In 1954 the linguist Alan Ross introduced the distinction between ‘U and non-U’ – upper-class and non-upper-class language – in an essay for a Finnish philological journal. Upper-class people say ‘napkin’, not ‘serviette’, ‘sofa’, not ‘couch’, etc. Nancy Mitford popularised the terminology in an article for Encounter the following year, and by including a condensed version of Ross’s essay in her Noblesse Oblige the year after that. In 1970 Ross capitalised on the popularity of his invention by publishing How to Pronounce It, a guide to ‘U-English’ – ‘concerto’ is /kənˈtʃɛːtəʊ/, second syllable the same as ‘chair’, not /kənˈtʃəːtəʊ/, second syllable the same as ‘sir’, for example. But the book is of no help if you want to know the U pronunciations of non-U things…
ALWAYS-on display: /ˈɔːlwɪz/, second syllable the same as whizz.
Ann Summers LINGERIE: /ˈlãʒri/, in the French way. NOT /ˌlɑnƷəˈreɪ/.
AQUAFRESH: /ˈeɪkwə-/. NOT /ˈakwə-/.
ARCHETYPAL character: /ɑːˈkɛtɪp(ə)l/, accent on second syllable.
ARTISAN sourdough: /ɑːtɪˈzan/, accent on last syllable.
Attention DEFICIT: /ˈdifɪsɪt/, first syllable to rhyme with reef.
BOURBON whisky: /ˈbʊəbɒ̃/, in the French way.
BROMANCE: /brəʊˈmans/. NOT accent on first syllable, which is American.
CASUAL sex: /ˈkaʒəl/, two syllables.
CELEBUTANTE: /sɪˈlɛbjᵿtɒ̃/, in the French way.
COLGATE: /ˈkɒlɡət/. NOT /ˈkɒlɡeɪt/.
COMRADE Delta: /ˈkʌmrᵻd/, first syllable the same as come.
CONVERSE high-tops: /kənˈvəːs/, accent on second syllable. NOT /ˈkɒnvəːs/.
COST-of-living crisis: /kɔːst/, to rhyme with forced.
COUPON codes: /ˈkuːpɔ̃/, in the French way. NOT /ˈkuːpɒn/.
COVERT narcissist: /ˈkʌvət/, like cover. NOT /ˈkəʊvəːt/, like over.
Cruella DE VIL: /dʊˈvil/, in the French way, like Déville. NOT /dəˈvɪl/.
Disney’s RECESS: /rᵻˈsɛs/, accent on second syllable.
Double DENIM: /dɪˈnɪm/, accent on second syllable. NOT /ˈdɛnɪm/.
DUVET day: /duːˈveɪ/, accent on second syllable.
EXECUTIVE toy: /ɛgˈzɛkətɪv/. NOT /ɛɡˈzɛkjʊtɪv/.
The EYRIE in Game of Thrones: /ˈɛːri/, the same as airy.
Fast-food RESTAURANT: /ˈrɛst(ə)rɒ̃/, French pronunciation, no final T.
FLACCID penis: /ˈflaksɪd/. NOT /ˈflasɪd/.
GARAGEBand: /ˈɡarɑːʒ/, to rhyme with barrage. NOT /ˈɡarɪdʒ/.
GIGABYTE: /ˈdʒʌɪɡəbʌɪt/. Not /ˈɡɪɡəbʌɪt/.
GLITTERATI: /ɡlɪtəˈreɪtʌɪ/ like hate I. NOT /ˌɡlɪtəˈrɑːti/ like arty.
High-visibility WAISTCOAT: /ˈwɛskᵻt/, first syllable to rhyme with less, no T.
HOLIDAY park: /ˈhɒlɪdi/, last syllable the same as dee.
ILLUMINATI: /ɪljuːmɪˈneɪtʌɪ/. NOT /ɪˌluːmɪˈnɑːti/.
INCOGNITO mode: /ɪnˈkɒgnɪtəʊ/. NOT /ˌɪnkɒɡˈniːtəʊ/.
INHERENT Vice: /ɪnˈhɪərənt/, second syllable the same as hear.
