"CENTI"meter vs "SONO"meter

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I have no idea why nurses feel the need to pronounce this simple word in such a rediculously affected manner. I was a physics and math major and not until nursing did I EVER hear someone pronounce centimeter as sonometer. It makes me want to hurl!!!

Specializes in A myriad of specialties.

I agree---it grates on my nerves too (probably because I was raised so strictly to "pronounce things right!"). But then again many words that are mispronounced grate on my nerves--like "Miz-ur-ah" for Missouri---mostly has to do with dialect, I guess.

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I have lived in the Pacific NW most of my life.

I was taught to pronounce it sahhn-imeter in school in the 70s when the metric system was first introduced. It is the European pronunciation, given that they "invented" the metric system it feels more "correct" to me.

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Specializes in ED, CTSurg, IVTeam, Oncology.

I don't know about CENTI meter versus SONO meter, but how about SANTE meter, or SANTA meter? And a Ho ho ho to you too :)

Ralph

Still mispelling EEE KAY GEE with a CEE, LOL...

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Specializes in Telemetry/Med Surg.
itiswhatitis said:
ok.. so ..suddenly upon entering the field of nursing , we are now speaking french..i want to hurl even more!!

wow...it affects you that much, huh? :uhoh3:

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Deja vu!!! I still think it sounds silly, but it isn't the most important thing in my life or anything.

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I am very confused about the posted french pronunciationof centimetre?

Is this an American way of pronouncing it?

I have never heard of it pronounced that way.

Our spelling of the word seems to be different too. In canada, we spell it centimetre not centimeter.

In french it is spelled centimètre. Pretty much said the way it reads except the è has an a or au sound to it.

Our spelling for neighbour, colour and several more are just a wee bit different.

:D

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
stevielynn said:
Thanks siri, I was going to suggest the same thing - we had a lengthy discussion about it recently.

I still think it sounds silly to say "sono" meter. Affected. Like you are trying to impress someone with your superior grammar skills.

I'll have to remember this though next time I hear someone make fun of President Bush and his pronounciation of "nuclear" and I think they are being silly for getting upset. :D

steph

Except that he is truly mangling the word. It's not even spelled close to that way, so it's not a "tomato/tomahto" issue. (And just so I'm not accused of "partisan pronunication politics," it bugged me when Carter said "nucular," too.)

Excuse me for sounding superior. If you want, you can track down the docs and nurses who taught in my program 20+ years ago and admonish them--that's how I was taught to pronounce it. Thank goodness I don't work with people who make such reflexive assumptions. No one I work with gives a rip how it's pronounced; we just care about the measurement itself.

So it's OK if it's GWB, but if it's a healthcare worker, they're being affected? Interesting sort reasoning, that.

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
mad9 said:
I am very confused about the posted french pronunciationof centimetre?

Is this an American way of pronouncing it?

I have never heard of it pronounced that way.

Our spelling of the word seems to be different too. In canada, we spell it centimetre not centimeter.

In french it is spelled centimètre. Pretty much said the way it reads except the è has an a or au sound to it.

Our spelling for neighbour, colour and several more are just a wee bit different.

:D

Well, you would be very suspect among certain people here for your Frenchified ways and your insistence on spelling things in a decidedly un-American manner.

(You're cool with me, though! :D )

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It's just the way of medicine. When I'm talking to my kids about the metric system, I say "cent". When I'm at work I say "sono." What's the big deal?

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
TazziRN said:
It's just the way of medicine. When I'm talking to my kids about the metric system, I say "cent". When I'm at work I say "sono." What's the big deal?

Exactly. Deciding someone is an elitist/snob purely by how he/she pronounces one word is an even bigger leap than the one off the Golden Gate Bridge, and makes just about as much sense, too.

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mad9 said:
I am very confused about the posted french pronunciationof centimetre?

Is this an American way of pronouncing it?

I have never heard of it pronounced that way.

Our spelling of the word seems to be different too. In canada, we spell it centimetre not centimeter.

In french it is spelled centimètre. Pretty much said the way it reads except the è has an a or au sound to it.

Our spelling for neighbour, colour and several more are just a wee bit different.

:D

I'm Canadian and never spelled it centimetre when I was writing in English.

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ok.. so ..suddenly upon entering the field of nursing , we are now speaking french..i want to hurl even more!!

Get over it. You don't like France? Be an adult and deal with it.

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I'll have to remember this though next time I hear someone make fun of President Bush and his pronounciation of "nuclear" and I think they are being silly for getting upset. biggrin.gif

big shocker here. "Nuke-U-ler" is WRONG, no matter what language you speak.

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