Articulate: Groceries?

This morning in my office there was an animated debate about how to pronounce the word, grocery. The two main camps pronounced the ‘c’ as either /s/ or /sh/. I had never noticed the /sh/ variant but since Difference isn’t Dysfunction that wasn’t really the issue for me. What I found most interesting was how attached people are to the idea that they pronounce things the “right” way.

Once that it was determined that no one was “wrong” it quickly settled. This leads me to believe that more curiosity about sound variance may be at the heart of acceptance of speakers with different languages of origin. What if instead of assuming there is a language issue, we become curious about pronunciation? Perhaps we can create a deeper understanding by realizing that we have difference in common.

So, how do you say grocery? Inquiring minds want to know.

Gina Razón is the Founder and CEO at GROW Voice LLC, a full-service verbal communication studio in Boston’s Back Bay.  She has over two decades of experience as a teacher of voice and speech, is a communication and change facilitator, and is a voraciously curious voice user.  Gina has worked professionally as a classical singer for over a decade and more recently as a professional public speaker.  For more information on the studio or to book Gina visit www.growvoice.com.