An Englishman writes: how do you pronounce "hawt"?

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I'm puzzled.

― Englishman, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Exactly as it is spelled.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know any other words that are consonant + aw + consonant, so that doesn't help me.

― Englishman, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:32 (twenty-one years ago)

You've never heard of the word "pawn"?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah yes. Pawn. Which for me is pronounced the same way as "porn". So "hawt" would be like "hort" then?

― Englishman, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:34 (twenty-one years ago)

whore-t

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:34 (twenty-one years ago)

If you're pronouncing "pawn" as "porn" then you're not speaking proper English

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Let me qualify that, you're speaking a dialect

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:36 (twenty-one years ago)

(xpost)
whore-t... OK, got it. I have never, ever heard anyone pronounce "hot" that way, but I live and learn.

Surely in received pronunciation "porn" and "pawn" are pronounced the same way? Or maybe it's just me.

― Englishman, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:37 (twenty-one years ago)

There's no "r" in pawn

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:38 (twenty-one years ago)

what? whore-t? this is madness!

― colette (a2lette), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah but the "r" after an "o" simply modifies the pronunciation of the "o" doesn't it? In standard British English I mean, American is quite different. For me "sort" and "sought" are pronounced the same way.

― Englishman, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:41 (twenty-one years ago)

There are large chunks of England where "poor", "pore" and "paw" are pronounced identically, I have found.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, that's what I do.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:44 (twenty-one years ago)

You want to hear English being spoken properly? Go to Inverness. Pronouncing "sought" as "sort" might be common in the South East of England and the Home Counties but that doesn't mean it's actually standard English.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:44 (twenty-one years ago)

For me, pore and paw are the same, while poor has a slightly longer "o". On the other hand, poring and pawing are not the same.

― Englishman, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

The fact that isn't "Eeh bah gum, trouble down t' pit" doesn't mean it isn't a dialect

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I was always under the impression that standard english = what the reigning monarch speaks = yes, South East of england is the correct pronunciation.

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:46 (twenty-one years ago)

haught

― teh pow! (blueski), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Go and get a dictionary and look at the phonetics of the word "pawn", for example - that is Standard English

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't believe anywhere pronounces English "properly", there are just different ways of speaking it. Standard English or received pronunciation being the dialect of the southern English middle classes.

― Englishman, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:49 (twenty-one years ago)

It's not 'haught' or 'hort' because you end up saying exactly that in a plummy English accent. Its a Southern drawl type thing, innit?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, phonetically, there are a "proper" ways to pronounce English words - whether anyone speaks it or not is another matter.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:51 (twenty-one years ago)

but isn't this actually an american word?

― colette (a2lette), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:58 (twenty-one years ago)

It's not a word, dudes.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:01 (twenty-one years ago)

It's not a word at all, dudes.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Dudes to be pronounced "dewds" of course and not "doods"

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:03 (twenty-one years ago)

A hawt actually a type of nocturnal bird of prey.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually I have discovered "hawt" is not really a word at all! OMG XPOST!!
In fact I suspect it is a phonetic spelling of the word "hot" as pronounced by Forrest Gump!!
BACK TO COFFEE

― TOMBOT, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:04 (twenty-one years ago)

According to dictionary.com it is actually an acronym of Having A Wonderful Time. I refuse to believe anyone actually uses this.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:05 (twenty-one years ago)

In this case the Gump pronunciation is to take precedence

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:06 (twenty-one years ago)

So what's the Gump pronunciation? Does it rhyme with nought? What is phonetic spelling for Americans is not necessarily for British - I don't think we pronounce "aw" the same way.

― Englishman, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Americans all sound like Jimmy Stewart when they pronounce "aw"

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:09 (twenty-one years ago)

aw hell no

― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:10 (twenty-one years ago)

as an Englishman I would pronounce it 'haught'. fortunately 'hawt' is a word i only write. if you were to actually write 'hot' the way a Deep Southerner would pronounce I imagine it would be more like 'hauwrt'

― teh pow! (blueski), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I give up. I suspect it won't be clear to me until I hear someone say it. Thankfully, there are more important things in life.

