# pronunciation - Route



## Botolph

Hi

Please, can someone help me with the definitions, and if possible, a practical example of the two different usages of the word "Route", depending on how it is pronounced?

Thanks


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## aztlaniano

Welcome, Boltolph! 
La pronunciación no cambia el significado.
canadiense: ruut
estadounidense: raut


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## Agró

El OED da dos posibles pronunciaciones para
route, /ˈruːt, ˈraʊt/
sin entrar en detalles.


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## riscman

BR-English 

"Route" como canadiense: ruut
pero sin "e"
"Rout" como estadounidense "route": raut


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## Botolph

Thanks to all of you, but I thought that route had a different meaning; for example when we say: "The train was on route to Arizona", "route" is pronounced differently (and has a different meaning) than when we say "The route I will follow is not the most pleseant". I am having a little bit of problem in finding out where the difference is. Thanks for your help and clarification of this doubt.

Regards


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## SydLexia

Perhaps because "en route" is from French (and they don't say 'raut')

syd


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## riscman

This may be country dependent.
For the second example: In the UK the pronunciation is ruut. In the US - raut.

The first case is more difficult. "on route" is from the French and is written as "en route" in UK English.
It is pronounced as in French - which happens to be the same as the other route.
I cannot say if the French pronunciation is respected in the USA, but I doubt it as the phrase has probably been anglicised.


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## nmmad

It's certainly country dependent, but also context/background dependent.

In the UK the general usage is "ruut" but I've been told that the army usage is "raut".  Certainly "en route" implies a pseudo-French pronunciation.

In the US it seems to be "raut" in most situations, but I've heard "ruut" on several occasions but can't establish a common thread.


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## GreenWhiteBlue

It is completely wrong to declare as a fact that "in the US, the pronunciation is 'raut'".  In the US as anywhere else, "ruut" is the standard pronunciation.  Educated people in the United States will tend to say "ruut".  The use of "raut" is more common among persons from certain regions, and among those who are poorly educated.


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## nmmad

It's fascinating to hear this -- I guess that I've heard enough educated speakers to make me realise that US usage wasn't universally "raut", but not enough to make me think that it was a regional/less favoured form.

Thanks for asking Botolph, and for your comment GWB.


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## aztlaniano

GreenWhiteBlue said:


> It is completely wrong to declare as a fact that "in the US, the pronunciation is 'raut'".


Admittedly I was being too sweeping when I wrote (#2) Canadian = ruut, American = raut, certainly ruut is widely used in  the USA, including by me, but I would say raut is just as widely used and probably more so. 
I was once told (I don't know that it's so) that "route" is one of the words included in a text US border police ask people to read aloud in order to help them identify suspected Canadians.
Anyway, for Botolph's purposes the important fact is that both pronunciations are used but the meaning remains the same, and no one has questioned that.


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## FromPA

GreenWhiteBlue said:


> It is completely wrong to declare as a fact that "in the US, the pronunciation is 'raut'". In the US as anywhere else, "ruut" is the standard pronunciation. Educated people in the United States will tend to say "ruut". The use of "raut" is more common among persons from certain regions, and among those who are poorly educated.


 
What an incredible statement!  The dictionary gives two acceptable pronounciations, and you declare that those who don't pronounce it as you do are poorly educated.


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## nmmad

As Aztlaniano says, both are fine and good.  

So many words have different stresses or vowel sounds in the variant forms of English, that it is sometimes difficult to know which is the best to learn.  Even within one country there are usually variant pronunciations, and it is difficult to advise which is the best to learn.  It will usually depend upon the people you are most likely to meet.  Listen to them and adopt their way of saying things as much as possible.


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## calvindebeverly

Saying raut or ruut is regional in the US. And it does seem that the greater the level of education the more the raut pronunciation is used. As an example the hyway 66 is beloved by many as a piece of our history and is refered to as "Ruut 66" both by reference and in song. But if you ask someone on the route it's name they will say it is county "raut 66". Sufice it to say I think togeather we have gotten to the "root" of the problem.

Calvin.


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## FromPA

calvindebeverly said:


> Saying raut or ruut is regional in the US. *And it does seem that the greater the level of education the more the raut pronunciation is used.* As an example the hyway 66 is beloved by many as a piece of our history and is refered to as "Ruut 66" both by reference and in song. But if you ask someone on the route it's name they will say it is county "raut 66". Sufice it to say I think togeather we have gotten to the "root" of the problem.
> 
> Calvin.


 
Again, the dictionary provides two accepted pronounciations, so it is an absolutely outragious assertion - unsupported by any objective evidence - that people who say raut are poorly educated.


