Comments on: Weekend Word Wrap: words we once mispronounced

By: Ranger J

Ranger J — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:34:44 +0000

My secretary pronounces sundry like sun-dry instead of sun-dree.
Also, I have to cringe when people insist on pronouncing asphalt as if it was ash-phalt (it should be pronounced ass-phalt). Drives me nuts when people put an x in espresso.

By: Yonit de Metz

Yonit de Metz — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:01:00 +0000

I’ve always been a prolific reader too. There was a lightbulb moment when I realized that ciao was “chow” I thought they were different words.

By: Bobbie

Bobbie — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:15:35 +0000

I was the sort of kid who read books like Oliver Twist at the ripe age of eleven. My life was full of phoenetic mispronunciations.

i.e. Around the age of twelve, I once found a water filled glass jar that was growing a floating colony of something and proudly exclaimed to a friend’s mother, ” Look! I found an orgasm in a bottle!” I had meant organism. Very humiliating.

Also,living in Eastern Montana there are many accent related mispronunciations.

crick > creek
rut > root
ruff > roof
beg > bag

lol my mom also claims that she is verbally dick-clek-sick (dyslexic)

By: jenbe

jenbe — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 22:01:19 +0000

I just learned a few years ago that endeavor is not pronounced en-DEE-ver. Also, that respite should be res-pit, not re-spite.
I had a friend that liked the way I said off-ten, so much that she started saying it that way herself.

By: Nina

Nina — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 22:00:19 +0000

I have a friend who pronounces the word “emphasis” with the emphasis on the pha. I should probably correct him, but it’s too hilarious.

By: evelyn

evelyn — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 19:33:02 +0000

I often hear people pronounce “debacle” incorrectly, saying DE-ba-cle. The correct pronounciation de-BA-cle.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:18:37 +0000

I recently moved to the pacific northwest and there are many references here to Lewis and Clark and their pal Sacagawea. My mother-in-law always calls her “Sack-a-WAH-gee-uh”. It drives me nuts!!!

By: thebrokedown

thebrokedown — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 15:57:51 +0000

I also taught myself to ready and pronounced exacerbate as ex-cab-er-ate for years. Just reading too fast.

Many years ago, it seemed that all of the news reporters simultaneously began pronouncing the noun “ally” as “ah-lie,” accent on lie. I believe that one of the big ones, Jennings or someone, misspoke one day and everyone was suddenly stricken at the thought that they had been mispronouncing it all along. Silly reporters.

By: Janel

Janel — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 05:30:17 +0000

When I was little for some reason I thought opinion and onion were the same word. It took me a while to realize the difference.

And Alli (#58), in my family we always call hors devours “horse doovers.” It’s an old family thing my grandma always did, so my mom and her sisters and brothers do it too. My cousin, who was in high school at the time, once got asked what he liked to eat for Thanksgiving. He said, “Horse doovers,” not realizing that was not what they were called. Poor guy. He got made fun of for that.

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 05:16:23 +0000

My wife and I share a laugh still today over a former girlfriend of mine. She was in a class with my wife before we (my wife and I) ever met. They were reading Catcher in the Rye, and my old gf kept referring to a Foe-be in an oral report on the book. Unfortunately, she obviously meant Phoebe, much to her dismay but to the delight of the rest of the class.

I also have an incredibly smart friend who continues to insist on pronouncing vehemently as va-he-ment-ly. I’m too embarassed that I’ve never corrected it to do so now.

Finally, I cannot count the numbers of people I’ve heard pronounce the word available as Uh-vate-ah-bull. It makes my skin crawl just like New-cue-lar…