― Englishman, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:12 (twenty-one years ago)

There are?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:12 (twenty-one years ago)

i think the southern angle is maybe a misaim, maybe. the only times i've heard 'hawt' (as in: 'dude that chick was fucking hawt, i would pluck her muff with much pluck and abandon') the speaker tends to lapse into socal dudespeak, the 'hawt' tends to be given extra emphasis and stretched out slightly - 'that chick was hawwwt', it definitely sounds different from standard southern 'hot' i think. i can't pretend i've paid much notice to this. i suspect find the regional origin of 'bra' and you'll find the proper dialect for 'hawt'.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:18 (twenty-one years ago)

With my flattened-out midwest American vowels, it's "haht"

― briania (briania), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm imagining a Bostonian pronouncing "hawt" would be a hoot - in fact they might even pronounce it "hoot"

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:38 (twenty-one years ago)

With my flattened-out midwest American vowels, it's "haht"

see, i figure that since it's spelled differently, it must not sound like 'hot'. so i say this with extra wwww. so like 'haught' but dragging the middle part for a little bit extra.

t/s: hawt v. fiiiiine (say: f-eye(really dragged out)-n)

will be happy to perform these at tomorrow's fap

― colette (a2lette), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 13:42 (twenty-one years ago)

whatever the queen speaks is proper english, dude, she pwns England and England is where English came from right?

hawt is pronounced "haw"-t. like hot with with more nose sound in the aw bit.

pawn is pronounced "paw"-n, porn is pronounced "pore"-n, the queen doesn't pawn her porn. pwn is pronounced "pone", from the mistyping of "own".

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 16:10 (twenty-one years ago)

the queen when she was younger was pretty hahhhht

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

miiiiigh-dy fiiiiine

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 16:13 (twenty-one years ago)

You want to hear English being spoken properly? Go to Inverness.

Bwahahaahahah. Has anyone any idea why this is believed to be correct? Inverness accents are very amusing, and not at all RP (I've got one, so feel somewhat qualified to dispel this myth).

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Alternatively, you can just ask me the correct pronunciation of stuff.

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Jesus christ you motherfuckers.

― Allyzay Science Explosion (allyzay), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 16:17 (twenty-one years ago)

can you help me with "antidisestablishmentarianism"... i never know how to put the inflections.

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 16:17 (twenty-one years ago)

it's pronounced like this "thereisnorinpawnyoufuckingcuntsshutupabout'realenglish'howthefuckdoesanyforeignerlearnthelanguagewithcuntbagslikeilxorsaround"

― Allyzay Science Explosion (allyzay), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 16:19 (twenty-one years ago)

ayann tyy diss esstaybullishment ayareeunniizzummm

― teh pow! (blueski), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 16:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Skipping 82 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

this thread pleases me.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

ihttp://www.funnelcake.com/The_Funnel_Cake_Co._017_Powder_Sugar.jpg

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Beignet-shrapnel.

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)

that looks nice... but what is a glass parkinglot??????

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

I just did an image google search and got no uniform answer. There was a girl on a phone, a big chair, a parking lot (which didn't have any glass elements). I'm still clueless.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 22:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Ferchrissakes, someone post an MP3 or something already...

(Yes, I'm too lazy.)

― Girolamo Savonarola, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 22:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay imagine someone really exasperated, out of breath, panting. Or breathing steam onto their glasses before wiping them clean. Or doing that thing where you blow air out of your mouth when something you just put it in is way too fucking hot.
Now put a 't' on the end.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 22:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I'M SURE THESE SO CALLED "ENGLISH" PEOPLE WILL FIND A WAY TO DO EVEN THAT WRONG.

blount, I can confirm that, yes, indeed, Teh Marquis of Wrongpronunciationford did punch Tombot in the face in London. Unfortunately they are lacking in the glass parking lots in the Russell Park area.

