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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: trystan on Tuesday 14 December 04 09:51 GMT (UK)
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It has been mentioned before, but how on earth do you pronounce:
"Genealogy"
Some say it literally as it is spelt with the "A" in front of the "logy", (as in "Genieallergy" - Alladin's mate with a sneeze) others say it with an "O" in front of the "logy" (like in biology, geology etc).
It would be interesting to hear!
(it would be interesting too if you could say where you are from too - to see if there are any regional/country differences between the way we say it)
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Hi
I voted for Alogy. Got this problem you see pronounce words the way they look .... gets me in big trouble sometimes ..... lol.
Jaki from Oz
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Remember Allergy and you get it right! ;D
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Hi
I pronounce it "Ology" - but there again until a couple of months ago I thought that was how you spelt it!! :D
Shropshire now - but as you see from my logo - Cheshire born and bred.
Cheers
Keith
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I pronounce it -ology, it just rolls off the tongue easier for me. Though I think (if I understand the phonetics properly) that the Cambridge Dictionary indicates the -allergy way is 'proper', but that both ways are 'acceptable'.
The other pronunciation difference I have noticed is on the beginning, as in
Gen- (rhymes with Men)
Gen- (rhymes with Jean)
???
Jonathan
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Yew ha'er p'nounce tha ther wad "olergee" cause us here in the coun'ry hev ter hev sum sor'uh ollergee un a famly ollergee seem uh be the best wum ter me.
Teddybear
Norfolk
PS. I find it very difficult to write in dialect because it is impossible to put the sounds that we make down in words. I voted for "Ology" just incase you didnt understand.
:)
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That "A" must be there for a reason.
However, its "ollogy" for me thanks.
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There is only one way it can be pronounced and that is "dzi:ni:aeledzi". And that's according to the Collins dictionary. BUT according to a web dictionary it is pronounced `jeenee'âlujee ;) ;) ;)
\Gen`e*al"o*gy\, n.; pl. {Genealogies}. [OE.
genealogi, genelogie, OF. genelogie, F. g['e]n['e]alogie, L.
genealogia, fr. Gr. ?; ? birth, race, descent (akin to L.
genus) + ? discourse.]
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Erm...does it really matter? Pronounce it as you think, if others disagree, let them! As with all the variations in surnames over the years, at the end of the day, who is to say who is right or wrong with spellings/pronunciations/etc. After all, our ancestors (each and everyone) would probably all have said it differently too.
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It's 'ology' to me ;D
Don't count it as an Australian accent Trystan - even though I have lived here longer than I lived in Ireland I still got the brogue. ::)
Darcy
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I've always pronouned it "Ology"!!!!! So that was my vote!
Jan in Shropshire :)
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I voted -ology. That was certainly the correct pronunciation when I was at school. The existence of an "a" doesn't mean it must be sounded - this is English you are talking about. I am not going to give into these new ways of saying aluminium, Mediterranean, Caribbean and so forth. My wife and I were educated in different countries but we pronounce almost all problem words identically. :)
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I pronounce it both ways - blame it on being a Libran from the Midlands!
I was once at a dinner party where another guest insisted that he told his children (not from an English-speaking country) that it was no problem to spell in English if you just listened to how the word was said. I sent him the following (and he never said thank you which is a bit rude ;D)
Brush up your English
I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, lough and through.
Well done! And now you wish perhaps
To learn the less familiar traps.
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead, it’s said like bed not bead,
For goodness sake don’t call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.)
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there’s dose and rose and lose -
Just look them up - and goose and choose.
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart,
Come, come I’ve hardly made a start.
A dreadful language? Man alive,
I’d mastered it, when I was five.
Author unknown
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I pronounce it "alogy*
But what about the first bit. Never said Jeenyalogy, I say Jennyallergy
Sylviaann
Londoner living in Yorkshire
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Great stuff, Gardener - is that pronounced with a silent "e" after the "d"?
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I pronounce it "family history"! So I don't get corrected.
In private I say it jeeneeallogy
In fact sometimes I spell it that way for kicks and jollies.
P ;D
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I pronounce it Genie ology 'cos I always wanted an Ology in something.....
