How do you pronounce RAD?

[Kate_N]

I was at a studio in central London on the weekend, taking class with one of my favourite teachers. Chatting in the change room afterwards to other members of the class, one of them said that she wouldn't be there for the next ten weeks because she was going back to her 'rad classes' (as in a shortening for 'radical.')

 

I thought, Wow! Radical ballet classes! Where?

 

Then I worked out (slow), that she meant R.A. D. classes. I've always pronounced that as

Are. Ay. Dee

 

That is, as the initials, rather than made into a word.

 

So how do you pronounce the shortening for the Royal Academy of Dance?

[Jan McNulty]

As a non-dancer I have always thought rad (as in radical).

[trog]

I've only ever heard it as letters, ie are aye dee - same as RADA - the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

[Jan McNulty]

5 minutes ago, trog said:

I've only ever heard it as letters, ie are aye dee - same as RADA - the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

 

I always say rada!  I've never heard anyone say are aye dee aye.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

I've only ever heard the following

 

Are Ay Dee (RAD)

Eye Ess Tee Dee (ISTD)

Rahda (RADA)

Lippa (LIPA)

Are Cee Em (RCM)

Lambda (LAMDA)

[alison]

As the initials is the standard pronunciation, definitely.

[glissade]

What Pictures said 🙂

[Ian Macmillan]

My wife has been involved with the RAD in various ways for some 70 years, and she insists on "R. A. D." with all letters pronounced separately.  Just as I insist that I did some 32 years in the "R. A. F." and none at all in the "RAFF"!

[Mumofballetmaddaughter]

Same here as Pictures (and Jan for RADA)

I have issues with it in a written format though, is it 'a' or 'an' before RAD? 'An' sounds better if shortened but wouldn't be correct if saying it in full. It's something that my daughter and I disagreed over when she was setting up her website.

 

 

[Picturesinthefirelight]

I would say an

 

As in

 

What letter is that on the sign?

It is an R.

 

[Picturesinthefirelight]

IN fact I say an for many letters

 

eg

 

It is spelt with an S not a C.

[The_Red_Shoes]

Definitely initials R. A. D. But RADA and LAMDA both pronounced as if a word.

I would say "an" before it because that's what sounds right: "an arr-ay-dee exam".

[Sheila Beelam]

Same as Pictures x

 

[HopelessMummy]

Whoops! 

[Katia05]

Definitely R-A-D, each letter pronounced, like the RAF! ISTD the same.

But RADA and LAMDA are different.

 

[Kate_N]

Oh, I'm glad I'm not the one who misunderstood here. I was just a bit taken aback by this person, who kept talking about her "rad ballet course." Then I finally twigged, and went "Oh, you mean R.A.D." Maybe she thought I was being rude ...

And I say

ISTD as in the initials

 

But RADA and LAMDA as if they are words.

 

Although in my world, "Central" means Central sChool of Speech and Drama, not Central School of Ballet. 

[NJH]

1 hour ago, Kate_N said:

Oh, I'm glad I'm not the one who misunderstood here. I was just a bit taken aback by this person, who kept talking about her "rad ballet course." Then I finally twigged, and went "Oh, you mean R.A.D." Maybe she thought I was being rude ...

And I say

ISTD as in the initials

 

But RADA and LAMDA as if they are words.

 

Although in my world, "Central" means Central sChool of Speech and Drama, not Central School of Ballet. 

 people  who mispronounce things often do  because they  first found the  term by  reading  , however i'm unsure how that  would parse to  RAD  classes 

whether  acronyms  care pronounced as words or  as letters is an interesting topic. 

Terms are often contextual  and the same term can have very  different meanings  in different contexts, even before we consider those who choose to  to wield words  as power and  take advantage of their privilege. 

[NJH]

21 hours ago, Picturesinthefirelight said:

IN fact I say an for many letters

 

eg

 

It is spelt with an S not a C.

 because the first sound   in the English pronounciation of a good few  letters is a vowel  even if the letter itself is a consonant...  e.g. eff, aitch, ell, emm, en , arr , ess , exe, 

[Pas de Quatre]

1 hour ago, Kate_N said:

 

Although in my world, "Central" means Central sChool of Speech and Drama, not Central School of Ballet

Just to confuse matters more, DD and her fellow graduates from various dance/drama courses always use Central to refer to Central London in general.  e.g. we went to Central for a drink.

[Viv]

I also sound out each letter, so therefore I would say 'an' RAD exam. 'An' is used before words or abbreviations starting with a vowel sound, while 'a' is used before words starting with a consonant sound. 

 

Because 'RAD' would, as you say, start with the vowel sound 'are', you would use 'an'. However, you would say 'a university' however because university starts with a 'yoo' consonant sound. Sometimes people get confused because they think that the indefinite article changes depending on whether a word is spelled with a vowel or a consonant as the first letter, when really what matters is the sound of the start of the word.

 

Although, if you were saying rad as in radical, you would say 'a rad exam'. Just to confuse things  

 

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/a_3 (proof!)

Edited September 5, 2019 by Viv

[TYR]

If you're Renato it's "Those... people in Battersea." *shudder*

[Kate_N]

Ha ha ha yes, TYR I’ve heard that and seen the shudder. 

[invisiblecircus]

I've only ever heard RAD referred to by the initials and RADA and LAMDA as words.
"Central" depends on the context. Usually Central School of Ballet because I'm in the dance field but obviously it's clear that when an actor is talking about where they trained that they mean Central School of Speech and Drama.

I've never heard anyone refer to central London in general as "central" and I've lived in London. I've only every heard it referred to as "town."

[TYR]

RAD. Like "KGB".

[Sheila Beelam]

18 minutes ago, TYR said:

RAD. Like "KGB".

Love that analogy 😂

[Pas de Quatre]

12 hours ago, invisiblecircus said:

I've never heard anyone refer to central London in general as "central" and I've lived in London. I've only every heard it referred to as "town."

Likewise - I think it's a generational thing! They never use "town".