How to Pronounce Knitting Terms — Very Pink Knits!

Staci of VeryPinkKnits came up with this video idea.  Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a knitter to learn something about American English pronunciation. 

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Video Transcript:

>> Hey everybody. I’m here in LA with my friend Staci from Very Pink Knits.
>> Hi.
>> And we’re going to do a video going over the pronunciation of knitting terms. Now, if you’re not a knitter, don’t worry. You’re still going to learn a lot about American English pronunciation.

>> So Staci asked me to make this video series because she actually has a lot of non-native speakers,
>> Right.
>> That are using her videos. And even Americans sometimes will mispronounce a word if they’ve never heard it.
>> Right.
>> And only seen it. So the first word that we’re going to do is…
>> Skein.
>> Skein. So what is ‘skein’?
>> Skein is, refers to a ball of yarn, and specifically, wound into an oblong shape that pulls from one end.
>> Ok. So, ‘skien’ is pronounced with the AY diphthong. Now, when you hear someone mispronounce it, what are they doing generally?
>> They say ‘skeen’.
>> ‘Skeen’. Ok, so just like the word ‘vein’, the letters E I are making the AY diphthong. Skein. And make sure you do drop your jaw enough for the first sound of that diphthong. Another word that she asked me to go over is actually two words, “Fair Isle.” So, can you explain what that is?
>> Yes. Fair Isle is a two-color knitting technique. And this is a very traditional Fair Isle design. It is traditionally seen in Scandinavian ski sweaters.
>> I don’t have one, but I would like too, especially after I’ve seen that. So, Fair Isle. Basically, the mispronunciation you’re hearing is in the second word. Is that right?
>> Yeah. People just don’t know how to pronounce ‘isle’.
>> Right.
>> I-S-L-E.
>> It’s confusing because it has a silent S, and there aren’t many words in American English with a silent S. But basically, that second word has the AI as in BUY diphthong and the Dark L. The Dark L is a tricky sound. You keep your tongue tip down and pull the back part of your tongue back, uul, ul. When most people see the L, they think, Oh, I need to lift my tongue tip here, but you don’t for L’s at the end of a syllable. Isle, Isle.

>> So the next term we’re going to go over this, and actually what Staci told me was the pronunciation is:
>> Variegated.
>> Variegated. Var-ih-gay-did. But when I looked it up, what I saw was ‘variegated’. So, an extra syllable. So actually, either one of these is acceptable. But what you’re saying is, in knitting, in general, you’re always hearing it…
>> There might be parts of the country where people say ‘variegated’, but, referring to yarn, and what that means is that the yarn is dyed multiple colors, stinging along…
>> It’s pretty.
>> …the strand, yeah. But, I have never heard anyone say ‘variegated’, but…
>> Ok.
>> I haven’t been all over the country.
>> Ok. So if we’re going to go with Staci’s pronunciation, then it’s a four-syllable word with primary stress on the first syllable and a secondary stress on the third syllable. DA-da-Da-da. Variegated.

>> So the next term is for this beautiful thing. By the way, if anyone out there is a knitter and wants to knit me one of these, let me know.
>> I have a tutorial for this.
>> Be in touch. 🙂
>> I have a tutorial for all this stuff. Yeah.
>> Um, so what is this?
>> Entrelac.
>> And, how are you hearing people mispronounce that?
>> ON-tra-LOCK.
>> Ok. So, it does look like a word for French origin.
>> Yeah.
>> But, as with many words in American English, we haven’t tried to keep that French pronunciation. Just like with ‘croissant’. We don’t say ‘croissant’. So this is not ON-tra-LOCK. But instead:
>> Entrelac.
>> Entrelac. Three-syllable word with stress on the first syllable. DA-da-da.

>> This one is French-y. Ha! I better not say that, someone will get insulted. This one is a French word pronounced in the French…
>> Right.
>> pronunciation.
>> Right.
>> Picot.
>> So, we don’t actually say the T because here, for some reason, we Americans have decided that we will maintain the French pronunciation.
>> Yeah.
>> So what is picot?
>> Picot is the dark blue decorative edge on here. I think the word is also used in cake decorating.
>> Mm. That’s pretty.
>> Yeah.
>> And you have a tutorial on that.
>> Of course I do.
>> Of course she does.

