100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English Writting by IBRAHEEM OTOROGU. There are spelling rules in English, even if they are difficult to understand, so pronouncing a word correctly usually does help you spell it correctly. Here are the 100 most often mispronounced English words (mispronunciation among them). Several common errors are the result of rapid speech, so take your time speaking, correctly enunciating each word. Careful speech and avid reading are the best guides to correct spelling. A Dont say: acrossed | Do say: across Comment: It is easy to confuse across with crossed but better to keep them separate. Dont say: affidavid | Do say: affidavit Comment: Even if your lawyers name is David, he issues affidavits. Dont say: Old-timers disease | Do say: Alzheimers disease Comment: While it is a disease of old- timers, it is named for the German neurologist, Dr. Alois Alzheimer. Dont say: Antartic | Do say: Antarctic Comment: Just think of an arc of ants (an ant arc) and that should help you keep the [c] in the pronunciation of this word. Dont say: Artic | Do say: Arctic Comment: Another hard-to-see [c] but it is there. Dont say: aks | Do say: ask Comment: This mispronunciation has been around for so long (over 1,000 years) that linguist Mark Aronoff thinks we should cherish it as a part of our linguistic heritage. Most of us would give the axe to aks. Dont say: athelete, atheletic | Do say: athlete, athletic Comment: Two syllables are enough for athlete. B Dont say: barbituate | Do say: barbiturate Comment: Dont forget this word contains three others: bar+bit+u+rate Dont say: bob wire | Do say: barbed wire Comment: No, this word wasnt named for anyone named Bob; it should be barbed wire, although the suffix -ed, meaning having, is fading away in the U.S. Dont say: bidness | Do say: business Comment: The change of [s] to [d] before [n] is spreading throughout the US and when the unaccented [I] drops from this word the [s] finds itself in the same environment as in isnt and wasnt. Dont say: a blessing in the skies | Do say: a blessing in disguise Comment: This phrase is no blessing if it comes from the skies. (Pronounce it correctly and help maintain the disguise.) C Dont say: Calvary | Do say: Cavalry Comment: It isnt clear why we say, Mind your Ps and Qs when we have more difficulty keeping up with our Ls and Rs. Had there been a cavalry in Jesus time, perhaps Calvary would not have been so tragic. Dont say: cannidate | Do say: candidate Comment: You arent being canny to drop the [d] in this word. Remember, it is the same as candy date. (This should help guys remember how to prepare for dates, too.) Dont say: card shark | Do say: cardsharp Comment: Cardsharps probably wont eat you alive, though they are adept at cutting your purse strings. Dont say: carpool tunnel syndrome | Do say: carpal tunnel syndrome Comment: This one is mispronounced (and misspelled) several different ways; we just picked the funniest. Carpal means pertaining to the wrist. Dont say: caucaphony | Do say: cacophony Comment: There is no greater cacophony [kækafêni] to the ears than to hear the vowels switched in the pronunciation of this word. Dont say: The Caucases | Do say: The Caucasus Comment: Although there are more than one mountain in this chain, their name is not a plural noun. Dont say: chester drawers | Do say: chest of drawers Comment: The drawers of Chester is a typical way of looking at these chests down South but it misses the point. Dont say: chomp at the bit | Do say: champ at the bit Comment: Chomp has probably replaced champ in the U.S. but we thought you might like to be reminded that the vowel should be [æ] not [o]. Dont say: close | Do say: clothes Comment: The [th] is a very soft sound likely to be overlooked. Show your linguistic sensitivity and always pronounce it. Dont say: coronet | Do say: cornet Comment: Playing a crown (coronet) will make you about as popular as wearing a trumpet (cornet) on your head; reason enough to keep these two words straight. D Dont say: dialate | Do say: dilate Comment: The [i] in this word is so long there is time for another vowel but dont succumb to the temptation. Dont say: diptheria | Do say: diphtheria Comment: The ph in this word is pronounced [f], not [p]. Dont say: doggy dog world | Do say: dog eat dog world Comment: The world is even worse than you think if you think it merely a doggy- dog world. Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news. Dont say: drownd | Do say: drown Comment: You add the [d] only to the past tense and past participle. E Dont say: electoral | Do say: electoral Comment: The accent is on the second, not the third, syllable and there is no [i] in it; not electorial. (By the way, the same applies to mayoral and pastoral.) Dont say: excape | Do say: escape Comment: The good news is, if you say excape, youve mastered the prefix ex- because its meaning does fit this word. The bad news is, you dont use this prefix on escape. Dont say: expresso | Do say: espresso Comment: While I cant express my love for espresso enough, this word was borrowed from Italian well after the Latin prefix ex- had developed into es-. Dont say: excetera | Do say: et cetera Comment: Latin for and (et) the rest (cetera) are actually two words that probably should be written separately. Dont say: expecially | Do say: especially Comment: Things especial are usually not expected, so dont confuse these words. F Dont say: Febyuary | Do say: February Comment: We dont like two syllables in succession with an [r] so some of us dump the first one in this word. Most dictionaries now accept the single [r] pronunciation but, if you have an agile tongue, you may want to shoot for the original. Dont say: fedral | Do say: federal Comment: Syncopation of an unaccented vowel is fairly common in rapid speech but in careful speech it should be avoided. Dont say: fillum | Do say: film Comment: We also do not like the combination [l] + [m]. One solution is to pronounce the [l] as [w] (film [fiwm}, palm [pawm]) but some prefer adding a vowel in this word. Dont say: fisical | Do say: fiscal Comment: In fact, we dont seem to like any consonants together. Here is another word, like athlete and film that is often forced to swallow an unwanted vowel. Dont say: flounder | Do say: founder Comment: As verbs, both words have similar meanings with flounder meaning to make a lot of errors or to have trouble moving; however, to founder is to totally fail. Dont say: foilage | Do say: foliage Comment: Here is another case of metathesis, place-switching of sounds. Remember, the [i] comes after the [l], as in related folio. Dont say: For all intensive purposes | Do say: For all intents and purposes Comment: The younger generation is mispronouncing this phrase so intensively that it has become popular both as a mispronunciation and misspelling. Dont say: forte | Do say: fort Comment: The word is spelled forte but the [e] is pronounced only when speaking of music, as a forte passage. The words for a strong point and a stronghold are pronounced the same: [fort]. H Dont say: Heineken remover | Do say: Heimlich maneuver (or manoeuvre, Br.) Comment: This term is mispronounced many different ways. This is just the funniest one we have heard. This maneuver (manoeuvre) was named for U.S. surgeon Henry Jay Heimlich (1920- ). Dont say: heighth | Do say: height Comment: The analogy with width misleads many of us in the pronunciation of this word. erb herb Does, My friend Herb grows erbs, sound right to you? This is a U.S. oddity generated by the melting pot (mixed dialects). Initial [h] is always pronounced outside America and should be in all dialects of English. Dont say: hi-archy | Do say: hierarchy Comment: Remember, hierarchies go higher than you might think. This one is pronounced higher archy and not high archy. I Dont say: in parenthesis | Do say: in parentheses Comment: No one can enclose an expression in one parenthesis; at least two parentheses are required. Dont say: interpretate | Do say: interpret Comment: This error results from the back- formation of interpretate from interpretation. But back formation isnt needed; we already have interpret. Dont say: irregardless | Do say: regardless Comment: -Less already says without so there is no need to repeat the same sentiment with ir-. idnt isnt Again, the struggle of [s] before [n]. J Dont say: jewlery | Do say: jewelry Comment: The root of this word is jewel and that doesnt change for either jeweler or jewelry. The British add a syllable: jewellery Dont say: jist nor dis | Do say: just Comment: As opposed to the adjective just, this word is always unaccented, which encourages vowel reduction. However, it sounds better to reduce the [ê] rather than replace it with [i]. K Dont say: Klu Klux Klan | Do say: Ku Klux Klan Comment: Well, there is an [l] in the other two, why not the first? Well, that is just the way it is; dont expect rationality from this organization. L Dont say: lambast | Do say: lambaste Comment: Better to lambaste the lamb than to baste him remember, the words rhyme. Bast has nothing to do with it. Dont say: arnyx | Do say: larynx Comment: More metathesis. Here the [n] and [y] switch places. Mind your [n]s and [y]s as you mind your [p]s and [q]s. Dont say: Laura Norder | Do say: law and order Comment: The sound [aw] picks up an [r] in some dialects (also sawr and gnawr). Avoid it and keep Laura Norder in her place. Dont say: leash | Do say: lease Comment: Southern