Ar(c)ticulation

[undyingking]

Yow! I just came about an inch away from a deeply unpleasant experience, namely: walking my face right into a spider's web full of struggling winged ants.

To take me away from the thought of that, how do you pronounce the name of the area around the North Pole, and (perhaps as importantly) how do you think it should correctly be pronounced?

[Poll #1228169]

This was prompted by this interesting article in languagelog , but please fill out the poll before reading it...

Comments

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Nor me. Interesting that so many in the US survey used that.

One word

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

aluminum

Re: One word

[mr-malk.livejournal.com]

I have heard (from an unsubstantiated source I admit, but he seemed quite convinced) that aluminum was the original (English) coinage of that word, and that it was changed to aluminium only later, to fit the pattern of other elements such as chromium, curium, thulium, thalium, and so on (although platinum remains unaltered I can't help but observe). Our colonial cousins apparently retained the original spelling. If I were a more generous person, I'd assume it was because of a lofty sense of linguistic purity and piety, but I'm not, so I'm going to assume that it was either laziness or because additional letters in words give them a migraine. ;-)

Re: One word

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Heh.
Now that you mention it, I've read this, too and I think applies to a few other words as well. Just another example for the evolution of languages in different environments.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

I think I'll ask compilerbitch who not only has been living in the US for quite a few years but happens to be in the Arctic as we speak. Do you mind if I point her at this post?

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Please do, that'd be great. So far, we only have one American response (which is the same as all the European / Australian ones ;-)

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Done.