Jeopardy contestant ruled incorrect due to regional dialect

[17thAndK]

Originally Posted by Chaofan

"Everyone I know pronounces it shur-burt"
Everyone you know is pronouncing it incorrectly. It's not a dialect issue. There is no "R" in the second syllable of "sherbet."

Obviously, the contestant knew that the two words he pronounced ended in the same three letters. Contestant 1, Judges 0.

[hertfordshire]

Originally Posted by shorman

These types of rules have been in place for a long time on Jeopardy. Correct pronunciation and spelling have always been required. Just because a lot of people mispronounce a word does not make it an acceptable alternative.

But if it's in the dictionary as an acceptable alternative pronunciation, doesn't that mean that it wasn't mispronounced?

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by hertfordshire

But if it's in the dictionary as an acceptable alternative pronunciation, doesn't that mean that it wasn't mispronounced?

Well, people have a misunderstanding of dictionaries, and language in general.

Dictionaries aren't rule books. They don't tell us how to use langugage

They are history books. They tell us how words have been used.

Here's one of my favorite videos to show my ESL/EFL students

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6NU0DMjv0Y




In this instance, the pronunciation "sher-burt" is commonly used enough that I'd think the judges would accept it and, had I been a judge, I would have argued for it.

[BigDGeek]

Kind of a dick move on Jeopardy's part.

[Mr_Geek]

Jeopardy was wrong, but I'd not change it after the fact. They missed their chance to do the correct thing. They learn from it and move on.

[irman]

Originally Posted by BruSan

There's no second "I" in aluminum either but for some unknown reason the U.K. residents all seem to pronounce it 'a-loo-min-ee-um."

Do I get a prize?

Totally off topic but anyway ...

Nope, hate to break your bubble but you are wrong !

In the British English spelling of that word you mention it is spelled as
Alumimium,
where there IS a second *I* in the word ...

For your info, please check out this list
http://www.tysto.com/uk-us-spelling-list.html

[hertfordshire]

Originally Posted by irman

In the British English spelling of that word you mention it is spelled as
Alumimium,
where there IS a second *I* in the word ...

Close ... Aluminium

[fleetiebelle]

I grew up saying "sherbert" and now it's one of those food words I don't want to say at all, like "gyro."

[noregon98]

Tough call, as I can see both sides.

Hopefully, Worcestershire will never be a Jeopardy answer.



Who's the moron who decided that idiot should contain an 'O' in its spelling, and pronounce it like a short-sounding 'I' vowel?

I'd like to see a campaign to "put the 'i' back in idiot"!

[Delahanty]

According to the wording of the clue, the contestant should have been ruled correct. The clue simply references that both words "end with the same 3 letters." One's pronunciation, given regional variations, doesn't change that fact--or change its spelling.

The contestant, who's the champ, even mentioned that it was pronounced "sherbert" in his neck of the woods. Not that it mattered. This champ is on a pretty impressive winning streak.