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Mind your language

How should you pronounce ‘mayoral’?

9 December 2023

9:00 AM

9 December 2023

9:00 AM

The Prime Minister mentioned mayoral elections the other day and he pronounced them as though they were conducted by mouth in the month of May: May-oral. There is no doubt that this is an American pronunciation, though some Americans prefer MAY-uhr-uhl to may-OR-uhl. In British English it’s MAIR-uhl.

The funny pronunciation has spread to electoral, which on both sides of the Atlantic was uh-LECK-tuh-ruhl.

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