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| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
| A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996. |
| Page 218 |
clothes | |
The pronunciation (kl z) has been recorded in various dictionaries since the 1700s including Samuel Johnson’s (1755) and Noah Webster’s (1828). The pronunciation (klthz), while not incorrect, is sometimes considered pedantic. Either pronunciation is acceptable, but (klz) is much more common. | 1 |
colander | |
Traditionally the first vowel is pronounced as a short u, as in cull, but the pronunciation with a short o, (k l’ n-dr), is now more common. | 2 |
comptroller | |
| This word is first recorded in the 15th century as an alternate spelling for controller, the first syllable of which had become associated with the etymologically unrelated word count and its variant compt. Although the historical pronunciation for this word would be the same as for controller, evidence indicates that the spelling pronunciations (kmp-tr’lr) and (kmp’tr´´lr) are probably now used by a majority of speakers. In a recent ballot, 43 percent of the Usage Panel indicated that they pronounce comptroller like controller, while 57 percent pronounce it as it is spelled, with stress on either the first or second syllable. And of those who say they pronounce comptroller like controller, about half indicated that they also consider one or the other of the spelling pronunciations acceptable. | 3 |
| More at spelling pronunciation. | 4 |
conch | |
Strictly speaking the ch should be pronounced (k) as it is in concha, conchoid, and conchology (ultimately from Greek konkh , “mussel"). However, many people, especially those not familiar with this mollusk as seafood, say (knch) based on the spelling. Note that the same variant occurs in conchfish. | 5 |
| More at Ch and spelling pronunciation. | 6 |
coupon | |
This word, which was borrowed from French in the 19th century, was originally pronounced (k ’pn´´). The variant pronunciation (ky’pn´´) developed in American English perhaps through association with words such as cube, cupid, and cute. Both pronunciations are acceptable. | 7 |
covert | |
The traditional pronunciation of covert, which is related to cover, is (k v’rt). In American English, however, a relatively new variant pronunciation with a long o in the first syllable has become the more common one. This is probably the result of the association of covert with its antonym overt, which is pronounced with a long o. Both pronunciations are acceptable. | 8 |
culinary | |
The pronunciation (ky’l-n r´´) is older, but (kl’-nr´´) appears to be more common now in both American and British English. Either pronunciation is acceptable. | 9 |
dais | |
The one-syllable pronunciation (d s) is older, but the two-syllable pronunciation (d’ s), or sometimes (d ’s), is more common now. | 10 |
| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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