Customer Care

[santorini]

Grammar: jewellery or jewelry, jeweller or jeweler?

The standard spellings are jewellery in British English and jewelry in US English.

We're in America.  It's jewelry.

[Ketra]

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@Carmie wrote:

Here we go again.

Cognac is actually a french word.  Not everyone speaks french perfectly in America.

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@Carmie  Cognac was adopted into the English language as a word between 1585-1595. It is derived from the French language as many, many English words were derived from other languages, but it is an English word. It’s a very common word for a color in fashion as well as a type of alcoholic drink. I expect someone who gets paid to speak about fashion and other products on television to know how to pronounce common “English” words or to be corrected and learn to speak them correctly. That’s not too much to ask. We are all learning every day and there is nothing wrong with learning to speak our language correctly. If someone is offended by that too bad. I would want someone to correct me if I was saying a word incorrectly, and I’m not on television speaking about fashion. People shouldn’t be so thin skinned that they can’t learn anything or take criticism when they are wrong, that leads to ignorance. 

[Carmie]

Some people are just so critical.  Smile and have a good day instead. So much ado about nothing important.

[Carmie]

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@Ketra wrote:

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@Carmie wrote:

Here we go again.

Cognac is actually a french word.  Not everyone speaks french perfectly in America.

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@Carmie  Cognac was adopted into the English language as a word between 1585-1595. It’s a very common word for a color in fashion as well as a type of alcoholic drink. I expect someone who gets paid to speak about fashion and other products on television to know how to pronounce common “English” words or to be corrected and learn to speak them correctly. That’s not too much to ask. We are all learning every day and there is nothing wrong with learning to speak our language correctly. If someone is offended by that too bad. I would want someone to correct me if I was saying a word incorrectly, and I’m not on television speaking about fashion. People shouldn’t be so thin skinned that they can’t learn anything or take criticism when they are wrong, that leads to ignorance. 

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I hate to admit this for fear of getting pounced on, but I always hear the pronunciation Coney yak in my region of the country.  It is really common.  

Do you feel the same same way about " you all" or ya all?"  It is not proper English to say you all.  You is a plural well as a singular word.  It is correct to only say you when you of mean everyone.

It is not correct, but it is regional and certainally okay for people to say it without being called thin skinned or morons or ignorant.

You say it your way and let others say it their way.  

I am of Italian decent.  I hear almost everyone pronouncing ricotta cheese incorrectly.  It sounds funny to me, but I let it go.  No big deal.  Not everyone speaks Italian.

[Ketra]

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@Carmie wrote:

Some people are just so critical.  Smile and have a good day instead. So much ado about nothing important.

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@Carmie  If what we are discussing as you say is “about nothing important”, why send your previous post at all? I believe the English language is very important, and so are it’s standards. It’s how we communicate, to me that’s very important. Though I know some wish others not to communicate, I like to hear all sides of a debate or discussion. I can have a good day and still engage in a worthwhile discussion. 

[Ketra]

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@Carmie wrote:

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@Ketra wrote:

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@Carmie wrote:

Here we go again.

Cognac is actually a french word.  Not everyone speaks french perfectly in America.

---

@Carmie  Cognac was adopted into the English language as a word between 1585-1595. It’s a very common word for a color in fashion as well as a type of alcoholic drink. I expect someone who gets paid to speak about fashion and other products on television to know how to pronounce common “English” words or to be corrected and learn to speak them correctly. That’s not too much to ask. We are all learning every day and there is nothing wrong with learning to speak our language correctly. If someone is offended by that too bad. I would want someone to correct me if I was saying a word incorrectly, and I’m not on television speaking about fashion. People shouldn’t be so thin skinned that they can’t learn anything or take criticism when they are wrong, that leads to ignorance. 

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I hate to admit this for fear of getting pounced on, but I always hear the pronunciation Coney yak in my region of the country.  It is really common.  

Do you feel the same same way about " you all" or ya all?"  It is not proper English to say you all.  You is a plural well as a singular word.  It is correct to only say you when you of mean everyone.

It is not correct, but it is regional and certainally okay for people to say it without being called thin skinned or morons or ignorant.

You say it your way and let others say it their way.  

I am of Italian decent.  I hear almost everyone pronouncing ricotta cheese incorrectly.  It sounds funny to me, but I let it go.  No big deal.  Not everyone speaks Italian.

