We used to have a laugh when we would watch This Old House on PBS with Norm Abram and some of the other builders when they would say "water" or "shower"

So according to many of the Brits on this forum, he's an American and should be ridiculed for representing himself as Dutch!

So how something was pronounced 2,000+ years ago has bearing now? I'm willing to bet there is a very long list of words that Brits pronounce differently from the 'original' ...

It seems we want to selectively apply various rules depending on what words we are talking about. It's been pointed out in this and other threads that the American pronunciation of several words is actually closer to the 'old English' version - it's the "English" pronunciation that has diverged over the past few hundred years ...

Fun to discuss, but there is no 'right' or 'wrong', or 'better' or 'worse'

quite true, but I know for a fact that had I known how Anthony (Sons middle name) would be pronounced in the US, I would have picked a different name. It just sounds stupid when someone says Nathan Anthony, and doesn't realise the 'h' is meant to be silent in anthony

My mom was raised in the Bronx. You should hear her accent! Ever see " Coffee Talk" With Mike Myers on Saturday Night Live? She sounds just like that!

Out of curiosity....should the h be silent in Nathan as well? Although it would be very hard to pronounce and sound funny. But what is the Brit rule of this?

It sounds okay to me. Different strokes.

British? Rules?? Not really - we are anarchists!

Yeah - you gotta problem wid dat??

Yeah but we do get corrected on here, so I was standing up for the etymology of the name.

No, not in Nathan,just Ant'h'ony...should sound like Nathan Antony

I know how Anthony is pronounced in the UK, but just wondering why you wouldn't pronounce all ths the same....such as the first name of Nathan. Just wondering if there was a rule of thumb so to speak.

'Colin' here in the US is pronounced quite like 'Colon' as in 'colon cancer'. Here's how I would explain it:
US 'Colin' has the 'Co' pronounced as the 'Co' in 'colon', and in 'cork'
UK 'Colin' has the 'Co' pronounced as the 'Co' in 'cock' or 'commerce'

The 'in' part of Colin (US) is so similar to an 'on' sound that I must say, to my ear, I can hardly distinguish 'Colin' (US) from 'Colon'.

Fortunately, I'm not bothered by the pronunciation of my name (Robin) in the US but sometimes by the gender assumptions. When we first moved to Boston, I immediately started getting junk mail from the Womens Health Collective or somesuch. They were constantly inviting me to Well Womens Clinics, come in for a pap smear, whatever. I was all for registering, but my wife dissuaded me.

Then just a couple of weeks ago at work, a new faculty member walked into my office at the library to ask me if I could subscribe to some resources he needed for his research.. his opening gambit when he saw me was, "Oh.. I was expecting a woman!" I gave him my stock reply, "I can be if you want me to be.." That usually breaks the ice.

"Blarst Me, oi watta be gittin on hum soon!" Proud to be from Norfolk, with or without flipper.