Why are there two g's in "suggest"?

[conuly]

Logically speaking, shouldn't that spelling result in the pronunciation "sug jest" instead of "suh jest"? What the heck is that extra g doing there? Twiddling its thumbs? Picking its nose? Doing the hula? Plotting world domination via illogical orthography?

Interestingly, etymonline.com says that it's from the past participle of "suggerere", which looks like somebody hiccuped while typing. Or speaking, the Romans not having keyboards.

Edit: I now have three comments going "But I do say it that way". For two of you, please confirm: That's sug jest, with the g as in girl?

I've never, ever, ever heard it that way, but assuming that this pronunciation didn't spring up because of the spelling (which is why Brits now say the H in "herb") it all makes sense now!

Merriam-Webster includes that pronunciation, but the OED doesn't.

Comments

[trialia]

psst... that's because it isn't wrong, just British!

[adrian_turtle]

Now I know it's a regionalism. I moved the 700 miles between Detroit and Boston in stages, going east until I got my feet wet, and that's one of the accent details that shifted a little. (It didn't shift much. I don't pronounce that first g as strongly as I once did, but I still pronounce it. I still hear others pronounce it, though the hard g is more likely to blur into the soft one.) I couldn't tell if the change happened in Ithaca or Troy, or not until I got to the coast.