I heard that the pronunciation that I normally would use (which is why I don't use this word) is only used in BRE (British English. Doe sail is how I pronounce it. the sai is supposed to rhyme with high.) That the one the Americans use is "Dassill." Would I be understood if I said "Doe sail"?
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I'm American and pronounce it DOSS-il, but I prefer to hear it pronounced DOE-sile just because it is indeed the British pronunciation. It has been adopted, however, by many pretentious Anglophiles in this country, and completely accepted by many unpretentious Anglophiles. We think that you sound more intelligent and elegant if you can speak with a British accent, which is why British receptionists are preferred by all. Just the British accent gives your establishment an automatic stamp of superiority. So pronounce it any which way you want to, and you will be understood to mean "docile" except by the thousands of people who have somehow managed not to learn that vocabulary word at all.
cerenzia
Docile Define
Melloney
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What is the "correct" pronunciation of the word "docile"?
I heard that the pronunciation that I normally would use (which is why I don't use this word) is only used in BRE (British English. Doe sail is how I pronounce it. the sai is supposed to rhyme with high.) That the one the Americans use is "Dassill." Would I be understood if I said...
Brian
Clearly, nobody seems to really know. I liken it to mobile. In the south, people say Mo-bile, in other parts Mo-bil. Personally, I prefer dos-ill like the guy above with all the thumbs down, but nobody who knows what the word means is likely to call you on it, because they don't know either. The should just be happy that you aren't using seven different words (and wasting their time) to explain something that can be done with this one word. The English, I know, go with Do-sile. Anything is better than, "The cat is...you know...pretty tame and uh...easy to get along with, and...uh, she don't freak out or nothing when you pet her." "You mean she's docile?" "Uh, I guess."
Anonymous
Docile - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Pronunciation: \ˈdä-səl also -ˌsī(-ə)l, especially British ˈdō-ˌsī(-ə)l\