Su
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From personal experience - 'Alogy', I believe, is chiefly the American way of saying it. Americans tend to pronounce it 'geen-eeh-alogee' ;D
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I've gone for "ology" as I believe the A to be silent, like the P in swimming baths :)
peter
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The end of the word I always say ology
The beginning of the word, now that is a totally different matter with me. I tend to pronounce it both ways for some odd reason. What ever comes out of my mouth on the day
Jean E- ology
Jean -ology
Jen - ology
The more I think about, the more I don't know which way I pronounce the beginning of the word the most often. I'm talking to myself here , saying it both ways. I'm going to be locked up talking to myself like this. ;D
Jen - ology wins with me I think, or do I say Jean more often lol
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Im an Ozzie and I say Jean-E-Alogy though I know many Ozzies who beg to differ and would argue black and blue that it is actually pronounced Jean-E-Ology reguardless of how it is spelt.....Have never heard the Jen pronouciation here....So basically bottom line...I would have to say each to his own!! Kris ;)
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Before I started doing my family history I pronounced it gene-ology, but now I say gene-alogy. Probably because I've see the word so often in the course of my research & realised it is spelled -alogy. I'm a bit pedantic when it comes to spelling & grammar ::) but at the end of the day its really only a word made up by some boffin somewhere. :)
Minn
Ex-pat Kiwi in Oz
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I pronounce it 'alogy' because that is how it is spelled - but then I say 'spelled' instead of 'spelt'!
Jill
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i say ology, but sometimes, when i forget how to spell it , i say family history! nora T ???
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I say Gene-e-alogy or at least I did when I first started thinking about it, now I'm not so sure but then I'm from the Midlands & hubby's a southerner! I'm surrounded by southerners so sometimes I find myself chopping & changing unknowingly. (A females's prerogative of course!) :-\
People still ask me where I cum from and I keep telling my hubby there's no R in bath or path! Will ask hubby when he gets home from work what he says - bet it ology! ;D
criggy
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An OLOGY from Kent ;)
jax
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:P The swanking, boasting answer: I don't say it, I just do it !! :P
Seriously though, folks ......
I don't really know.
I rarely say it out loud, because when I am talking about it, I usually say
Familienforschung or Ahnenforschung.
How's that for a cop-out !
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I have a Jean E All'Odgy in 1851 aged 25, b Shrophsire, and a Jeanie Allergy in 1881 aged 56, b Shrops. Not sure if they're one and the same though ... :D
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Jean E ology here in Sussex :)
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I say "ology" That's how I always thought it was pronounced. I Live in East Anglia but was born and bred in London.
Kimi :)
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As we are all genial and friendly people it must it must be pronounced "geniallogy" (I know thats not spelt correct)
Andrew
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I pronounce it Jeaneology.
My mother's name was Jean and I have an e-mailing acquaintance named Jean. 8)
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I'm an OLOGY person myself but that's what happens when you're born and bred in 'ull and I don't live that far away now.
I get glazed looks off people when I start talking about family history never mind giving it a posh name
Bee
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I'm a pedant at heart so my vote went to 'alogy'.
I can see I'm in the minority!
Ros
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Hey,it's how you smile when saying it that matters!!!Goggy ;)
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It's a bit like scon or scone isn't it and I am afraid I can't seem to pin myself down. Allthough I polled "alogy" I am just as likely to say "ology", but always "Jean".
Siouxzie
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I say family history with a smile. Or genie-ology when pushed.
Jane in Nottingham
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More often than not I use gene-aw-logy
Cheers
Guy
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*(VERY) LATE ADDITION*
Being an incredibly tedious (so my children tell me!) pedant, I looked it up and checked all the references - like the meticulous geneAlogist that I am (not always!) ::)
According to the OED: Genealogy is the study and practice of drawing up family trees - to paraphrase.
It comes from the Greek - genealogia, genealogikos and the stem is genea, which means race.
And now, I am racing for the door before you all start throwing OEDs at me! :o
Na na ner na na - missed! ;D
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An even later addition ;D ;D
Jeanieallergy from one born(e) and bred(bread) in Kent!
How about Clema(y)tis and Clemmertis ??? ???
snaptoo
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Jeanieallergy, from a Maid of Kent ;D
What about GEDcom? I thought it was pronounced with the hard G, but have heard it as JEDcom ???
Clemmertis :D
Impatiens - Impayshense or Impat-e-ens?
Betty
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Definitely Jeannie-Alogy from a North Riding/Scots mix, resident in Westmorland.
Clemmertiss
Impass- iens - I think, though I rarely say it. ::)
Westm'l'nd or West-More-L'nd?
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Jeanieallergy, from a Maid of Kent ;D
What about GEDcom? I thought it was pronounced with the hard G, but have heard it as JEDcom ???
Clemmertis :D Impatiens - Impayshense or Impat-e-ens? Betty
Nerver know whether I am Maid of Kent or a Kentish Maid :-\ I was born south of the river in Tonbridge!
Impatiens - Bizzy Lizzy!!!!!! ;D ;D
snaptoo
1 red - westm'l'nd!
