Pronouncing “début”
Pet Peeve 1. Lots of antipodeans (particularly sports commentators) persist in pronouncing “début” as “dayboo” yet they pronounce “débutante” correctly. Occurs 2 or 3 times in every broadcast on Sky TV. I now mute the sound otherwise my teeth would be ground to dust.
If you want grating, you should try asking a New Yorker to say "It is my duty to tell you there is dew due"
Traff Aug-19-2013
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Yeah, I would think so. In french it's kind of a "yeuh" sound. I've always said day-bew.
Kat Jul-07-2012
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Check on www.forvo.com
The French pronunciation is definitely closer to 'daybew' than 'dayboo', as is the normal English pronunciation.
Mediator Jul-06-2012
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They're actually pronouncing it closer to the correct pronunciation (i.e. how the French say it) than we are.
Sam Hattz Jul-06-2012
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