Say all of it, says survey
31 May 2011
It’s a close call, but most respondents to last month’s online survey believe we need to clearly pronounce the A when saying Docklands.
Some 22 people responded to the survey and 13 of them (59.1 per cent) opted for the more formal pronunciation.
A number of respondents left their reasoning too.
Among the majority group opting for the “Land” method of saying Docklands were:
- It is the land surrounding the dock.
- Proper pronunciation of the English language.
- They are two separate words joined together Dock-lands.
- Because it’s the land of all docks.
- Because that’s how it’s spelt.
- Because it is built on old Dock Land, not something fancy. Where did the A go missing to people who are trying to sound flash? Go back and learn grammar. Since when do we call land “lnds”?
- Because we speak English, not slang.
- It’s closest to the way I pronounce it: Docklunds ... (we think this person cast their vote on the wrong side).
Among those suggesting that the correct pronunciation was Docklnds (without the final A) were:
- There is no need to self-consciously pronounce every syllable of a word separately, as if just beginning to learn the language. Other irritating examples are, neck-lace, car-ton, hos-tel, li-lac, cere-moany, hurri-cane, and many more. Not “English as she is spoken”.
- Try pronouncing EngLand!
- When it is clearly one word (such as Newlands/Moreland/Highlands etc) the “A” is missed in pronunciation. This simply follows the same rule.
- Previous examples such as England, Scotland drop the A when pronounced. It adds class.
- It is more sophisticated.
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