Help with English

Saint said:
Certain car model is coupé, how to pronounce it?
is coupé a borrowed word?
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It's a French word, the past participle of the verb couper "to cut". If a word in English has an accent on it, that vowel is always pronounced: here COOPEE or COOPAY or somewhere between.
 
In UK it's usually the COO-PAY variant... at least that's all I've ever heard that I can recall.
 
I always had it in my mind that it was an American usage- but I can't find a British equivalent or synonym.

Even so I rarely hear it used .Is it used more often in the States as being more noteworthy because cars have always been bigger over there and 2 doors would be seen as penny pinching?
 
geordief said:
Even so I rarely hear it used .Is it used more often in the States as being more noteworthy because cars have always been bigger over there and 2 doors would be seen as penny pinching?
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That is hilarious. It had me totally baffled until I googled it. I knew the etymology, but my interest in cars is so minimal that I have always assumed that the "cutting" was horizontal. All my life I thought a coupé was the same as a convertible. How sad is that? It's never too late to learn.
 
DrKrettin said:
That is hilarious. It had me totally baffled until I googled it. I knew the etymology, but my interest in cars is so minimal that I have always assumed that the "cutting" was horizontal. All my life I thought a coupé was the same as a convertible. How sad is that? It's never too late to learn.
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ditto
 
The US pronounce it COOP, I think (as in Coupe de Ville).
Coupe is quite commonly used here. They tend to be the sportier versions of cars. But if you have no particular interest in cars then I guess it's just about understandable you wouldn't have heard the word, or know what it meant. ;)
 
Sarkus said:
But if you have no particular interest in cars then I guess it's just about understandable you wouldn't have heard the word, or know what it meant. ;)
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Well that's the thing - I've heard the word plenty of times (always COOPAY, never COOP) because these days it is impossible not to hear men talking about cars and golf even if I have no interest in either. But I have always had the wrong idea of what it meant.
 
Saint said:
Certain car model is coupé, how to pronounce it?
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In America, it is almost always pronounced as one syllable: COOP. However, in my youth (the 1940s and 50s) it was more often pronounced as two syllables: coo-PAY. I think it was in the 1960s when Americans began to pronounce it COOP.

Today, nobody pronounces it as two syllables anymore.
 
The verb "to nestle" is to lie comfortably against something, and is pronounced NESS-ul (silent "t" - and the end "-ul" sound is the same as in "people", "couple", "double" etc.

The brand name "Nestle" is that of a Swiss company (named after the founder of one of the original companies), and technically has an accent over the last "e". In the UK (not sure about elsewhere, or even if it's as per the original Swiss) we pronounce the name of this company as NESS-lay - again with a silent "t".
 
Sarkus said:
The brand name "Nestle" is that of a Swiss company (named after the founder of one of the original companies), and technically has an accent over the last "e". In the UK (not sure about elsewhere, or even if it's as per the original Swiss) we pronounce the name of this company as NESS-lay - again with a silent "t".
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In America, most of us pronounce it NESS-lee, but there are quite a few Americans who pronounce the T, so it comes out NEST-lee.

We all seem to be able to distinguish between the verb "nestle," which is pronounced NESS-'l (with no T), and the name of the company.
 
Saint said:
Vetting through means examining in details?
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The verb "vet" means to appraise, verify, or check something for accuracy, authenticity, validity, etc.

"Vetting through" is a rather awkward phrase. Without seeing your original source, I would assume that it refers to a vetting process that is a little more complicated than usual, and is expected to result in better accuracy--or at least tries to!

"Vet" is also universally used in the USA as a noun: slang for both "veterinarian" (a doctor who treats animals, both pets and livestock) and "veteran" (a person who has served in the armed forces).
 
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Maybe the source was "thorough vetting" ? Or the "through" was introducing a phrase that followed and unconnected to "vetting"........eg "he underwent vetting through a long process"
 
I think part of the pronunciation will depend on where people come from.

Me, I would pronounce it Dee-VOLLER-till-is-ation

The "ation" is as per relation, nation, probation
 
Saint said:
Wahy Sergeant is pronounced Sar-jen?
Ser?
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Don't forget th "t" sound on the end. :). SAR-junt

As for why it is pronounced that way, it's a word taken from the French, who pronounce it more like SER- but over the last 700 years or so it has simply changed pronunciation in English to SAR-
Not sure of any particular reason why, but possibly the upper class influence within the military officers, and the way they pronounced it.
 
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