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@Carmie  The difference is y’all is an actual English word (pronoun) in the dictionary, Coney yak is not a word, not even close to the spelling or sound of cognac. You need to refer to your dictionary or the online dictionary before citing 

what you believe to be facts. Also, no one used the word moron here and no one said people who prounce words a certain way are thin skinned or anything else. What I actually said is “People shouldn’t be so thin skinned that they can’t learn anything or take criticism when they are wrong, that leads to ignorance.” That goes for me too. I’ve mispronounced words before and people have corrected me on my pronunciation and I’ve thanked them for it. I don’t want to keep mispronouncing the same word and I like to learn. If I got mad when they corrected me, even though they were right, I would be thin skinned because I couldn’t stand to be corrected and wished to remain ignorant to the correct pronunciation. I don’t see the logic or use in that.

[Ketra]

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@jubilant wrote:

 I was taught not to correct people in front of others.  It was said "not to be polite and not etiquette".  Yes, good grammar can take you places. I understand that. To me, in a situation like this, where one word was mispronounced, etiquette becomes more important.  I read somewhere that mastering etiquette is perhaps better than mastering grammar. I agreed with that statement.

Personally, it does not bother me if a friend or relative corrects me.  It does bother me to see people corrected by complete strangers for all the world to see.       

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@jubilant  Well then she should not be a “professional” T.V. presenter for all the world to see if she cannot be corrected on how to say a common color used in the world of fashion. I would rather someone correct me than to keep saying the word incorrectly, but then again I like to learn.

[BirkiLady]

@jubilant @Ketra  Exactly! Which is why I suggested writing an email to QVC. Let them forward the problem directly to the host (or her supervisor or mentor) for additional training on correct language.

Surprises me she has so many problems after being on TV for so many years prior to QVC. Perhaps that explains the numerous job changes over the years? In those positions she simply read from a promptor, I believe. Those Q-cards must be difficult for English, French or whatever. <sarcasm intended with a silly grin>

ETA: Oh, I do love the cognac shooties!! Another poster thought they ran narrow. Anyone know for sure? Don't want a return S&H fee.

The host didn't mention anything about the width. The Representative did mention a preference for wearing them without socks, which is how I would be wearing them. I always enjoy that Rep. She's excellent. (But a wouldn't want those boots KZ was wearing for over two hours. She "forgot" to bring socks. Hope they go into the "As Is" stock at QVC. Gross.) 

[Foxxee]

@Carmie 

Looked quite a few places on the internet for the correct "American English" pronunciation of the word jewelry.  This is what I found.

Jewelry vs. jewellery

The preferred spelling and pronunciation in "American English" is "jewelry" and [ˈjo͞o(ə)lrē].

"Jewellery is preferred in varieties of English from outside North America. Both spellings appear in Canadian English, but jewelry prevails by a two-to-one margin."

Webster dictionary says:

"American English: jew·​el·​ry | \ ˈjü-əl-re"

"British spelling and pronunciation of "jewelry" is Jewellery - Jewel-lery."

There's no doubt there are those who say jewellery.  Do they spell it that way or is it jewelry?  If they spelled it jewellery, they'd be incorrect.  For someone who does a lot of reading, I have never seen it spelled that way in this country, so why aren't they saying it the way it's spelled?  

I was taught in the schools and colleges I attended it was correctly pronounced in American English....jewelry....[ˈjo͞o(ə)lrē].  No extra "L" or "E". 

It's no big deal, but I understand where @Ketra is coming from.  Cognac may be French, but it's a common word, easy with access to the internet to find out how to pronounce in American English.   

Not wanting to be overly critical.  I've been guilty of mispronunciation.  Many years ago, I said "respite" wrong until someone corrected me.  Looked it up and, yes, I was wrong.  Glad this person did.  

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@Carmie wrote:

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@Foxxee wrote:

I think she's the one that says jewel...lery instead of jewel...ry.  

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Both pronouncations of jewelry are correct.

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[Caffeina]

If she was selling a bottle of Rémy, I could understand the importance of pronouncing it correctly. She was selling a Frye item in a color with a made up name of cognac. The color cognac isn't any one particular color, so it makes no difference how it's pronouced. Call it cognac, coney yack, beer, iced tea, or brown 25, and we wouldn't know what the color looks like without seeing it.