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Some of the funniest (Brasilian) Portuguese misunderstandings I've encountered were due to differences in how some letters are pronounced. A leading hard "R" i

Some of the funniest (Brasilian) Portuguese misunderstandings I've encountered were due to differences in how some letters are pronounced. A leading hard "R" is often pronounced like an American "H". An "OU" is sometimes pronounced like an American "ooo". Once, at a trade show in Sao Paulo, I witnessed an unfortunate network technician trying to debug our _ROUTERS_ tell our (female) director of I.T. to please accept this ethernet-crossover cable and "put it between your hooters". fun times.

petecox 10y ago
In my part of the Commonwealth, 'route' does rhyme with 'hoot'. "If you go that route, you'll get stuck in traffic". It's only in a computing context that 'router' rhymes with 'doubter'. I'd suggest female staff would likewise get the wrong idea if one pronounced it 'rooter'.
- anoother 10y ago
  I thought the 'rowter' pronunciation re. computing was a purely American influence. In the UK at least, router (in a computing context) _does_ rhyme with hooter. It is, after all, something that routes traffic -- exactly like your first example. A router pronounced 'rowter', on the other hand, is a device for cutting grooves in wood.
  - Jedd 10y ago
    When you use the string 'row' to describe pronunciation, are you using it in the sense of 'to row a boat', or 'to get into a row with someone'?
    - prodigal_erik 10y ago
      Americans rhyme "route" (path) with "doubt" and "row" (paddle a boat) with "dough". If you are rhyming "row" (fight) with "cow", that's a word most Americans don't know.
      - thaumasiotes 10y ago
        > Americans rhyme "route" (path) with "doubt" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCYApJtsyd0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCYApJtsyd0
        iopq 10y ago
        The usual distinction is "to route" rhymes with "to doubt" and the word "route" is pronounced like "root". Some people also use the verb pronunciation for the noun as well.
        thaumasiotes 10y ago
        That distinction exists only in your own mind, and likely not even there. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/route http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/route Contrast http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/legitimate http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/legiti... , which correctly notes that the adjective and verb are pronounced differently.
        ams6110 10y ago
        I most often hear: Route 66 -> sounds like root My usual route to work -> rhymes with doubt Can someone reset the router -> rhymes with doubter.
        icambron 10y ago
        Turns out, we're really inconsistent! http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_26.html http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_26....
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
        iopq 10y ago
        Router as in the hardware always rhymes with doubter. I have never heard any other pronunciation for it. Route as a verb in IT always rhymes with doubt. In other meanings the pronunciations vary.
    - anoother 10y ago
      Sorry, I can see that was unclear. 'to get into a row with someone'
- thaumasiotes 10y ago
  To me (US), 'route' might rhyme with 'hoot' or 'stout' according to whim. (Compare the American "Route 66".) A router would always use the MOUTH vowel, though.
ZenoArrow 10y ago
Ha, good one! I've got a similar story in Spanish, which to cut a long story short, results in a foreign student trying to ask a young woman 'Cuantos años tienes?' but instead asking 'Cuantos anos tienes?'! For the Spanish speakers here, I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the young woman was shocked! For the non-Spanish speakers, I'll let you look up the difference between años and anos for yourself. ;-)
n72 10y ago
Indeed, my girlfriend, a Brazilian, is teaching me Portuguese. I have real trouble pronouncing the kind of implied "m" and the end of "pão", without which, instead of meaning bread, turns out to mean penis/cock/dick. "Eu como pão" is something I have to be very careful with.
- fernandotakai 10y ago
  you could try associating the "m" with something like "palm", but just a little bit closer when speaking.
- aandrieiev 10y ago
  On a related note, most of speakers of East-European languages have hard time with word pairs like "bitch"/"beech" and "shit"/"sheet". Number of "spreadshits" heard at some meetings can't leave anybody cold =)
- sanoli 10y ago
  Im brazilian and I just laughed out loud on this one. Indeed, be careful with that one.

petecox 10y ago

In my part of the Commonwealth, 'route' does rhyme with 'hoot'. "If you go that route, you'll get stuck in traffic". It's only in a computing context that 'router' rhymes with 'doubter'. I'd suggest female staff would likewise get the wrong idea if one pronounced it 'rooter'.

anoother 10y ago
I thought the 'rowter' pronunciation re. computing was a purely American influence. In the UK at least, router (in a computing context) _does_ rhyme with hooter. It is, after all, something that routes traffic -- exactly like your first example. A router pronounced 'rowter', on the other hand, is a device for cutting grooves in wood.
- Jedd 10y ago
  When you use the string 'row' to describe pronunciation, are you using it in the sense of 'to row a boat', or 'to get into a row with someone'?
  - prodigal_erik 10y ago
    Americans rhyme "route" (path) with "doubt" and "row" (paddle a boat) with "dough". If you are rhyming "row" (fight) with "cow", that's a word most Americans don't know.
    - thaumasiotes 10y ago
      > Americans rhyme "route" (path) with "doubt" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCYApJtsyd0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCYApJtsyd0
      - iopq 10y ago
        The usual distinction is "to route" rhymes with "to doubt" and the word "route" is pronounced like "root". Some people also use the verb pronunciation for the noun as well.
        thaumasiotes 10y ago
        That distinction exists only in your own mind, and likely not even there. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/route http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/route Contrast http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/legitimate http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/legiti... , which correctly notes that the adjective and verb are pronounced differently.
        ams6110 10y ago
        I most often hear: Route 66 -> sounds like root My usual route to work -> rhymes with doubt Can someone reset the router -> rhymes with doubter.
        icambron 10y ago
        Turns out, we're really inconsistent! http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_26.html http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_26....
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
        iopq 10y ago
        Router as in the hardware always rhymes with doubter. I have never heard any other pronunciation for it. Route as a verb in IT always rhymes with doubt. In other meanings the pronunciations vary.
  - anoother 10y ago
    Sorry, I can see that was unclear. 'to get into a row with someone'
thaumasiotes 10y ago
To me (US), 'route' might rhyme with 'hoot' or 'stout' according to whim. (Compare the American "Route 66".) A router would always use the MOUTH vowel, though.

ZenoArrow 10y ago

Ha, good one! I've got a similar story in Spanish, which to cut a long story short, results in a foreign student trying to ask a young woman 'Cuantos años tienes?' but instead asking 'Cuantos anos tienes?'! For the Spanish speakers here, I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the young woman was shocked! For the non-Spanish speakers, I'll let you look up the difference between años and anos for yourself. ;-)

n72 10y ago

Indeed, my girlfriend, a Brazilian, is teaching me Portuguese. I have real trouble pronouncing the kind of implied "m" and the end of "pão", without which, instead of meaning bread, turns out to mean penis/cock/dick. "Eu como pão" is something I have to be very careful with.

fernandotakai 10y ago
you could try associating the "m" with something like "palm", but just a little bit closer when speaking.
aandrieiev 10y ago
On a related note, most of speakers of East-European languages have hard time with word pairs like "bitch"/"beech" and "shit"/"sheet". Number of "spreadshits" heard at some meetings can't leave anybody cold =)
sanoli 10y ago
Im brazilian and I just laughed out loud on this one. Indeed, be careful with that one.