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## calvindebeverly

Yes both are acceptable. There is no doubt about this. I am only saying from my experience across this nation that in my many travels which have been extensive there seems to be an educational bias. I am the objective evidence. If you don't believe my experiences and that I am just telling you what I have seen, the so be it. But my claim is not unsubstantiated.


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## FromPA

Well, I'll agree with you on one thing - there is certainly a bias in evidence here.


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## calvindebeverly

Good I am very glad we can agree. Thank you.


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## calvindebeverly

From "Fowler's Modern English Usage" : Oxford, we find the following, "The ordinary pronunciation root has now largely displaced the rowt that formerly prevailed in military phrases such as r. march, column of r." Since it is a good bet that the military owns to more educated persons than "The Ordinary" I would suggest you be the one to state the converse and take it up with the Marine Corp.


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## cyberpedant

I get my kicks on "root" 66, but I use a "rauter" in the shop. We here in western Mass would never call a "router" a "rooter," but either pronunciation of the highway designation is acceptable to members of all classes, races and creeds.


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## cuchuflete

GreenWhiteBlue said:


> It is completely wrong to declare as a fact that "in the US, the pronunciation is 'raut'".  In the US as anywhere else, "ruut" is the standard pronunciation.  Educated people in the United States will tend to say "ruut".  The use of "raut" is more common among persons from certain regions, and among those who are poorly educated.



Don't try that overly broad generalization among people in the transportation and logistics field, or they will route your vehicle straight to the junkyard.    Oversimplification may be the root of and route (pronounced as you may wish) to all evils.  In the realm of logistics, the far more common pronunciation of route is rowt/raut/something that doesn't rhyme with toot.  It has nothing to do with regionalisms or supposed educational levels.  The same pronunciation carries over from the verb to the gerund and noun 'routing'.   It doesn't sound like rooting.


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## cuchuflete

calvindebeverly said:


> From "Fowler's Modern English Usage" : Oxford, we find the following, "The ordinary pronunciation root has now largely displaced the rowt that formerly prevailed in military phrases such as r. march, column of r." Since it is a good bet that the military owns to more educated persons than "The Ordinary" I would suggest you be the one to state the converse and take it up with the Marine Corp.


 Since when has Fowler concerned itself with  AE pronunciation, without making specific mention that it is doing so?  Since when is it "a good bet that the military owns to more educated persons than 'The Ordinary' "?  Where do enlistees generally come from, the halls of academe?  Go tell it to the Marines.  



cyberpedant said:


> I get my kicks on "root" 66, but I use a "rauter" in the shop. We here in western Mass would never call a "router" a "rooter," but either pronunciation of the highway designation is acceptable to members of all classes, races and creeds.


 Thank you cyberpedant, for clearly stating what is obvious to those who listen without preconceptions.


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## cyberpedant

cuchuflete said:


> In the realm of logistics, the *far more common pronunciation of route is rowt/raut/something that doesn't rhyme with toot. * It has nothing to do with regionalisms or supposed educational levels.  The same pronunciation carries over from the verb to the gerund and noun 'routing'.   It doesn't sound like rooting.


I must humbly beg to differ, at least with "far more common." In my neck of the woods, which includes Brooklyn, NY, and Berkshire County, MA, most of us tend to drive on "roots." But as I mentioned previously, either pronunciation is both understood and accepted.


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## Arrius

Although the normal British pronunciation is *root*, my father, a Londoner who worked for London Transport, and his colleagues, always used to talk about their* raut*. I have heard it pronounced thus in the British Army too.


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## cuchuflete

cyberpedant said:


> I must humbly beg to differ, at least with "far more common." In my neck of the woods, which includes Brooklyn, NY, and Berkshire County, MA, most of us tend to drive on "roots." But as I mentioned previously, either pronunciation is both understood and accepted.


We don't disagree at all.  I was referring specifically to the pronunciation used by professionals, not laymen, in traffic management and transportation management and the software business that creates tools for such people.  

I spent many years working with such folks, nationwide, and do not recall ever hearing a traffic manager or warehouse manager or carrier employee use "root" or "rooting" to refer to choice of mode and carrier, or the sequence of roads and stops to be followed.  Those same people, however, might use the 'root' pronunciation to describe the way they drove to and from work.


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## calvindebeverly

And then there is router rooter. Now I know this discussion is going down the tubes.


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## Botolph

Wow, I am really impressed by the level of detail each one of you used in your clarifications. Thanks a lot. So, the fact that "route" is pronounced differently doesn't change its meaning. Also, its different pronunciation stems from a regional adaptation, rather than a phonetic rule.

Your help is most appreciated.


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