A house-hunting friend complained to me: “I recently hired a real-estate agent, and when she thanked me, she called herself a real-a-tor. I almost ripped up the contract!”
I can understand mispronouncing the name of your own profession — but only if you are a cytotechnologist (examining slides of human body cells) or an immunohematologist (classifying blood for transfusions) or an electroencephalographic technologist (measuring brain activity with electrodes).
But a Realtor? Take a close look: There is no a between the l and the t.
I imagine people mispronounce Realtor because they’re thinking “real-estate.” They replace the “state” with “tor” and get real-a-tor.
Realtors might save embarrassment by calling themselves real-estate agents. But that wouldn't be accurate. Realtors are members of the National Association of REALTORS®. That binds them to the association's code of ethics, which requires truth in advertising, non-discrimination, and putting the client's interest first.
By the way, did you notice in the last paragraph that the National Association of REALTORS® uses all capital letters and a trademark sign on the last word of its name? The association would like publications to do this on every reference, but most editors refuse.
Can you imagine what a page in Business Lexington would look like if all businesses insisted on all capital letters and a trademark sign? As readers, our brains would be on overload; we might even need an electroencephalographic technologist.
Neil Chethik, aka the Grammar Gourmet, is executive director at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning (www.carnegieliteracy.org) and author of FatherLoss and VoiceMale. The Carnegie Center offers writing classes and seminars for businesses and individuals. Contact Neil at neil@carnegiecenterlex.org or (859) 254-4175.