Tuesday, June 29, 2010

How do you pronounce Worcestershire?

Whenever I had to say "Worcestershire" I've always just kinds of mumbled something like "worsheshtsherhsher sauce." It turns out that that is the wrong way to say it. Go figure.

One day I sat down and looked at the label of our Lea & Perrins and tried to sound it out. Is is wor-chester-shire? Wor-sess-ter-shire? I really had no idea.

Finally I looked it up online and this is how you say it:

WOOS-ter-sher 

Crazy, huh? Just imagine saying "rooster" like a person with a speech impediment (I think it's called a derhotacism when you can't pronounce the letter r). Rooster, sure! Wooster, sure!

I think I will still sound like an idiot very amature if I tried to say this in real life. I have never heard anyone pronounce it this way. Now I will feel very self-conscious every time I ask for Worcestershire sauce. I have doomed myself to a life of permanent anxiety. Maybe I'll just live without it from now on.

3 comments:

Lisa Lou said...

I say it WORS-te-sher. So not right. Kind of like Lancester. Or any -shires in England. They're always awkward to say.

Kathy Haynie said...

Yes, I have heard it pronounced WOOS-te-sher. Practice a few times and you'll sound like a pro!

Katie Lewis said...

Yeah well, you know, we practically eat it every night, so it'll be so hard to give up.