13 Things Non-Fans Always Get Wrong About Doctor Who

7. The Word D-A-L-E-K Is Pronounced 'Day-lek' Or 'Dal-ek'.

Everyone knows of them. How could you not? They've been around since day dot of the show. Everyone knows what they look like, the words they use, what they sound like... but oddly enough, after fifty years of their famous metallic threat to "exterminate", there are still some people who just don't know what they're called. More often than not people have an idea of what they're called and more often than not they're almost right. I'm never sure how anyone can almost sorta kinda know what they're called. I would've thought they were the kind of thing you either do know the name of, or you don't. Apparently not. So how to say it correctly? How to pronounce it properly? This is one particularly hot potato that's bound to get any devoted fan of Doctor Who equally hot under the collar. And won't they let you know about it too! So you'd better pay attention, coz this could well be life-saving information: D-A-L-E-K, when pronounced phonetically, is 'dah-lek'. It's not 'day-lek' and it's not 'dal-ek'... it's 'dah-lek'. So that's a 'dah' sound, as in the word darling. It's not a 'day' sound, as in the word daze. Nor is it a 'dal' sound, as in the word dalliance. It's 'dah'!... they're Daleks. Got it? Good.