I have a question specifically for people from the British Isles. What do you think about the final "t" in the word "restaurant" being silent or audible?
A β must be silent; that's just the way it's pronounced correctly
B β silent is posh, audible is normal
C β silent is British, audible is non-British (North American, for example)
D β something else (please add comment to elaborate)
Boosts appreciated!
@koehntopp @xahteiwi
There is youglish where you can even choose UK US AUS:
https://youglish.com/pronounce/restaurant/english/
Edit: It hard to decide what is going on and if there is a pattern :)
@ancientsounds Michael Palin and David Attenborough habitually pronounce it with a silent second "t" and no audible glottal stop. In their pronunciation the second "t" is also silent in the plural, "restaurants". (Reference: pretty much any of their audiobooks as recorded and presently available on Audible)
This getting me curious was part of the impetus for the poll, as it happens. π
@ancientsounds @xahteiwi I've not been around RP for a while but I don't remember the t being missed.
My guess is that it's some combination of age, class, and them both being well travelled. Perhaps they're just more used to the French pronunciation of that word?
D - audible is normal, silent is wrong (perhaps glottalised in certain dialects, but I would usually not associate that with British dialects).
@xahteiwi
I would have said the pronunciation is with the final t pronounced.
However the OED also lists a pronunciation without the final t. /'rest(a)rΓ΅/
While the word was anglicized by the early 20th century, and is the usual usage, the older "French" version persists. (in what I presume is received pronunciation ie posh)
@xahteiwi @mattb I think it's USian to make it two syllables.
I'd say, and expect most Brits to have, a small 'uh' in the middle.
Someone saying "rest-ront", like "restroom", does not sound British to me.
The difference between my British and my French is the "uh" becoming a French "au", a more nasal "ant" and dropping the "t".
@xahteiwi I'm English, speak with a moderately posh accent. I always pronounce the t, and can't recall any English speaker not doing so.
IMHO the difference between posh and non posh pronunciations is that less posh people won't bother pronouncing the middle bit of the word, like "rest'rant"
RE: https://mastodon.social/@xahteiwi/116755949785086179
@diffrentcolours I see, thanks!
Additional context here:
Florian Haas
koehntopp ~ :
Marwe
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Dick Armoire
Oli
Sin Vega
Ava π EMF
Robert Belton
wzhkevin
Matthew Booth
Andrew F.
AutistiCritic