― Allyzay Science Explosion (allyzay), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 23:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Ally is so hort on this thread.

― Paul Eater (eater), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 01:08 (twenty-one years ago)

So if its an english thing how come Australians say "pawn" and "Porn" the same way as well? The key thing is the a and o sound are the same - the r and w are sort of slid over and thus almost silent. ie: pon, pan. (I cant do the phonetic dohickeys).

Also, saying something is "recieved pronunciation" surely doesnt imply its "TEH WAYE", does it?

Anyway aussies say it proper, stuff yas all.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 02:35 (twenty-one years ago)

And FFS "hawt" is said like you're a texan, you know, think of some cartoon texan saying "yee haw, shes hawt!"

How hard can it be? Gah.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 02:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I think it's more of a London thing, a cockney thing, which is perhaps why some Australian dialects have it too, as there are quite a few similarities.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 02:41 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, cockneys never claimed to say thing the right way. they just punch people!

at first i thought you were trying to describe glass parkinglot! WTF is it??

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 07:01 (twenty-one years ago)

HOTT. With two T's. Or even three T's depending on the hottness of the boy's hair.

― The 120 Days Of Streatham (kate), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 07:11 (twenty-one years ago)

B-b-but I'm a northern english GEEZER and whilst not having a sexy accent, I pronounce Porn and pawn the same way. The only northerners who don't are yokels with deep accents (see 'Burnley' and 'Yorkshire') who shoiuld be shot for allowing northerners to become comedy stereotypes and thus opporessed thusly by the southern jackboot.

Now. Why do southern english oppressor never pronounce the first 'i' in medicine? Ie, medsin, not medisin? Is it because they are all lazy fatted rich people?

― Dave B (daveb), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 08:03 (twenty-one years ago)

First rule of Southern socialism - There's No I In Medicine

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 08:05 (twenty-one years ago)

See what you're trying to do to our NHS your big Thatcherite scum, you?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 08:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Recently I have been trying to pronounce the 'w' in PWN, and not insert an 'o'. It is not easy.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 08:10 (twenty-one years ago)

apparently if you were to pronounce pwn as the Welsh might it comes out like 'poon'

― teh pow! (blueski), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 08:19 (twenty-one years ago)

With welsh, it could sound like anything

― Dave B (daveb), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 08:25 (twenty-one years ago)

So if its an english thing how come Australians say "pawn" and "Porn" the same way as well?

hmm, it's as if the english and the australian dialects shared some common root or something...

btw how do you pron 'porn' in a way that doesn't sound like 'pawn'. i cannot figger it.

― HKM, Wednesday, 22 September 2004 08:51 (twenty-one years ago)

You accentuate the R.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 08:52 (twenty-one years ago)

i thought it was that you pronounce 'pawn' differently e.g. 'pauwun'

― teh pow! (blueski), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 08:53 (twenty-one years ago)

don't it sound absuRRd?

i was thinking along the lines of merkins saying 'pahn' for 'pawn' and rolling the 'r' in porn. but the yeomen of this still proud nation will sooner submit to hunnish absolutism than the southern fried 'r'.

― LudaKris, Wednesday, 22 September 2004 08:56 (twenty-one years ago)

how do you pron 'porn' in a way that doesn't sound like 'pawn'. i cannot figger it.

Try being born in Scotland - or as you might say, bon in Scotland

― Dadaismus (Dada), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 10:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, the letter "r" is not such a mystery.

I always assumed that brits could tell the difference between 'porn' and 'pawn' when speaking amongst themselves, and that my igna'int 'merkin ears were just not in on the distinction. Not able to pick up the subtle diffence in pronunciation, that is. Now the secret is out, that you in fact can not distinguish between 'porn' and 'pawn'. HAW!

― Hunter (Hunter), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:28 (twenty-one years ago)

It would be worse if you couldn't distinguish between "porn" and "prawn".

