Status Updates From There is No Zoo in Zoology,...

caveat KAY-vee-at (KAY- as in cave, -at like at).

Until the 1960s, dictionaries gave no other pronunciation for this word. Webster 3 (1961) is the first of my sources to record an alternative pronunciation: KAH-eee-aht. since then variants have proliferated. We now have KAV-ee-aht (KAV- as I caviar), preferred by Webster's Ninth (1985) and Random House (1987); KAV-ee-at, preferred by the NBC Handbook. KAH-vee-aht,

Caribbean ka-ri-BEE-an.

the accents should be on the BE in Caribbean. The pronunciation kuh-RIB-ee-an, with the accent on the second syllable, has been recorded in dictionaries since th 1930s but is not preferred.

Carnegie (Andrew) kahr-NAY-gee or kahr-NEG-ee.

"The accent is on the second syllable." —Andrew Carnegie.
Webster 2 (1934) says, "The pronunciation with a [kahr-NAY-gee] was that of Mr. Canegie himself, but as the Scotch a is 'stopped,' that is , pronounced with no terminal glide, it sounds like e [kahr-NEG-ee] to many."
For the famous concert hall in New York City, general practice has followed the regional...

caramel KA-ruh-muul. Regionally, KAHR-muul.

The pronunciation KA-ruh-muul (KA-ruh as in carrot, -muul rhyming with pull) is preferred by all authorities, past and present. In the 1940s and 1950s, dictionaries began to list KAHR-muul (KAHR- like car) as a variant, but seemed insecure about its standing. Kenyon and Knott (1949) add the vague comment: "In many places [KAHR-muul] is often heard"; the American College

capricious kuh-PRISH-us, not kuh-PREE-shus.

The second syllable should rhyme with WISH, not with WE.
Kuh-PREE-shus, a spelling pronunciation (see Appendix) based on the word caprice (duh-PREES), was first recognized in the 1960s. It is now listed as an alternative in some dictionaries, but is not preferred. See prestigious.

calm KAHM.

Calm rhymes with bomb. The pronunciation KAHLM, which has been around for about thirty years, is recognized in some dictionaries but not preferred. In calm, pain, balm, qualm, psalm, and alms (and in balk, talk, walk, caulk, chalk and stalk) the L should be silent. (See Spelling Pronunciation in the Appendix.)

cadre KAD-ree or KAH-dur.

Cadre is a good example of how words taken directly from other languages become anglicized, gradually become more English in their pronunciation and usage.
All sources agree that the word comes from the French cadre, which in turn comes from the Latin quadric, but there seems to be some disagreement over when it entered English,
Random House II places its entry between 1905 and 1910.

Byzantine BIZ-in-teen or BIZ-in-tyn or bi-ZAN-tin.

this is one of those words that reveals how old you are, how old your dictionary is, or both. Orthe=oepic carbon-dating has shown that BIZ-in-tin ()not listed above) is preferred by people as old as Ancient Greece; bi-ZAN-tin is preferred by people as old as the hills; BIZ-in-tyn is preferred by people old enough to get away with trying to sound British by making

bulimia byoo-LIM-ee-uh.

Do not say boo-LEE-mee-uh or buh-LEE-mee-uh. These are recent and now very common mispronunciations.
Bulimia came into the language in the fourteenth century, and until 1987 the only recognized pronunciation was byoo-LIM-ee-uh. In the last ten or fifteen years the word has leapt from medical manuals into the vernacular, and in response to widespread confusion over how it is pronounced,...

brooch BROHCH.

Properly, brooch should rhyme with coach. The pronunciation BROOCH, which rhymes with smooch, is usually listed but not preferred. Both pronunciations exist because, historically, brooch, an ornamental clasp, is the same word as broach (now usually used as a verb to mean to utter, introduce, or open for the first time), and most dictionaries still give the alternative spelling broach for brooch.

Brobdingnagian BROB-ding-NAG-ee-in.

Be sure to pronounce the second syllable like the word ding. It is often mispronounced DIG, probably because the word is often misspelled Brobdingnagian.
The word refers to the gigantic inhabitants of the imaginary land of Brobdingnagian in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, or to anyone or anything like them. It should be capitalized.

boudoir BOO-dwahr, not BUU-dwahr.

The first syllable (you-) rhymes with too. Most dictionaries prefer the stress on the first syllable, but stressing the second (boo-DWAHR) is also acceptable.

bouquet boo-KAY (boo- as in boot) or both-KAY (jobs- as in boat).