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I reckon it's jeannie - allergy myself :)
and I think the allergy bit comes in when I start talking about family history and peoples eyes glaze over, as if they have an allergy to my constant topic of conversation :)
Anyone know what I mean? and identify with that? :)
(also - Clema(y)tis, Impayshens, (but busy lizzies as first choice!) Jedcom and Westmoreland :)
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Nerver know whether I am Maid of Kent or a Kentish Maid :-\ I was born south of the river in Tonbridge!
snaptoo
Hi Snap,
You are a Maid of Kent. Check out www.micksumbling.com
P.S. For me, "genie-ology" as that's what I hear most pronounce it as. But the correct dictionary pronunciation is "-Alogy".
Mrs. T.
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I can see that some of you are not keeping your eyes on the ball... getting a bit distracted from our raison d'etre, are we?
Impatiens and Clematis... I think some of us are busy planting our hanging baskets, instead of attending to our trees! ;D
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Interesting (forgive me if someone mentioned this - I didn't read all posts). I have never, ever, never heard anyone pronounce it with the "a" sound. Only as "ology" as in psychology, sociology, etc. When I clicked on this I thought the question was going to be on the pronunciation of the first syllable, where I have heard discrepant choices. Most people I know pronounce it "jean" (long e), but a not insignificant number of people pronounce it "jen" (short e).
Nick
OK, now I feel silly since I see that this thread has been resurrected from the moribund and is over 6 years old! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE add a date to original poster column so we can tell when this happens.
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Ok yes this is an ancient thread but it means that we relative newbies, who didn't know of RC way back in the olden days of 2004, get the chance to comment on it now. I do agree with you, Nick, though about adding a date to the original poster column. It's too easy to post a reply to a discussion started many moons ago (could be embarassing!).
For what it's worth, I pronounce it "Jean-E-Allergy". If it were spelt "Geneology" I would pronounce it "Jean-E-Ollergy". Psychology, sociology, biology and all the "ologies" have got "o"s in them, that's why they are pronounced like that! But Genealogy has an 'A' in it. Oh gawd, enough said ::)
PS I'm from Norf Lundun.
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For me
Jean--E-Al-O- Gee
Spring
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Well.. I would have thought,if i'd never come across the word before...that "its something to do with genes...ie the inherited bits of us that make us who we are.
So "Jean" , then it has an "e" so Jeenee . Then it has "alogy"
I regularly throw heavy objects at the TV when they mispronounce words.,specially the BBC......luckily I'm a rotten shot !
Good Hunting
Jed (nb not pronounced Jeed lol)
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Jed:
I agree with you about the BBC - extremely disappointing, in recent years. Must admit, my TV is very vu[l]nerable when I hear people praising (h)aitch D television! >:(
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Well said Jed59 and Mizelar, I'm in your camp on this. I, too, have a thing about correct pronunciation and English grammar. Puts me in mind of a Ronnie Barker sketch way back, found it on YouTube. Here's the link to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ0nFQgRApY
Still makes me laugh now ;D (or should that be "continues to make me laugh now"? ::)
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What really infuriates, and saddens, me is the recent habit of most people, who say "Me and X are going..."
Not only is this incorrect grammar, but it demonstrates how self-centred people have become! :'(
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Now I haven't read all the posts on this thread as some are older than me but I know what the word is referring to and the person who originally came up with the word was a medical doctor. It cannot however be found on "WIKI" or "Googled" up as the true meaning like our lives have been lost to the mists of time. Somewhere in the 5th century a doctor in Greece by the name of "Gettapotatea" came across a mysterious illness aflicting a wide cross section of his patients. Gettapotatea wrote the "Lancet" asking for advice. Their reply to him was to put up the symptoms and they would consult with one another on an appropriate Taxonomic name. The very worst patient was chosen for the symptoms and his name was very appropriatly used for the name of the condition. He went under the name of... Gene E Allergist ::)
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I always say family history as I am not researching medical history of my family in any way at the present.
I would say ology, in the same way as oncology :(
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I see people are still have their preferred way of pronouncing "genealogy" :)
Trystan
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I pronounce it as in allergy. I believe that the difference in the two pronunciations could possibly stem from the way that American and Canadian people pronounce it.
I'm a Keewee ;D
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When did we stop spelling it genaealogy ? That's how I still spell it so jean e alogy. Changing the spelling is possibly the cause of confusion.
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I pronounce it as in allergy. I believe that the difference in the two pronunciations could possibly stem from the way that American and Canadian people pronounce it.
