So I was a Korean Linguist in the military for several years, and I can guarantee you he's not natively Korean.
Now, why does he mispronounce words occasionally? I've thought about that for a while too, and here's what I came up with: Dave isn't writing his own scripts. Dave is the radio voice, the mouthpiece if you will, for whoever is writing these scripts.
What leads me to that conclusion? People don't often use words that they don't know how to pronounce. For instance, if I used the word "Plenary" in daily conversation, then I'd know how to pronounce it. If, however, I don't use that word at all and I encountered it in a script that I was reading, then I would just say it however it sounded natural.
The problem with a word like "Plenary" is that most people who have never used it before don't know which syllable is emphasized and often emphasize the wrong one. They see the word and they compare it to other words that are similar like, Canary, and then they put the emphASSis on the wrong SylABle.
That's what I see a lot when Dave is doing the X22 report. I routinely see him trying to pronounce a word he's clearly never used before, and when people are writing their own scripts, they tend to lean heavily into what they know.
I could be completely wrong, and I'm not really all that invested in my theory, but it's my pet theory and I'm sticking to it for now. :)
I never served in the military, but I did study Korean linguistics in Korea and lived there for 7 years. I've also taught several languages (English, Korean, Japanese) at a wide variety of school levels.
I have a different theory.
I'm pretty sure Dave has a form of dyslexia. For example, his brain doesn't process negatives like most of us.
"All their information was wrong" instead of "None of their information was right"
"They can do only nothing" instead of "They cannot do anything" etc.
Also, his intonation suggests a dyslexia as well. His pronunciation of "anons" really grinded in the start. Emphasis on first syllable, instead of second. Normal pronunciation is the intonation on the second syllable. I doubt that he was never really in a position to never see or use the word anonymous - the basis for anon - and from which anon borrows the intonation. Yet, he mispronounces it in the sense that its not normal usage.
Maybe one day Dave will do that massive interview for history, and then we'll know. If you are right, I'll buy you a latte. If I'm right, you buy me one.
So I was a Korean Linguist in the military for several years, and I can guarantee you he's not natively Korean.
Now, why does he mispronounce words occasionally? I've thought about that for a while too, and here's what I came up with: Dave isn't writing his own scripts. Dave is the radio voice, the mouthpiece if you will, for whoever is writing these scripts.
What leads me to that conclusion? People don't often use words that they don't know how to pronounce. For instance, if I used the word "Plenary" in daily conversation, then I'd know how to pronounce it. If, however, I don't use that word at all and I encountered it in a script that I was reading, then I would just say it however it sounded natural.
The problem with a word like "Plenary" is that most people who have never used it before don't know which syllable is emphasized and often emphasize the wrong one. They see the word and they compare it to other words that are similar like, Canary, and then they put the emphASSis on the wrong SylABle.
That's what I see a lot when Dave is doing the X22 report. I routinely see him trying to pronounce a word he's clearly never used before, and when people are writing their own scripts, they tend to lean heavily into what they know.
I could be completely wrong, and I'm not really all that invested in my theory, but it's my pet theory and I'm sticking to it for now. :)
Greetings fellow linguist.
I never served in the military, but I did study Korean linguistics in Korea and lived there for 7 years. I've also taught several languages (English, Korean, Japanese) at a wide variety of school levels. I have a different theory.
I'm pretty sure Dave has a form of dyslexia. For example, his brain doesn't process negatives like most of us.
"All their information was wrong" instead of "None of their information was right"
"They can do only nothing" instead of "They cannot do anything" etc.
Also, his intonation suggests a dyslexia as well. His pronunciation of "anons" really grinded in the start. Emphasis on first syllable, instead of second. Normal pronunciation is the intonation on the second syllable. I doubt that he was never really in a position to never see or use the word anonymous - the basis for anon - and from which anon borrows the intonation. Yet, he mispronounces it in the sense that its not normal usage.
Maybe one day Dave will do that massive interview for history, and then we'll know. If you are right, I'll buy you a latte. If I'm right, you buy me one.
Deal?
Deal!
Very good point. As I've never taught at any level, I have no experience with Dyslexia except through common culture.
So perhaps that's why he puts the emphasis on the wrong part of a few common English words. He knows the word, but his brain processes it differently.
good observation!
Wow! Got me thinking now.
I like your thinking