony pronounced as i-ron-y, like i-ron-ic.


It's staring you in the face.
#157775 03/25/06 12:37 PM
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AHD lists both. It's metathesis, the same linguistic process that gave us third for thrid and bird for brid.

#157776 03/25/06 04:15 PM
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Quote:

Are you sure Kelly?




Are you questioning my wife?

Seriously, when I play the pronunciation icon, it does sound like i-ron-y, but how is iron pronounced? I will have to research this further.

#157777 03/25/06 06:13 PM
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how is iron pronounced? I-ern. Or, if you're far enough south: arn.

#157778 03/25/06 07:38 PM
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if you're far enough south: arn.

As in "shootin' ahrn."

#157779 03/25/06 09:05 PM
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Yup, I pronounce iron I-ern. Ah, the wishy-washyness of the English language, eh?!

#157780 03/26/06 09:02 AM
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Hm I pronounce irony as i-ron-y and iron i-ern. never heard it otherwise.

but of course all you people are from a different country from me so it may be a national thing...

Last edited by phantasma; 03/26/06 09:16 AM.
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