I'm a Keewee ;D
that's how we in South Africa say it too. There is no "o" before the "logy" ;D
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You've obviously never seen the BT advertisement made by Maureen Lipman in the 1980's (just ask Mr G Only 'cause I don't know how to produce a link) - about obtaining an "-ology" ;D ;D Perhaps someone has already made the connection?
For the record I would say "geneAlogy" :-*
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My vote is -Alogy.
I live in Worcester, UK. I have an English dictionary - alogy is given as the correct English pronunciation.
(But of course, there's the problem - so many people pronounce pronunciation as pronounciation!)
FS
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Always "Alogy" I even managed to get BBC Local Radio to pronounce it correctly. It was quite funny listening to the presenter correcting himself when he slipped up.
Jebber
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I voted for the "Alogy" but why should people bother pronouncing something the way it's spelt? There are certain parts of the world where they can't pronounce words like "Aluminium" or "Nuclear" .... and they also have difficulty looking in the "Mirror"!
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......Ology for me.
Not much different from the way I pronounce Archaeology.
sami
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Say it like wot it is writ: Gee-knee-allergy ;)
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I guess that it doesn't really matter what pronunciation we use, we all know how it's spelt in English, and English speakers all know what it means.
So if someone says it to me in a different way, say with an American or Canadian accent, I know what they mean!
On the other hand, to them, I could be suffering from a rather bad "allergy"! Probably allergic to the dye in my new jeans!!
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American Language - Press the blue speaker Icon
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/genealogy
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allo ollo oh blow it family History
but really my vote is allo
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How do you pronounce genealogy? By analogy, I pronounce it like analogy.
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Genie-ology for me, being from up north, Jen and allergy are a bit posh like :P
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Correct pronunciation is "alogy" or "allergy" as described above. I usually pronounce it this way, but as with most of our spoken language pronunciation is fluid. I have been guilty of using the "ology" in conversation, but quite often correct myself.
As Jaybelnz said, as long as we know how it's spelt, and what it means.
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Ology from Wiltshire, I imagine where you are from dictates how you speak it!
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I am inclined to agree Millie...I'm from East Yorkshire and it's Ology from me too...if it was pronounced as in allergy I would expect it to be spelt with double LL.
Carol
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I'm an 'alogy' from Cardiff.... never heard the beginning as gen... ;D
And barth, parth, sco-ne (not scon)..... ;D
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No it can't be "scon" otherwise the saying would be "sicks and stons would break my bons".
My current peeve is people in the "meeja" referring to "Glarsegow".
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Can't be doin' with all these 'r's' in words, bath and path for me, and DEFINITELY not Glarsgow!! And I say scon too (although I do agree that words with an e on the end should have a long vowel sound, I just get the p*** taken if I say scone! ;D)
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Usually say Family History instead, but when pushed 'genie-ology' and always scon.....if you say sco-ne in the north east you get the mickey taken for 'talking posh' ;D ;D
Patty :)
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Wikipedia says genealogy and family history are different things .....
The use of the terms "genealogy" and "family history" are often used synonymously, but some offer a slight difference in definition. The Society of Genealogists, while also using the terms interchangeably, describe genealogy as an "Establishment of a Pedigree by extracting evidence, from valid sources, of how one generation is connected to the next" and family history as "A biographical study of a genealogically proven family and of the community and country in which they lived".
Sometimes the term used is based on region, with societies in Europe often using the term "family history", and those in the United States more often using the term "genealogy".
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My own pet shibboleth is the frequently demonstrated inability of the Sudroun to pronounce the word "Deteriorated!"
Do they need their tongues cutting? ;D
Skoosh.
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No probs with deteriorate, I can do that!; what gets me is draw for drawer, and drawring for drawing ::) ::)
Also, as a flower arranger ( ;D) and gardener, I get REALLY fed-up with Gypsophila (or baby's breath, that rather nice fluffy white flower much loved for weddings) being pronounced jipsofeelia. THERE IS NO 'I' BETWEEN THE L AND A ??? (Sorry for rant ;D)
I often wish that English could be like Spanish, where every letter has a specific pronunciation, but maybe that would be boring?
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If we're talking pet peeves, one of mine is "medcine"; once again it tends to be the Hyacinth Buckets of the world who mispronounce med-i-cine.
And as I referred to in my previous post, it is the fluidity of the language that gives us these variations.
Scon or scoan, tomahto or tomate-o, and here in Australia, depending on which state you live in, we have school as in fool, or schuul as in mule, and cahstle or caastle as in tassel.
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If I am speaking it is jeaniology,but if I have to write it I say jeanialogy.