>> The next one is ‘gauge’. What is ‘gauge’ as far as knitting is concerned?
>> Well, it is the number of stitches that you get per inch. And I have this marked off with one inch, and you count the stitches between.
>> Yeah.
>> It’s a…, people get messed up on it because they don’t know how to pronounce and spell all the vowels around just the couple of consonants.
>> Yeah. No, this is the only word I can think of where A-U makes the AY as in SAY diphthong. So it’s a totally weird word.
>> Ok, yeah. Good.
>> Um, and also the jj sound can be hard, sometimes, for some people. So we start with a gg, where the back part of the tongue reaches up and touches here, gauge, and then the second sound is here at the front of the mouth, where the tongue will go up to the roof of the mouth, and the lips will do this funny little position. Gauge.
>> You know, I never thought about the fact that the two G’s in the word are the two different ways of pronouncing G.
>> Right.
>> No wonder it’s confusing for people.
>> I know! Same letter, but different sounds.
>> Ok. I’m glad I had that explained to me.
>> That’s what I’m here for. Ok, what is this?
>> This is intarsia. Well, specifically, the little heart inside of here. Intarsia is a blob of color, in knitting surrounded by another color.
>> Ok. So, I also looked up this word and found that that’s not how it’s pronounced, according to the dictionary, it’s pronounced ‘intarsia’. But actually, the definition that they gave me wasn’t a knitting term. It had to do with wood working. So, when this word worked it’s way into the knitter’s world, the pronunciation changed a little bit. Because you said that people really don’t say ‘intarsia’.
>> I’ve never heard that. People in the industry, everything, I’ve heard people say ‘intarsia’.
>> Mm-hmm. So there we have the S-I-A ending, and we’re making the zh sound, just like in the word ‘freesia’.
>> Freesia, yeah.

>> So…
>> What do we have?
>> What do we have here, guys? Not one but two…
>> Scarves!
>> Alright, so, Staci was saying, sometimes, wow. This is really pretty. Sometimes people will say ‘scarfs’. And they won’t make the F a V sound. Now, in American English, in most cases, when we have a noun that ends in an F or an F-E, we drop the F, make it a V, and add ES. So this isn’t ‘scarfs’, but it’s ‘scarves’. Vz, vz, with a voiced ending. Now, if we had the word ‘scarfs’, that is a word in American English. And it means to eat your food really fast, to stuff your face. She scarfs down her dinner.
>> It’s slang.
>> It’s slang. Is it?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah, you’re right. That would be considered slang.
>> Yeah.
>> So, when you’re talking about these lovely items, don’t mix it up with that sort of gross verb.
>> Polite people don’t scarf their food.
>> No they don’t. Scarves. Staci, thank you so much. So, I can send my users to your website, and they can find every single one of these tutorials.
>> Um, almost, almost.
>> Ok.
>> But I have a surprise for you.
>> Oh.
>> This one’s yours.
>> Really??
>> Yes.
>> Awesome. Thank you!
>> I love the fact that this matches it, too.
>> That … ok guys, hold on. Now I have to really get into it. I love it.
>> I thought it looked New York for her.
>> Yes. Thank you, it’s wonderful. So beautiful. So you guys are going to be seeing this scarf featured in many videos from now on.
>> Good!
>> Thanks Staci! I appreciate it.
>> You’re welcome.
>> Alright, and thank you so much for this video idea.
>> Yeah.
>> And for helping me teach my audience some new terms. And, if you’re sitting around with a lot of time and you need a new hobby,
>> I’m right here.
>> Try knitting.
>> Yeah.

>> That’s it, and thanks so much for watching Rachel’s English.
>> Perfect. Okay, that’s good. Wow, this was fun.
>> That really is yours. I really did pick it out (07:57) for you!
>> That was, like, great to do it on camera because I’m all, *gasp*.
>> Yeah, the reaction was real.
>> Oh, it’s so pretty!
>> Good.
>> Thank you.
>> You’re welcome.
>> This looks like a hard one to do.
>> It’s called a clapotis, which would have been another great word for us to do.
>> Clapotis.
>> Clapotis. It’s a French word that means ‘lapping waves’.
>> Oh wow.
>> It’s wool. Please do not put it in the washing machine.
>> Ok.
>> But, um, you can wash it and lay it out flat to dry.

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