Mispronunciation that bother you

[gonealookin]

Probably not technically a mispronunciation as Merriam-Webster says it's all right, but for "amateur" I much prefer "ˈa-mə-chər" to "ˈa-mə-tər", which I think I hear more frequently (mostly by sports announcers).

[Scott5114]

I'm surprised (and annoyed) at how many people can't pronounce "Nevada" correctly.

[1995hoo]

I recently heard a lady on BBC radio pronounce Wednesday as Wed'n-stay, and it caught me off guard.  I'm not sure I've ever actually heard someone pronounce that first d before–at least, someone who wasn't trying to be funny.

In the late '90s, I worked in northern NJ for a telecommunications company. I worked with someone whose first name was Nihandra (that doesn't look right to me, maybe it was slightly different). Anyway, I believe he was from the Middle East, but I don't know exactly where.

He always pronounced Wednesday as "Wed-nes-day". That was the way he said it. He's the only person I've ever met who said it that way.

I tend to give a pass to people from countries where English isn't the primary language. I had a roommate first year of law school who was from Strasbourg, France. He pronounced "Durham" so that the last three letters sounded like "ham" (as in a ham sandwich), and I understood why someone who spoke French as his first language would make that mistake. I did not correct him, either.

I'm surprised (and annoyed) at how many people can't pronounce "Nevada" correctly.

My mother pronounces "Oregon" with the stress on the final syllable–"or-i-GONE."

[gonealookin]

I'm surprised (and annoyed) at how many people can't pronounce "Nevada" correctly.

Politicians blow that all the time.  Not to be right-wing or left-wing, this is Fair and Balanced Screw-Ups:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIAhoKXDzG8

[kphoger]

I'm surprised (and annoyed) at how many people can't pronounce "Nevada" correctly.

Nuh-vay-duh is correct.

But you must admit that Nuh-vah-duh is actually closer to the name's Spanish origin than any other.

[Big John]

Mispronouncing Wisconsin as Wesconsin.

[gonealookin]

Mispronouncing Wisconsin as Wesconsin.

In grade school I was taught to include the first "s" in the first syllable:  wis-CON-sin.  However I believe in the native pronunciation it's correctly attached to the second syllable"  wi-SKON-cin.

[GaryV]

Mispronouncing Wisconsin as Wesconsin.

That goes along with the common Midwest pronunciation of milk as melk.

And often you hear Wesgonsin.

[tmoore952]

In grade school I was taught to include the first "s" in the first syllable:  wis-CON-sin.  However I believe in the native pronunciation it's correctly attached to the second syllable"  wi-SKON-cin.

The "in grade school" reference reminds me of my own grade school. I was in a Catholic school, and in 4th grade (1976) was taught by a older nun named Sister Gorgonia.

Anyway, she taught us to say "what" as "hwhat", and "where" as "hwhere" etc.(the first "h" sound being very subtle)

While I did get why she was saying that, some of my male classmates took it to an extreme, saying "huh-what" and "huh-where".  I think part of this was due to us (guys) having been thrown under the bus by her at one point, as a result we didn't like her very much.

[tmoore952]

In the late '90s, I worked in northern NJ for a telecommunications company. I worked with someone whose first name was Nihandra (that doesn't look right to me, maybe it was slightly different). Anyway, I believe he was from the Middle East, but I don't know exactly where.

He always pronounced Wednesday as "Wed-nes-day". That was the way he said it. He's the only person I've ever met who said it that way.

I tend to give a pass to people from countries where English isn't the primary language. I had a roommate first year of law school who was from Strasbourg, France. He pronounced "Durham" so that the last three letters sounded like "ham" (as in a ham sandwich), and I understood why someone who spoke French as his first language would make that mistake. I did not correct him, either.

To be clear, I never corrected him (Nihandra) either. Not my place to do that. He was a subject matter expert in the area I was being trained in, and so I was asking him a lot for guidance on technical wording in the area we were working in. Very smart man.