INNOVATIVE finance ISA: /ˈɪnəʊveɪtɪv/. NOT /ˈɪnəvətɪv/.
Le PAIN Quotidien: /pã/, in the French way.
Leigh HALFPENNY: /ˈheɪpni/, first syllable the same as hay. NOT as spelt.
The MAMAS and the PAPAS: /məˈmɑːz/ and /pəˈpɑːz/, accents on the second syllable.
MARLBORO Gold: /ˈmɔːlbrə/, first syllable the same as maul.
Multipurpose COMPOST: /ˈkɒmpəst/. NOT /ˈkɒmpɒst/.
NASA SOJOURNER: /ˈsʌdʒənə/. NOT /ˈsɒdʒənə/.
NESCAFÉ: /nɛsˈkafeɪ/, accent on second syllable. NOT /ˈnɛskəfeɪ/, accent on first.
NETIQUETTE: /nɛtᵻˈkɛt/, accent on last syllable.
Oxford & CHERWELL Valley College: /ˈtʃɑːwəl/, first syllable to rhyme with car.
PAPA John’s: /pəˈpɑː/, accent on second syllable. NOT /ˈpɑpə/.
PAPA Smurf: /pəˈpɑː/, accent on second syllable. NOT /ˈpɑpə/.
Paul GASCOIGNE: /gasˈkɔɪn/, accent on second syllable.
PEJORATIVE term: /ˈpiːdʒərətɪv/, accent on first syllable.
PINTEREST: /ˈpɪntrɪst/. NOT /ˈpɪntərɛst/.
Pizza FUNGHI: /ˈfʌnʤʌɪ/, like lunge eye. NOT /ˈfʌŋɡiː/, like Bungay.
Playboy MAGAZINE: /maɡəˈziːn/, accent on second syllable.
POWYS: /ˈpəʊɪs/, first syllable to rhyme with go. NOT /ˈpaʊɪs/, first syllable rhyming with cow.
PROJECTILE-vomit: /ˈprɒdʒɛktʌɪl/, accent on first syllable.
QUASI-autonomous non-governmental organisation: /ˈkweɪzʌɪ/, first syllable to rhyme with pays. NOT /ˈkwɒzɪ/.
Quorn ESCALOPE: /ˈɛskələʊp/, accent on first syllable, last to rhyme with pope.
RALEIGH Chopper: /ˈrɔːli/, to rhyme with poorly. NOT /ˈrali/ like rally.
REAL Madrid: /reɪˈɑːl/, to rhyme with grey marl. NOT /reɪl/.
RENAULT Clio: /ˈklʌɪəʊ/, as in cryo-. NOT /ˈkliːəʊ/.
RETAIL therapy: /rɪˈteɪl/, accent on second syllable.
The REVENANT: /rəvəˈnɑ̃/, in the French way. NOT /ˈrɛvᵻnənt/.
Ribbed CONDOM: /ˈkʌndəm/. NOT /ˈkɒndɒm/.
SANS serif: /sɒ̃/, in the French way.
Stinky Pete the PROSPECTOR: /prəʊˈspɛktə(r)/, accent on second syllable.
Student FINANCE Wales: /fɪˈnans/, first syllable the same as fin, accent on second.
Superhero GENRE: /ʒɑ̃r/, in the French way.
Total RECALL: /rᵻˈkɔːl/, accent on second syllable.
Trump derangement SYNDROME: /ˈsɪndrəmi/. NOT /ˈsɪndrəʊm/.
TWITTERATI: /twɪtəˈreɪtʌɪ/. NOT /ˌtwɪtəˈrɑːti/. So in culturati, glamourati, etc.
VACUUM-packed food: /ˈvakjʊəm/, three syllables.
VALET parking: /ˈvalɪt/, to rhyme with mallet.
Video SURVEILLANCE: /syrˈvɛjɑ̃s/, in the French way. NOT /səˈveɪləns/.
Volkswagen GOLF: /ɡɒf/, to rhyme with scoff. NOT /ɡɒlf/.
Weston-super-MARE: /ˈmɑːri/, to rhyme with sari.
WHATEVS: /hwɒtˈɛvz/, wh aspirated.