Older dictionaries prefer boo-KAY; some do not even list bot-KAY. However, since about the 1950s most dictionaries have preferred both-KAY, except when the word is use to mean an aroma, as "The [boo-KKAY] of this wine," Why such a distinction is necessary is beyond me. Maybe ti came about because the connoisseurs all stuck to boo-KAY after hoi poloi..

Bolivar boh-LEE-vahr.

I recommend this one pronunciation for both the monetary unit of Venezuela and the name of the nineteenth century South American liberator. It is a personal preference, based on the following assumptions:
1. There seems to me a general trend among educated speakers and the broadcast media to pronounce foreign names in the way they are pronounced in the language they come from.

blithe BLYTH (rhymes with writhe).

How do you pronounce the title of New Coward's play Blithe Spirit? Does the TH of blithe sound like the Thin then or in thin? You may have heard many speakers say BLYTH, with the TH of thin, but the correct pronunciation is BLYTH, with the TH of then. Here's why:
When a monosyllabic word ends in -the, the TH is usually sounded or "voiced, as in clothe, breathe, and soothe.

bestiality BES-chee-AL-i-tee, not BEES-chee-AL-i-tee. See bestial.

bestial BES-chuul or BEST-yuul. BES-tee-uul is British

Since the 1960s, dictionaries have given BEES-chuul as an alternative because many people had mistakenly begun to model their pronunciation of bestial after the word beast.
Dictionaries are too egalitarian to tell. you why they don't prefer BEES-chull, but for your protection I will: It is considered by careful speakers to be a truly beastly pronunciation.

bequeath be-KWEETH.

The TH should should like the TH in this and bathe, not like the TH in thin and path. Also, do not pronounce the first syllable like the verb be; because be- is unstressed the E is lightened so that the syllable sounds like the BI or BUH.

benignant buy-NIG-nant. do not say buh-NY-nant.

Benigh (buh-NYN) and benignant follow the pronunciation of malign (muh-LYN) and malignant (muh-LIG-nant).

beneficent buh-NEF-i-sent.

Be careful with the second syllable (-nef-). Do not say buh-NIF-i-sent.

behemoth bi-HEE-muth.

In the nineteenth century, this word was pronounced with the accent on the first syllable: BEE-huh-mawth or BEE-uh-muth. This is the preference of Worcester (1884) and Webster's International (1890), also known as "Old Webster." By the 1930's, however, the tide had turned, with the Century (1914), the OED (1928), and Webster 2 (1934) rallying behind bi-HEE-muth, and later dictionaries ...

basil BAZ-il. (BAZ- rhymes with has.)

BAZ-il is the preferred pronunciation for the herb, the name (BASIL), the sheepskin tanned with bark, and the ankle iron or fetter for a prisoner.
Webster 3 (1961) is the first of my sources to recognize variants, listing BAY-sil, BAS-il, and BAY-zil. Of these, the last is now most often given as an alternative, but only one source, Webster's New World Guide (1984), puts...

basal BAY-sal, not BAY-zal.

barbiturate bar-BICH-ur-it.

Many speakers fail to articulate the R in the last syllable of this word. Be careful to say barbiturate. Do not say bar-BICH-oo-it.
Barbiturate came into the language in the 1920s. There were two original pronunciations: bar-buh-TYOOR-it, with the accent on the third syllable to make it analogous with its source, barbituric (bar-buh-TYOOR-ik), the adjective pertaining to the acid of...

banal BAY-nal. Also Buh-NAL.

this is a word of many pronunciations, each of which has its outspoken and intractable proponents. Though it may pain some to hear it, let the record show that BAY-nal is the one preferred by the overwhelming g number of authorities of the last century. Advocates for BAY-nal include Worcester (1884); The OED (1928); Webster 2 (1934); Webster 3 (1961); three Funk & Wagnall dictionaries...

balm BAHM Do not pronounce the L.

This word is pronounced like bomb. See calm.

balk BAWK. Do not say BAWLK.

The L is silent, as in talk and walk,

bade BAD. Do not say BAYD.

This word should rhyme with sad, not with aid.
Bade is the past tense and past participle of the verb to bid. Some dictionaries now recognize the spelling pronunciation BAYD, but not one preferred it. See forbade.

bacchus BAK-us, not BAH-kus. See bacchanal.

bacchanal bak-uh-NAL or BAK-uh-nuul.

Until the 1960s, dictionaries recorded only one pronunciation for this word: BAK-uh-nuul (BAK- like back -nuul rhyming with full). Since then variants have proliferated, of which the most frequently recorded are bak-uh-NAL (-NAL rhyming with pal) and bah-uh-NAHL (with the A in bah- and -NAHL like the a in father). Both shift the accent from the first to the third syllable.