[kphoger]

In grade school I was taught to include the first "s" in the first syllable:  wis-CON-sin.  However I believe in the native pronunciation it's correctly attached to the second syllable"  wi-SKON-cin.

I'm trying to figure out what the difference is, and I just can't.

[Bruce]

"Warshington"

"Seat-ol" instead of the very straightforward normal way, "Sea-at-uhl".

Corrupting various indigenous names because they don't look right to their untrained eyes, e.g. Snohomish (snow-hoe-mish) becoming "Snow-ha-mesh".

[Scott5114]

In the late '90s, I worked in northern NJ for a telecommunications company. I worked with someone whose first name was Nihandra (that doesn't look right to me, maybe it was slightly different). Anyway, I believe he was from the Middle East, but I don't know exactly where.

He always pronounced Wednesday as "Wed-nes-day". That was the way he said it. He's the only person I've ever met who said it that way.

I tend to give a pass to people from countries where English isn't the primary language. I had a roommate first year of law school who was from Strasbourg, France. He pronounced "Durham" so that the last three letters sounded like "ham" (as in a ham sandwich), and I understood why someone who spoke French as his first language would make that mistake. I did not correct him, either.

To be clear, I never corrected him (Nihandra) either. Not my place to do that. He was a subject matter expert in the area I was being trained in, and so I was asking him a lot for guidance on technical wording in the area we were working in. Very smart man.

I actually want to know if I'm mispronouncing a word–I learn new words mostly by reading, so I basically just have to guess at the pronunciation. Often, I guess wrong, because English spelling sucks.

[kphoger]

More pronunciations that sound like nails on a chalkboard:

Warshington

"Warshington"

As was pointed out in the other thread:

I hear Warshington a lot among older people, I wouldn't get too hung up on it. It's just an accent among older people. Intrusive R's are common in many accents.

When I was on family vacation to DC as a kid, I distinctly remember hearing a lot of locals pronouncing their own city's name as Warshington.

From what I've read, it's actually sign that someone is from a long-time, established DC family.  The R-intrusive pronunciation is on the decline, meaning newcomers are actually more likely to pronounce it "correctly".

[kphoger]

English spelling sucks.

Or, more accurately, English spelling would be perfect if we living in the year 1400.  But the most important changes in English pronunciation happened between then and about 300 years ago, and most words' spellings were never reformed to catch up with their pronunciations.

[1995hoo]

In grade school I was taught to include the first "s" in the first syllable:  wis-CON-sin.  However I believe in the native pronunciation it's correctly attached to the second syllable"  wi-SKON-cin.

The "in grade school" reference reminds me of my own grade school. I was in a Catholic school, and in 4th grade (1976) was taught by a older nun named Sister Gorgonia.

Anyway, she taught us to say "what" as "hwhat", and "where" as "hwhere" etc.(the first "h" sound being very subtle)

While I did get why she was saying that, some of my male classmates took it to an extreme, saying "huh-what" and "huh-where".  I think part of this was due to us (guys) having been thrown under the bus by her at one point, as a result we didn't like her very much.

My mother said that when she was a kid, her father deliberately pronounced the "s" in the word "island" (so like two words, "is land") so that they'd remember how to spell it. I believe that; as I have mentioned a few times, when I was a kid, he used to read the road signs out loud exactly as they appeared ("Coney Is Ave" being the one that I always remember the most). To my parents' everlasting chagrin, for several years after that my brother, our cousin James, and I used to scream out all the road signs around the Belt Parkway between Bay Ridge and the Marine Parkway Bridge and pronounce the words and abbreviations exactly as the letters appeared on the signs ("Ocean Pickway," for example).

[kphoger]

I find some mispronunciations of Spanish words nothing more than humorous.  Especially hal-a-pee-no for jalapeño just makes me roll my eyes.  Although... my wife's grandmother (from Minnesota, which isn't exactly Latino-heavy) used to say juh-LAH-puh-no, which makes my brain stop working just thinking about it.

