How do YOU say "sauna"?

[Bailey]

When I posted the offensive post I was thinking of my boss who says Eye-talyan (for Italian), my sister's husband who says sup-ee-nee for a legal summons, my daughter's teacher who says lesh for lee-sh (Dog restraint). I'm not sure they want to be instructed. In fact I'm sure they don't.
Gailr I did consider the condensation, but figured it'd go flat, I thought other's might have received less-than-enthusiasm to correction, as have I.

mark

[Ranger]

Lesh for leash? Geesh. Now as for Eye-talyan, it took me awhile to learn the soft "i" on that one, but I'm still trying to run from "I-rack" and "I-ran".

Ranger

[Bailey]

I have an aquaintance who says I-rack and I-ran, my opinions on that were also not especially welcomed.
I'm not much for the Bible but I'm wondering how well it went for this Soloman fella. I suspect there were those who resented his knowledge and sharing thereof.

mark

[gailr]

"I-rack" and "I-ran".

I think we should take Iraq and Iran and combine them into one country and call it Irate. All the angered off people live in one place and get it over with. -- Denis Leary

This joke made me smile. I also wondered if Denis privately reflected on how very small his US audience might be if his suggestion were ever implemented.
-gailr

[Brazilian dude]

Jerry: Who's stopping you?

George: I wanna bite into a big hunk of cheese, just bite into it like it's an apple.

Jerry: Whatever.

[Jerry sees someone he knows.]

Jerry: Oh God.

George: What?

Jerry: It's Dolores.

George: Who?

Jerry: Mulva.

[Dolores notices Jerry.]

Dolores: Jerry, hi.

Jerry: Hi, Dolores. George, you remember Dolores?

George: Dolores!

Dolores: Hi. (to Jerry) I heard you got engaged.

Jerry: Yes, Dolores, I did. It didn't work out, though, Dolores.

Dolores: Oh, that's too bad. You know... we should get together sometime. See ya.

Jerry: See ya.

George: Bye, Dolores.

[Dolores walks away.]

George: I thought Mulva hated you.

So, for the record people, even though it spoils Mr. Seinfeld's joke, it's CLIT-er-is and, to return to my main (pre-digressive) point, PLETH-er-uh), but so anyhow, yeah, I hear it so often that I don't feel like a Mr. S. Pants anymore when I say it. Maybe I'm just hanging out with people with better vocabularies or something, but I swear I'm hearing it everywhere.)

Brazilian dude

[Stargzer]

Lesh for leash? Geesh. Now as for Eye-talyan, it took me awhile to learn the soft "i" on that one, but I'm still trying to run from "I-rack" and "I-ran".

Ranger

Just remember that during the war between those two countries, Iran was caught between Iraq and a hard place.

[tcward]

Smile. Tim, you say

I could never bring myself to pronounce this word "SOW-na" as in the second audio sample on the m-w.com link.

as if you'd be trespassing some sort of internal regional boundary. I find that charming.

Well, I hope that's a good thing. However, I think what you envisioned in your mind isn't what I was talking about at all.

The first pronunciation, however, in the ears of those Up North would easily peg you as hailing from somewhere south of Duluth/Superior.

Who said I was going by the first pronunciation? I don't use that one either. It sounds closer to sonnet than sauna... as pronounced in these parts.

-Tim

[sluggo]

How many of you true Finns out there wince when you hear people mispronounce "sauna"?

Just for the record, Ranger, I too put all 3 syllables in sauna, not being a Finn but having studied Finnish, and following the rule that a foreign word carries its native pronunciation. And your original query did address "you true Finns" so that should kibósh condescension claims.

Fwiw I also wince when I hear "eye-raq" and "eye-ran", on the basis that the dipthong we use in English to say I is foreign to most if not all other languages that use the same letter. Cheers...

[Davekent]

Only a runkalainen doesn't know how to pronounce "sauna." It's SOUUU-na. Heavy AC-cent on the first SYL-lable. . .Almost like sHOUU-na.

[Ranger]

Kiitos for the sweet fragment, Sluggo!

[Brazilian dude]

Just for the record, Ranger, I too put all 3 syllables in sauna, not being a Finn but having studied Finnish, and following the rule that a foreign word carries its native pronunciation.

Well, all of us have been mispronouncing English words all along then.

Brazilian dude

[mamawsandy]

Ranger, I applaud your statements. I have found this site to be obstinately obstinate about their views. This hauteur, in my opinion, smacks of those who are afraid of being wrong. I think we must agree that there is the correct way according to whatever language one is trying to learn, and there are the other words that we may use, mainly in speaking that are just acceptable.

And believe me, this is the place for sensible people, so don't leave.

[mamawsandy]

If someone wants to have a giant saw-na party, I'm on the invitation list.
Just southern, pals, just southern

[Ranger]

Mawmawsandy, you open your mouth in wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on your tongue. Thank you.

Now if you would, please pass the linguistic biscuits and explain to me the origins of the seductive and multi-flavored Southern Drawl. Someone once told me it began with the original British colonists who simply relaxed their jaws and slowed their speech in the oppressive heat and humidity. Maybe it was Pecos Bill.

[sluggo]

Just for the record, Ranger, I too put all 3 syllables in sauna, not being a Finn but having studied Finnish, and following the rule that a foreign word carries its native pronunciation.

Well, all of us have been mispronouncing English words all along then.

Brazilian dude

--true, which recalls Frank's point about words like message. Foreign is the operative word, and how to define that... aye, there's the rub. I believe the official ruling is that the imported word has to reside in its new linguistic lair for 563 years, seven months and 15 seconds before it gets to forget its chequered past.

As for Iraq + Iran = Irate, it reminds me of the plan to combine Dallas and Fort Worth into a single urban entity; what would they call it? "Worthless!" [duck]