Mispronounced Words - The Verbal Blight
Posted in Podcasts on May 2nd, 2006
Susie and Barb inform listeners of some of the top 100 most
mispronounced words. Even if you pride yourself on your grasp of the
English language, you will find at least a few you have been
butchering. Listen and learn!
Music: Pick Up A Dictionary - by DJ Roll Call - Album: DJ Roll Call
Old Comments says:
Comments in response to this post:
I have a conundrum: how do you pronounce the name of your country
when the majority of citizens are English speakers mispronouncing a
Native American word that was misheard in the first place?
Canada is pronounced ka-NAH-ta and means the village. Early French
(or was it English? I can never get the story perfectly straight)
heard the native call their village ka-NAH-ta and mistakenly thought
he was saying the name of the village, when he was really saying the
simpler noun.
We now commonly pronounce it CAN-ah-duh.
I have so many other comments about this great episode, I should
probably write a blog entry!
mamaloo • 5/2/06; 4:42:44 PM #
Interesting, mamaloo, if you want us to call it Ka-NAH-ta we will be
happy to help spread the word. Of course if you can’t get your
countrymen and women to do it….. That just proves that life is full
of misunderstandings and misspellings!
Susie Watson • 5/3/06; 5:20:12 PM #
Great show ladies. I am proud to say that my pronounciation is pretty
good. I didn’t pick up any words from your show that I mispronounce.
Obviously being taught by English (as in from England) nuns is the
way to go.
You did hit on my pet peeve…the word ask being pronounced aks. The
moment I am probably most ashamed of in my life involves that
mispronouncement. I was going home after a very long, hard day at
work (< — my excuse for bad behaviour) and stopped to get some milk.
Outside the store some poor survey-taker who clearly needed to meet a
quota before he could go home stepped in front of me and said “Do you
mind if I AKS you 3 quick questions?” I cracked. I had a major dummy
spit. I ranted and raved at this poor sod for several minutes,
shouting that I wouldn’t answer any questions from someone who
couldn’t speak properly and that if he had learned to speak properly
he could get a decent job and not have to stand outside shops
bothering people who were just trying to get a carton of milk. I did
feel awful aout 5 minutes after getting back in the car…but I
really do hate that particular misprnounciation.
Bernadette • 5/5/06; 9:37:49 PM #
Great story Bernadette. You brought up another interesting word: sod
- not to be confused with sot (a drunkard). Sod is short for
sodomite, but the meaning it now has is the one you insinuated; an
unfortunate type, not necessarily a sodomite. That is an odd one! Of
course, since you are English, you don’t butcher the native language
- that is for us Americans to do!
Susie Watson • 5/9/06; 1:55:35 PM #
Hey there!! You touched on a few of my most hated ones but you failed
to mention the one that makes me suffer for an entire MONTH. Feb YOO
ary!!! Macy’s is currently running a radio ad here for jewLEry, not
jewELry. I haven’t SNUCK into a place in a very long time. AND….
when you are in Ka-NAH-ta you will find that your husband doesn’t
know how to pronounce our name, Susie
Ciao, Aunt Kathy
Aunt Kathy • 5/10/06; 4:50:18 PM #
oops…forgot one…. When you go to the hardware store for your DUCK
tape do you ever shop for a cocking gun while you are there? Aunt Kathy • 5/10/06; 4:52:39 PM #
Great additions to the list, Kathy! Susie Watson • 5/10/06; 7:09:18 PM #
I heard Tom Hanks use “nukuler” on Saturday Night Live last week. Mark Luhring • 5/13/06; 9:44:38 AM # I didn’t hear my most annoying one - the word “aluminium” as in
“aluminium soft drink can” always seems to be pronounced “aloomium”.
Also - a shark is a fish - not a mammal. Keep up the good work. Peter Gregory • 6/20/06; 4:44:03 AM #
Ah, THAT word. One of the few that we actually spell differently on
either side of the pond. I don’t know why, but it is spelled aluminum
in our dictionary, with aluminium in YOUR dictionary. But it should
NEVER be pronounced aloomium, omitting the N, on either side of the
world.
Susie Watson • 6/20/06; 7:50:59 AM #
May 3rd, 2006 at 5:21 pm