Mispronunciation that bother you

[hbelkins]

Anybody got a list of mispronunciations that really get under your skin?

For me, it's fentanyl. The final syllable is pronounced "nil," not "nall." Yet most everyone says "fentanall" and not "fentanil."

[1995hoo]

"Govur-mint" and "env-eye-ur-mint" (ignoring the midword "n" in both cases–"government" and "environment") are two I hear fairly often.

"Nucular" is another.

"Artic" and "Antartic"/"Antartica" are ones I hear less often.

[Big John]

moot, not mute

[LilianaUwU]

As someone whose native language is French, where do I begin?

[kphoger]

Lie-berry

[DTComposer]

Lie-berry

Feb-rary

[1995hoo]

"Pitcher" instead of "picture" and "punkin" instead of "pumpkin." (My wife does the latter and it drives me nuts.)

[kphoger]

Feb-rary

So do you say Feb-rue-airy or Feb-you-airy?

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.



Also, people who read the Bible aloud in church but don't know the difference between prophecy and prophesy.

[GaryV]

The "t" in often.

Nobody pronounces the "t" in listen or hasten - why in often?

[kphoger]

The "t" in often.

Nobody pronounces the "t" in listen or hasten - why in often?

Well, it's a longer version of the word "oft".  And everybody pronounces the t in "oft".   

(Note that the other words in your list have similar stories, so...  whatever.)

[DTComposer]

The "t" in often.

Nobody pronounces the "t" in listen or hasten - why in often?

Well, it's a longer version of the word "oft".  And everybody pronounces the t in "oft".   

On the other hand, hasten is the longer version of haste. "Listen" has a different etymology than the other words. Here's an article that gives a little more background:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/correct-pronunciation-of-often#:~:text=Silent%20Medial%20T%27s&text=Listen%20is%20a%20bit%20different,%5Cn%5C%20was%20not%20pronounced.

I do pronounce the t in often, and wasn't sure how I picked that up until the article made me realize it's from singing that pronunciation.

Feb-rary

So do you say Feb-rue-airy or Feb-you-airy?

I'm in the Feb-rue-airy camp.

[DTComposer]

Also, people who read the Bible aloud in church but don't know the difference between prophecy and prophesy.

Drifting into "minor things that bother me," but most readers get their readings at least a week before their scheduled day, and the struggling on names and places is baffling - all the resources are out there, in person and online.

[kphoger]

There are a few hyperforeignisms of Spanish words that grate on my ears:

  when someone says cart-ah-hane-yah for Cartagena, as if the eighth letter were ñ instead of n

  when someone says abba-nyeh-roe for habanero, as if the fifth letter were ñ instead of n

  when someone says em-pahn-yadda for empanada, as if the fifth letter were ñ instead of n

Also, a hyperforeignism of the French word crêpe:  pronouncing it as crape

[kphoger]

Also, people who read the Bible aloud in church but don't know the difference between prophecy and prophesy.

Drifting into "minor things that bother me," but most readers get their readings at least a week before their scheduled day, and the struggling on names and places is baffling - all the resources are out there, in person and online.

It isn't baffling to me at all.  They simply don't read it over beforehand.

[1995hoo]

I was reminded of this one while eating lunch and I heard a Springsteen song in which he makes this mistake (one of my high school teachers used to do this as well):

Mispronouncing "cavalry" (traditionally refers to horse-mounted soldiers) as "Calvary" (the name of a hill on which a famous execution took place about 2000 years ago).

I find it easy to remember this one because many years ago, my late father served in the First Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, and that division was often referred to as the "First Cav." Someone who mispronounces the word would presumably call it the "First Cal" (which sounds like either a university or a retired shortstop).

[hotdogPi]

Three bar trivia hosts have done it so far: pronouncing biopic to rhyme with myopic.

[GaryV]

The "t" in often.

Nobody pronounces the "t" in listen or hasten - why in often?

Well, it's a longer version of the word "oft".  And everybody pronounces the t in "oft".   

(Note that the other words in your list have similar stories, so...  whatever.)

Granted, the original pronunciation - after the en was added to oft - was to pronounce the T. But that went away centuries ago, and like the other words, the accepted "correct" pronunciation was to not say the T. It's only in the last few decades that I started hearing it- never back when I was in school - and we actually learned phonics. (Look it up young'ns)

[DTComposer]

Also, people who read the Bible aloud in church but don't know the difference between prophecy and prophesy.

Drifting into "minor things that bother me," but most readers get their readings at least a week before their scheduled day, and the struggling on names and places is baffling - all the resources are out there, in person and online.

It isn't baffling to me at all.  They simply don't read it over beforehand.

Agreed, but not reading it over is the baffling part (to me) - you know you're going to be doing public speaking (usually because you volunteered to do it), you have plenty of notice and the appropriate materials, and you're reading something that is part of your (and the congregation's) faith and spirituality, which is ostensibly of importance to you. If you can't take the 10 minutes to read it over and note the difficult pronunciations, then don't sign up to read.

[Big John]

Depends on your church, I never received readings ahead of time.

[kphoger]

The "t" in often.

Nobody pronounces the "t" in listen or hasten - why in often?

Well, it's a longer version of the word "oft".  And everybody pronounces the t in "oft".   

(Note that the other words in your list have similar stories, so...  whatever.)

Granted, the original pronunciation - after the en was added to oft - was to pronounce the T. But that went away centuries ago, and like the other words, the accepted "correct" pronunciation was to not say the T. It's only in the last few decades that I started hearing it- never back when I was in school - and we actually learned phonics. (Look it up young'ns)

It would be more accurate, in my opinion, to say that the off-tin pronunciation never entirely fell away (the way haste-in did), and then after a few centuries it began to grow in popularity again.  More of a waning and waxing.

[kurumi]

karaoke: "carry-okie"
hara-kiri: "harry-carry"

[kphoger]

hara-kiri: "harry-carry"

[Amaury]

It doesn't really bother me to the point I go crazy or keep me up at nights or anything like that, but as someone who works in fast-food, people who can't pronounce gyro.

[kphoger]

It doesn't really bother me to the point I go crazy or keep me up at nights or anything like that, but as someone who works in fast-food, people who can't pronounce gyro.

Isn't that most people?

Heck, I work with a Greek-American, who goes back to Greece to visit family, who plans to eventually move back there himself, and who pronounces it as dj-eye-roe.

[tmoore952]

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.