A very very serious pronunciation question - can you explain?

Question

I got a violation for this before - why? anyway, never mind, here's the question, with some context.

I was on a train at the time, and had just come back to my seat from the loo. This point bothers me every time I use a train toilet: how is it that we know how to pronounce Push To Flush?

Why is it poosh to fluh-sh?
why not puh-sh to floosh?
or poosh to floosh?
or puh-sh to fluh-sh?

By oo I obviously mean oo as in boot, and for uh I mean u as in *&%$

Answer 1

Push is almost unique in following that pronounciation pattern, the only other example which comes to mind being the slang word "mush". I think that it is simply a question of it having come straight from the Norman French "pousser". Flush is an Anglo-Saxon word and is pronounced according to the Germanic rules.

Answer 2

Pronunciation in English is horrible. There's no real logic to it. The reason is because it doesn't have a single route language. French, Italian and Spanish for example all have latin as a route language and therefore mostly conform to the rules of that language. English has big chunks of language that came from french when they were in charge, quite a bit that comes from teutonic roots, a fair amount from scandinavian roots from when the vikings were over, bit of greek and some celtic. All these languages came with there own rules and their own pronunciations. The grammar became quite simplified but the pronunciation is almost impossible. Sadly for people who are trying to learn it you just have to learn to remember.

For example you have one mouse and two mice, one sheep and two sheep one foot and two feet one cat and two cats, one roof and two rooves. Where is the logic in that?

Wear and where are both pronounced the same way but mean something completely different. Best not try and understand it, just accept that's the way it is. Sure you will make mistakes, but most English people only speak English so you can always use the defence "I speak your language better than you speak mine." You might occasionally be wrong but not often.

Good luck with it, I'm struggling with Spanish myself.

Answer 3

Sorry !
This is a useless question.
However it doesn't deserve a violation notice.
I too have had violation notices for what I consider is nothing objectionable.
It's just a pity that we cannot learn the handle of the abusee.
Y & A do not even consider a violation notice.
Anyone can report abuse on a whim and can be gauranteed that the Q or the A will be excluded.

PUSH TO FLUSH - - -What's the problem ?

Answer 4

'How is it that we know how to pronounce "Push To Flush"?'
Not a silly question!

Because we learn to speak before we face reading or writing.
By the time we learn to read, we already know -- or should know -- how to pronounce all the sounds in the English language.

The best way to teach children to read English is by learning 'synthetic phonics' -- the letters or combinations of letters that can be used to make particular sounds.
The two sounds you mention are actually quite simple, with relatively few ways of writing them.
the sound oo (as in book): oo and u (eg. look, push) would be learnt.
the sound u (as in flush): u, o (eg. up, wonder) would be learnt.

Things get far more complicated with other sounds: how about I?(as in eye): ay, i, ei, eye, ai, uy (aye, I, eiderdown, eye, caravanserai, buy)

It's a wonder anyone ever learns to spell our language!!

Answer 5

Hi there,
The ability to read is vital for success. It helps your child succeed in school, helps them build self-confidence, and helps to motivate your child. Being able to read will help your child learn more about the world, understand directions on signs and posters, allow them to find reading as an entertainment, and help them gather information.

Here you can find a step-by-step online program that can help your child learn to read: http://readingprogram.toptips.org

Learning to read is very different from learning to speak, and it does not happen all at once. There is a steady progression in the development of reading ability over time. The best time for children to start learning to read is at a very young age - even before they enter pre-school. Once a child is able to speak, they can begin developing basic reading skills. Very young children have a natural curiosity to learn about everything, and they are naturally intrigued by the printed texts they see, and are eager to learn about the sounds made by those letters. You will likely notice that your young child likes to look at books and thoroughly enjoys being read to. They will even pretend to behave like a reader by holding books and pretend to read them.

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Good Bye

Answer 6

Every region in Britain and every english speaking country would pronounce it differently. It's not really important as long as people can understand what your trying to say.

Answer 7

'push' has the vowel in 'put' (not in boot)
'flush' has the vowel in 'cut'

that's how you should say it, unless you want to speak with a "regional" accent, in which case you should ask someone that has the accent you are aiming at.

that's how it is, get used to it.