Teacher Discussion Forums

I realized today as I was pondering things phonical that abalone (3 million+ Google hits), from Spanish, may have the same form for both countable and uncountable "seafood" senses (see e.g. the online LDOCE), but how does one pronounce the 139,000 'abalones' ('group of shellfish (mollusks) in the family Haliotidae') out there in Googleland? I'm assuming as in 'abba lones', not 'abba loanies', but I wouldn't like to say which pronunciation shows the greater logic (in light of the established "food" C/U usage); then again, does anyone ever eat just a single abalone (abba lone)? If not, then the 'abba loanies' makes just as much sense (but scientists would probably feel stupid and less important saying it like that). Still, to each group their own usage.

I'm assuming as in 'abba lones', not 'abba loanies',

For me, "abba lonnies" (as in Lonnie Donegan). But then, I'm a scientific gastronome (is that -noms or -gnomes in the plural?).



How about these?

acetones
ramones
Abejones
hormones
anemones
homophones

Hmm, anemone(s): an-em-oh-knee(s)? It was on the tip of my tongue earlier but I didn't have my reverse dictionary so I gave up. Do you say an-em-own(s) then?:o

fluffyhamster wrote:Ah yes, anemone(s), that's a revealing one. It was on the tip of my tongue earlier but I didn't have my reverse dictionary so I gave up. Cheers!

It can't be pleasant having anemones on the tip of your tongue.

pheromones
colones
quinolones
histones
epigones

Sorry, I was in a noisy conbeni, eyeing the soft ices. I shoulda bitten my tongue or better finger and not submitted til I got my brain in supa-AL mode...hence the quick edit.

It's just a load abalones!

(*exits quickly)

Cojones

Damn. I was hoping to work in some jokes like that myself.