Originally Posted by
MikeyMK
This thread is clearly an American problems thread. Anyone who can't pronnounce 'mirror' and thinks 'aluminium' rhymes with 'hooligan' is frankly a lost cause.
The yanks have worked hard to reduce syllables from their daily vocals, that much is clear to the billions of us foreigners who speak English. Including the English, like myself.
However, the American pronunciation of "garage" is actually closer to the original in French. English has been incorporating French ( or Norman French, really) since 1066. As the expert points out, the adoption of the term often spawns its own etymology in the language of the borrower. Spanish has incorporated Arabic terms since the days of the Moors. Some of those words ( "sofa" comes to mind, at the moment) have subsequently been borrowed by English, from the Spanish.
How soon before we wade into the quagmire with "derailleur ".