Americans are particularly liable to confuse these two distinct words but the confusion occurs elsewhere. Look out for it. Dont say: libel | Do say: liable Comment: You are liable for the damages if you are successfully sued for libel. But dont confuse these discrete words. Dont say: libary | Do say: library Comment: As mentioned before, English speakers dislike two [r]s in the same word. However, we have to buck up and pronounce them all. Dont say: long-lived | Do say: long-lived Comment: This compound is not derived from to live longly (you cant say that) but from having a long life and should be pronounced accordingly. The plural stem, live(s), is always used: short-lived, many-lived, triple-lived. M Dont say: masonary | Do say: masonry Comment: We have been told that masons are most likely to insert a spare vowel into this word describing their occupation but we know others do, too. Dont you. Dont say: mawv | Do say: mauve Comment: This word has not moved far enough away from French to assume an English pronunciation, [mawv], and should still be pronounced [mowv]. Dont say: mannaise | Do say: mayonnaise Comment: Ever wonder why the short form of a word pronounced mannaise is mayo? Well, it is because the original should be pronounced mayo-nnaise. Just remember: what would mayonnaise be without mayo? Dont say: miniture | Do say: miniature Comment: Here is another word frequently syncopated. Dont leave out the third syllable, [a]. Dont say: mute | Do say: moot Comment: The definition of moot is moot (open to debate) but not the pronunciation: [mut] and not [myut]. Dont say: mischievous | Do say: mischievous Comment: It would be mischievous of me not to point out the frequent misplacement of the accent on this word. Remember, it is accented the same as mischief. Look out for the order of the [i] and [e] in the spelling, too and dont add another [i] in the ending ( not mischievious). N Dont say: nother | Do say: other Comment: Misanalysis is a common type of speech error based on the misperception of where to draw the line between components of a word of phrase. A whole nother comes from misanalyzing an other as a nother. Not good. Not good. Dont say: nucular | Do say: nuclear Comment: The British and Australians find the American repetition of the [u] between the [k] and [l] quaintly amusing. Good reason to get it right. Dont say: nuptual | Do say: nuptial Comment: Many speakers in the U.S. add a spurious [u] to this word, too. It should be pronounced [nêpchêl], not or [nêpchuêl]. O Dont say: off ten | Do say: often Comment: The [t] was silent in the pronunciation of the word often until circa 19th century English when more people became able to write and spell. Today the [t] is widely pronounced in England, the British Isles, Australia and in some regions of the U.S. Most U.S. dictionaries show both pronunciations, frequently showing the unspoken [t] as the most preferred. Dont say: ordinance | Do say: ordnance Comment: You may have to use ordnance to enforce an ordinance but you should not pronounce the words the same. Dont say: orientate | Do say: orient Comment: Another pointless back- formation. We dont need this mispronunciation from orientation when we already have orient. (See also interpretate) Dont say: ostensively | Do say: ostensibly Comment: Be sure to keep your suffixes straight on this one. Dont say: Ostraya | Do say: Australia Comment: This pronunciation particularly bothers Australians themselves, most of whom can manage the [l] quite easily, thank you. P Dont say: parlament | Do say: parliament Comment: Although some dictionaries have given up on it, there should be a [y] after [l]: [pahr-lyê-mênt] Dont say: perculate | Do say: percolate Comment: Pronouncing this word as perculate is quite peculiar. (Also, remember that it means drip down not up.) Dont say: pottable | Do say: potable Comment: The adjective meaning drinkable rhymes with floatable and is not to be confused with the one that means capable of being potted. Dont say: perogative | Do say: prerogative Comment: Even in dialects where [r] does not always trade places with the preceding vowel (as the Texan pronunciations differnce, vetern, etc.), the [r] in this prefix often gets switched. Dont say: perscription | Do say: prescription Comment: Same as above. It is possible that we simply confuse pre- and per- since both are legitimate prefixes. Dont say: persnickety | Do say: pernickety Comment: You may think us too pernickety to even mention this one. It is a Scottish nonce word to which U.S. speakers have added a spurious [s]. Dont say: preemptory | Do say: peremptory Comment: The old pre-/per- problem. Do not confuse this word with preemptive; the prefix here is per-. Dont say: prespire | Do say: