[General] Concerning pronunciation of the word: 'Analogous'

[GrandLizard]

Warmest greetings to everyone!

Not that long ago I, in the course of my daily internet browsing routine, have come upon a video clip. In it, an MP pronounced the word under consideration with a soft g (similar to that in 'analogy'. I, personally, am used to pronouncing this word wth a hard g (similar to that in 'gravy'). Is such way of pronouncing the word erroneous or is it not recommended, but still acceptable, or something else?

Below is the link:

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

One can find the word under discussion at 0:16.

Thank you!

 

[GoesStation]

The former Speaker made an error.

 

[jutfrank]

Hmm. I think this is more complicated than it first seems.

I suspect there may be two sets of conflicting rules at play here. It's certainly true that the spelling ('g' followed by 'o') demands a 'gravy' sound.

I'm only saying this because I pronounce the word in the same fashion as Mr Bercow—and neither Mr Bercow nor myself ever makes pronunciation errors.

 

[jutfrank]

It's encouraging to hear that other members are as sensible as myself.

I wonder if the 'other rule' has something to do with regional varieties. Is this related to British style in some way? (No offence to those unfortunate enough not to be British.)

 

[emsr2d2]

I've never heard it pronounced with a hard "g" in BrE.

 

[GrandLizard]

Whom, or what, to trust, then? I am fairly bewildered now.

 

[GoesStation]

It's encouraging to hear that other members are as sensible as myself.

I wonder if the 'other rule' has something to do with regional varieties. Is this related to British style in some way? (No offence to those unfortunate enough not to be British.)

It's a daily struggle. I did look it up in Oxford and did not find Bercow's pronunciation. The question is whether analogous means "susceptible to analogy" or "exemplifying an analog". The latter is obviously the only correct possibility.

 

[GoesStation]

Whom, or what, to trust, then? I am fairly bewildered now.

Use the hard /g/ reported by dictionaries, but don't be surprised if you hear the soft one on the lips of a former Speaker of Parliament or a British member of this forum.

I use the word from time to time and wouldn't have considered Bercow's pronunciation possible till now.

By the way, jutfrank, Piscean, and I have been engaging in friendly banter. We don't really think anyone's wrong here.

 

[GrandLizard]

Well, that settles it, then. It`s okay to pronounce the word either way, though the hard one is more preferable and commonplace.

 

[jutfrank]

I've never heard it pronounced with a hard "g" in BrE.

Does that mean you think it is something to do with British English?

Whom, or what, to trust, then? I am fairly bewildered now.

There's no cause to be bewildered. We're just comparing notes.

Pronounce it with a hard 'g', like in 'gravy'.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yup. Both are fine. I use a hard g.

 

[emsr2d2]

Does that mean you think it is something to do with British English?

Not really. I'm a speaker of BrE and so is John Bercow. If he pronounced it with a hard "g" on purpose, either he's always pronounced it wrong (in my opinion) or there are plenty more people who pronounce it that way; I've just never heard any of them.

If "analogous" stemmed from "analogue", I might expect the hard "g". However, it stems from "analogy", which is always pronounced with a soft "g". That's what has always led me to pronounce "analogous" with a soft "g" too.

 

[GrandLizard]

Summing up, one can pronounce the word either way. There is no consensus, hence one would not be mistaken to pronounce the lexeme this way or that. A matter of preference, as it were?

 

[GoesStation]

Summing up, one can pronounce the word either way. There is no consensus, hence one would not be mistaken to pronounce the lexeme this way or that. A matter of preference, as it were?

I'd expect British dictionaries to list the soft G pronunciation if it were common in British English. It just sounds wrong to me. The British forum members' unanimous preference for the soft G that isn't recognized by dictionaries suggests it's a relatively recent development that has so far escaped lexicographers' notice.

[EDIT] All five samples at forvo.com use a hard /g/ as in "analog" — two British, one Australian, and two American.

 

[GrandLizard]

This is certainly an interesting observation. One is inclined to think only time will tell.

 

[jutfrank]

The British forum members' unanimous preference for the soft G that isn't recognized by dictionaries suggests it's a relatively recent development that has so far escaped lexicographers' notice.

I doubt that's the case. If anything, I'd guess that it's the other way round—that the soft 'g' form has fallen out of use. I don't know.

 

[GoesStation]

I doubt that's the case. If anything, I'd guess that it's the other way round—that the soft 'g' form has fallen out of use. I don't know.

My compact edition OED lists only the hard /g/. This was in Volume 1, which was published in 1888. There's no listing for analogous in the Supplement.

 

[GoesStation]

I've looked at every pronunciation and listened to every recorded sample I could find. I finally hit one with a soft G, but it's an American who sounds rather drunk. He pronounces it as if it were spelled analegist, with a clearly articulated final /t/.

Now I'm curious, though. What kind of G do you use in homologous? Tautologous? Heterozygous?

Granted, these are far less common and, well, not all analogous with our subject word, but I'm curious whether anyone feels like using a soft G in any of them.

 

[jutfrank]

I finally hit one with a soft G, but it's an American who sounds rather drunk.

:lol:

Now I'm curious, though. What kind of G do you use in homologous? Tautologous? Heterozygous?

Good question. With a soft 'g' as in 'juicy' every time—I'll call it /dz/ for the sake of brevity. The last one would be with a /g/, though, as it doesn't derive from logos. This concerns only those words ending -logous, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[GrandLizard]

Sounds sensible to me. So, in essence, this rule of thumb could be applied to, for instance, 'monophagous'. Thus, /dz/ ​it should be?