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:33 (twenty-one years ago)

*resists temptation to make revolting clitoris in fishmongers joke*

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:39 (twenty-one years ago)

who the fuck is alizee?

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:45 (twenty-one years ago)

bronze prawns.

― g--ff (gcannon), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Ken C is the king of the universe.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

brawny prawns

― g--ff (gcannon), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:48 (twenty-one years ago)

do you brits and aussies tell people to have a good mawning, too?

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Ebsolootly old chum. And a virry gud mawning to you two.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:52 (twenty-one years ago)

agoogwaleh doogwaleh

― teh pow! (blueski), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:53 (twenty-one years ago)

"gud" isn't that northern?

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I was trying for a clipped posho.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:56 (twenty-one years ago)

All you need to know about British regional accents

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 14:56 (twenty-one years ago)

cockernee + teethgritting lockjaw (keeping midges/flies out of gob) = australian accent

― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 17:19 (twenty-one years ago)

i hear that a lot of stuff often flies out of a midge's gob

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

omg.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 22:24 (twenty-one years ago)

By happenstance I have located your missing r, brits. It was hanging out before the "ing" in "outlawing". Some BBC World newsreader just seriously used the pronunciation "outlawring." So just be like Letter-man, and take that r and plop it into po_n and voila, good old American porn. The only other place I've heard this type of thing is when Mike Myers' Simon character talks about his drawrings. Cheeky monkeys.

If I were a British chess champion, I'd definitely name my biography PAWNSTAR, btw.

― Hunter (Hunter), Thursday, 23 September 2004 04:41 (twenty-one years ago)

And FFS "hawt" is said like you're a texan, you know, think of some cartoon texan saying "yee haw, shes hawt!"

Thank you for sorta qualifying that you were talking about a caricatured Texan there, Trayce. Because most of us down here actually have US Midwestern-ish accents and pronounce "hot" as "haht" or similar. (Fuck, I wish Sam were still here!)

As for the original topic of conversation -- I couldn't give a shit. Thanks!

― Many Coloured Halo (Dee the Lurker), Thursday, 23 September 2004 06:49 (twenty-one years ago)

(Oh! And I have never heard of a "glass parking lot" before in my entire life. So it's obv not a concept that is well known throughout the whole of the U.S.)

― Many Coloured Halo (Dee the Lurker), Thursday, 23 September 2004 06:51 (twenty-one years ago)

sixteen years pass...

Help me understand Dorian's tweet.

When Kamala Harris was nominated I wanted to make sure I said her name right on the podcast so I looked it up in several places and it said "Comma-la." I emphatically said "Comma-la" throughout the episode. Only later found out that Americans pronounce "comma" as "karma."
— Dorian Lynskey (@Dorianlynskey) January 21, 2021

I get that he has a non-rhotic British accent and so pronounces "karma" like "kahma"...which, yes, is generally how Americans pronounce "comma" and "Kamala." (In my Midwestern dialect, this corresponds to <ä>, the "open central unrounded vowel.")

But then how do Brits pronounce "comma"?

― jaymc, Thursday, 21 January 2021 15:33 (four years ago)

/ˈkɒm.ə/ - examples wiktionary gives of the /ɒ/ vowel are not, wasp, boss, moth but I can imagine all of these sounding different with an American accent, so not sure how helpful that is.

― ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 21 January 2021 15:43 (four years ago)

Well don't you know of course there is a youtube video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k791W5orXrI

― ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 21 January 2021 15:44 (four years ago)

https://forvo.com/word/comma/#en

― pomenitul, Thursday, 21 January 2021 15:45 (four years ago)

I pronounce "comma" like "not" and "wasp" but not like "boss" or "moth."

― jaymc, Thursday, 21 January 2021 15:45 (four years ago)

https://forvo.com/word/comma/#en

― pomenitul, Thursday, January 21, 2021 3:45 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

comma comma comma comma comma comma chameleon

― ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 21 January 2021 15:48 (four years ago)

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