Pronunciation Argument

There's a small language battle going on in the Fox family. It started when one of the contestants on Bravo's "Top Chef" got excited and said he had a "Culinary boner." I wasn't watching at the time, though Stef was tickled enough to save it on the DVR and showed me when I got home.

Good grief! Bravo had so much response, they're selling t-shirts with the phrase.

I pronounce the word culinary, kyū'lə-nĕr'ē. They say kŭl'ə-nĕr'ē. It's fair to say, my pronunciation drives them nuts. It probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't also pronounce Whitney (Eli invented the cotton gin a few miles from here and the main drag is named in his honor), hwĭt-nē,

Stef points out, everyone on Top Chef and everyone on Food Network say "culinary" without the "Y" sound. Even ads for the Culinary Institute of America go sans "Y." Agreed. but this is TV where "ask" is often pronounced "ax" and the word "orientated" is used incorrectly on a regular basis. TV is not my language authority.

This is one of those times when having three in the house is tough. I am easily outvoted. Maybe we need to bring in a speech therapist as a boarder?