Liz
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I eat scones and take medcine....I also study gene-o-logy ;D
Carol
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I think we need a poll for scones and a poll for whether up North or down South ;D
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;D ;D ;D
Carol
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Don't leave out the rest of the world! :(
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Well I'm Oop North and it's 'ology' for me,
...and I love a sc'ON' with a dollop of cream and jam :)
claire
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Well I'm down under - wayyyy downunder South, where pikelets are pikelets, with butter, jam and whipped cream, and pancakes are pancakes (fried and served hot with golden syrup - but the recipe is the same and the size is the same!
And We have "scon"s too!
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And fish and chups...... ;) ;D ;D
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dont forget the mushy peese ;D ;D ;D
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It's fush n chups PF - get it right ;D ;D ;D
At least it's not feesh and cheeps!
I tried to buy some navy blue laces in a shoe shop in "Seedney" once, and the shop assistant turned to the other assistant and asked her "do we have any nivy blue lices"?.
In my twenties, I was there on a working holiday for a year, and by the time I got back, I was told I speaking with an Australian accent! 😄😄
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;D ;D ;D ;D
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I think we need a poll for scones and a poll for whether up North or down South ;D
Scone pronounced to rhyme with spoon is definitely Scottish
Whereas scone as in on is simply correct English, ;) whereas scone rhymes with own is American English.
However it is not as simple as that as American usage as with American spelling is sometimes the old English usage imported when they were simply part of the colonies. ;)
Cheers
Guy
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Scones for me. To add to the pet peeves, the disappearing ' t' in todays language, bedder etc.
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I think we need a poll for scones and a poll for whether up North or down South ;D
Scone pronounced to rhyme with spoon is definitely Scottish
Whereas scone as in on is simply correct English, ;) whereas scone rhymes with own is American English.
However it is not as simple as that as American usage as with American spelling is sometimes the old English usage imported when they were simply part of the colonies. ;)
Cheers
Guy
The same for Australia, they use some terms which at first I thought were quirky Aussie sayings I'd never heard of but it seems they hung onto some old English and Irish words long after they'd been dropped over here.
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The notion that scones are scoons in Scotland is quite ludicrous. Only the place-name Scone is so pronounced & that has nothing to do with scones.
In my neck of the world scone is general but both variants are used, skon sounds a bit perjink to me but that's the pronounciation given in my Scots Dictionary.
Ozzie prostitute.....Emma Chissit. ;D
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Genealogy for me.
My pet peeve is the replacement of 'th' with a 'v' - wiv instead of with. Footballers don't seem to be able to say 'th'.
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I'm not sure that there is still such a word as "medcine"?
As for polling North and South re scones, I'm not sure whether its actually a N v S thing. Of course the easiest way to differentiate between a northerner and a southerner is that those in the north go down to London whereas those in the south go up.
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I'll be honest, here in the North I've heard a few people say 'medcine', but there again I work in a hospital.. I hear it all the time :)
claire
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The notion that scones are scoons in Scotland is quite ludicrous. Only the place-name Scone is so pronounced & that has nothing to do with scones.
::)
Or even lia fail
Cheers
Guy
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Claire - Pinefamily (post 80) seems to suggest that its "medcine" and not "medicine" - as I said, I think "medcine" is no longer in the dictionary although I accept that it's often pronouncd that way.
Does anybody cook with "gas" or do they use "garse"? ..... and, if so, how do they say "gas bag"?
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Ray T ~ crossed wires, thought it was how people generally said the word.
I cook with 'Gas' ;D
gas bag ;D ;D ;D ;D
claire
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So pleased to see that third option in the poll. Do you know me? Lol.
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Good evening,
Looking through all the posts it seems to depend on how many zylaballs you break it down to.
So it could be; Genie allergie or genie ology
There again it could be; Gee knee a ler gee
I'm from zuuzzex zo I zays the zecon wun, zo therrrr
John915
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How do these medcine folks pronounce medicated?
Genealogy aint a problem in Shetland where it's called "Coontin Kin!" ;D
Skoosh.
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Here's a way to test your pronunciation of genealogy. Try saying GENEALOGICAL. I bet you say geneAlogical, even if you choose to say geneOlogy! It's all in the spelling. I'm all for geneAlogy, anyway.
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When I first saw the question I couldn't understand why it was even being asked, because the answer seemed so obvious - Alogy. I was surprised to see how many Ologists there are, though.
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Genea = generation
Logy = study
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Linkedin have a [persons name], Geneaologist. that they want me to link up with!
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Genealogy = genie allergy
Wish the BBC would tell folks that drawing is pronounced drawing and not drawring !!!!! How did that happen?
Gen in Northumberland England
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I was amused to hear an American, probably East Coast, talking on the radio about "technAAolgy"!