(Untitled)

[kaustin]

How do you pronounce stfnal? I've always heard it (and pronounced it) as if there were an i between the t and f but Wikipedia says that stf should be pronounced stef.

Comments

[fmsv]

I pronounce it like Wikipedia says.

[cakmpls]

You mean that for Minnesotans there's a difference in sound?

[fredcritter]

Having read cakmpls and dd_b's entries, I must ask whether it's a matter of how you perceive "i" and "e" to sound.

However, to answer what I think was your question, I've always (and that's a long "always" there) pronounced it "steffnal," as if I were conflating "Stephanie" and "diurnal"; that is, I guess, not unlike Wikipedia's current sources on it. As far as I can remember, my pronunciation of "stf" when combined with another prefix, suffix, or word (e.g., Minn-StF) has always been "steff." When standing by itself, I've been known to pronounce it "ess-tee-eff" or even "scientifiction." Of course, the Brits just scratch their head at the American tendency to try to pronounce acronyms, to the extent of even adding vowels to the construct in order to do so.

aye eye

[rvrjoe775]

stif-nal
mn-stif

[bibliofile]

Am I too much of a nerd if I pronounce what it abbreviates? Science-fictional.

I shouldn't be surprised if pronounciation varies regionally. After all, midwesterners say "ska" for the SCA, which drives some West-coasters batty.

[bibliofile]

(I realize that it was originally abbreviating "scientifictional," but I automatically translate that into the modern equivalent.)