But the one that most bothers me is the British pronunciation of taco, which rhymes with whacko.

And really, when it comes to British people butchering Spanish words, I just want to grab them by the collar and cry out:  Your country has such a long history of vacationing in Spain, and welcoming migrants from Spain, so how is it possible that you STILL no next to NOTHING about how to pronounce their words?

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Eye-talian
Nook-u-ler (someone I work with does this, so no ill-conceived political jokes needed)

[US 89]

In grade school I was taught to include the first "s" in the first syllable:  wis-CON-sin.  However I believe in the native pronunciation it's correctly attached to the second syllable"  wi-SKON-cin.

I'm trying to figure out what the difference is, and I just can't.

If you put the "s" in the first syllable rather than the second, the "c" comes out a lot harder.

I'm surprised (and annoyed) at how many people can't pronounce "Nevada" correctly.

As am I. To be fair, pronouncing it with that incorrect "ah" sound is closer to the original Spanish...but it's not like Illinois is pronounced the French way, either...

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

The one that bothers me the most? 
SAND-or
I'm Hungarian,* so you pronounce it SHAWN-door (or Sawn-door, if you'd like)
Remember this the next time you see me at a roadmeet.

* - technically I'm 1/4 Hungarian.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

The one that bothers me the most? 
SAND-or
I'm Hungarian,* so you pronounce it SHAWN-door (or Sawn-door, if you'd like)
Remember this the next time you see me at a roadmeet.

* - technically I'm 1/4 Hungarian.

I get 31 flavors for my last name. I usually just let it go, except then they ask how to prnnounce it, and I have to tell them.

[Scott5114]

English spelling sucks.

Or, more accurately, English spelling would be perfect if we living in the year 1400.  But the most important changes in English pronunciation happened between then and about 300 years ago, and most words' spellings were never reformed to catch up with their pronunciations.

The biggest problems I have are when English imports a word from another language (that's good! it means we have more words for specific things) but then leaves it spelled the same way it was in the original language. That spelling makes sense under the original language's rules, but in English, it doesn't. You just have to...remember this word is pronounced weirdly for the arbitrary reason of it having come from another language.

For example, schadenfreude. The spelling makes sense if you're speaking German, but in English it ought to be spelled something like shaddenfroid.

And in fact, we've done this with words before. Spanish cañon became English canyon. That's good! It's the same word, just changed to follow our rules! And nobody has any problem knowing how canyon is pronounced.

I get 31 flavors for my last name. I usually just let it go, except then they ask how to prnnounce it, and I have to tell them.

Nice to meet you, Mr. Baskin-Robbins.

[gonealookin]

In grade school I was taught to include the first "s" in the first syllable:  wis-CON-sin.  However I believe in the native pronunciation it's correctly attached to the second syllable"  wi-SKON-cin.

I'm trying to figure out what the difference is, and I just can't.

If you put the "s" in the first syllable rather than the second, the "c" comes out a lot harder.

Putting the "s" and "c" in the same syllable produces a very noticeable "SKUH" sound to my ear, whereas separating them is more of a "HISS-KUH".  One of those where I know it when I hear it, I guess.

I'm surprised (and annoyed) at how many people can't pronounce "Nevada" correctly.

As am I. To be fair, pronouncing it with that incorrect "ah" sound is closer to the original Spanish...but it's not like Illinois is pronounced the French way, either...

You don't want to get started on anglicized pronunciations of California place names like Los Angeles, San Francisco or my personal favorite, "San Lewis Uh-BISS-poh".

[Henry]

You don't want to get started on anglicized pronunciations of California place names like Los Angeles, San Francisco or my personal favorite, "San Lewis Uh-BISS-poh".

"Scaramento" for the capital city, anyone? (with the first syllable pronounced as scare)

Another classic state capital mispronunciation is "dez moynz."

As for my hometown, I get "shih-kay-goh" a lot (as opposed to "shih-kah-goh").

[Rothman]

Aks instead of ask.