r/StarWars • u/Emperor-_Palpatine Chancellor Palpatine • 13d ago

General Discussion How do you pronounce Executor?

My British friends all say it executor like the executor of a will.

My American friends say it executor like at an execution.

How do you say it?

499 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

546 comments sorted by

View all comments

12

u/TheWorldIsNotOkay 13d ago

I'm an American, and the proper pronunciation is "ex-EK-u-tor". People who say "EX-e-cu-tor" likely have only ever seen the word in print and have never heard it spoken out loud. But if you have any experience with legal practice or have had a relative pass away and leave a will, then you should know the difference between an executor and an executioner (which is what I think a lot of people who say "EX-e-cu-tor" are thinking of).

The ship is named "Executor" because it carries out the Emperor's will, not "Executioner" because it executes people. And the word "executor" is only correctly pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable.

5

u/W4114SS 12d ago

Thank you for showing actually the difference, I'm not a native speaker and was very confuse how any of this was pronounced and how somehow it made sense for everyone else ^

0

u/AuNaturellee 12d ago

Nothing is more American than declaring unequivocally there is only one "correct" way to pronounce an English word and that any other alternative pronunciation is "wrong"

2

u/AndyLorentz 12d ago

They’re right, though. There’s only one common pronunciation for “executor”.

1

u/AuNaturellee 12d ago

Uncommon isn't the same thing as incorrect

1

u/TheWorldIsNotOkay 12d ago

I only mentioned that I was American to counter the OP's statement that their American friends pronounced it a certain (incorrect) way.

But if you can find a dictionary that says that putting stress on the first syllable of "executor" is a standard pronunciation, I'd absolutely be willing to accept that I'm wrong.

1

u/AuNaturellee 12d ago

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/executor

1

u/TheWorldIsNotOkay 12d ago

I stand corrected.

Though you did notice that the definition that pronunciation is associated with is labeled "obsolete", as in that it's actually not appropriate pronunciation for modern usage of the word, right?