perspire Comment: Per- has become such a regular mispronunciation of pre-, many people now correct themselves where they dont need to. Dont say: plute | Do say: pollute Comment: This one, like plice [police], spose [suppose], and others, commonly result from rapid speech syncope, the loss of unaccented vowels. Just be sure you pronounce the vowel when you are speaking slowly. Dont say: probly, prolly | Do say: probably Comment: Haplology is the dropping of one of two identical syllables such as the [ob] and [ab] in this word, usually the result of fast speech. Slow down and pronounce the whole word for maximum clarity and to reduce your chances of misspelling the word. Dont say: pronounciation | Do say: pronunciation Comment: Just as misspelling is among the most commonly misspelled words, pronunciation is among the most commonly mispronounced words. Fitting, no? Dont say: prostrate | Do say: prostate Comment: Though a pain in the prostate may leave a man prostrate, the gland contains no [r]. R Dont say: Realator | Do say: Realtor Comment: As you avoid the extra vowel in masonry, remember to do the same for realtor, the guy who sells what the mason creates. Dont say: revelant | Do say: relevant Comment: Here is another word that seems to invite metathesis. Dont say: respite | Do say: respite Comment: Despite the spelling similarity, this word does not rhyme with despite; it is pronounced [re-spit]. Give yourself a permanent respite from mispronouncing it. S Dont say: sherbert | Do say: sherbet Comment: Some of the same people who do not like two [r]s in their words cant help repeating the one in this word. Dont say: silicone | Do say: silicon Comment: Silicon is the material they make computer chips from but implants are made of silicone. Dont say: snuck | Do say: sneaked Comment: I doubt we will get snuck out of the language any time soon but here is a reminder that it really isnt a word. Dont say: sose | Do say: so Comment: The phrase so as has been reduced to a single word sose even when it is not called for. Sose I can go should be simply so I can go. By the way, the same applies to alls, as in Alls I want is to never hear alls again. Dont say: spade | Do say: spay Comment: You can have your dog spayed but so long as she is a good dog, please dont spade her. Dont say: stob | Do say: stub Comment: In some areas the vowel in this word has slid a bit too far back in the mouth. Dont choke on it. Dont say: stomp | Do say: stamp Comment: Stamps are so called because they were originally stamped (not stomped) on a letter. You stamp your feet, too. Dont say: suit | Do say: suite Comment: If you dont wear it (a suit [sut]), then it is a suite [sweet], as in a living room suite or a suite of rooms. Dont say: supposably | Do say: supposedly Comment: Adding -ly to participles is rarely possible, so some people try to avoid it altogether. You cant avoid it here. Dont say: supremist | Do say: supremacist Comment: This word is derived from supremacy, not supreme. A supremist would be someone who considers himself supreme. You know there is no one like that. T Dont say: tact | Do say: tack Comment: If things are not going your way, do not lose your tact that would be tactless but take a different tack. Dont say: take for granite | Do say: take for granted Comment: We do tend to take granite for granted, it is so ubiquitous. But that, of course, is not the point. Dont say: tenant | Do say: tenet Comment: A tenant is a renter who may not hold a tenet (a doctrine or dogma). Dont say: tenderhooks | Do say: tenterhooks Comment: Tenters are frames for stretching cloth while it dries. Hanging on tenterhooks might leave you tender but that doesnt change the pronunciation of the word. Dont say: Tiajuana | Do say: Tijuana Comment: Why make Spanish words more difficult than they already are? Just three syllables here, thank you. Dont say: triathalon | Do say: triathlon Comment: We dont like [th] and [l] together, so some of us insert a spare vowel. Pronounce it right, spell it right. U Dont say: upmost | Do say: utmost Comment: While this word does indicate that efforts are up, the word is utmost, a (!) historical variation of outmost. V Dont say: verbage | Do say: verbiage Comment: Here is another word that loses its [i] in speech. Pronouncing it correctly will help you spell it correctly. Dont say: volumptuous | Do say: voluptuous Comment: Some voluptuous women may be lumpy, but please avoid this Freudian slip that apprises them of it. W Dont say: wadnt | Do say: wasnt Comment: That pesky [s] before [n] again. See bidness and idnt. ways way I have a ways to go should be I have a way to go. The article a does not fit well with a plural. Dont say: wet | Do say: whet Comment: In the Northeastern US the sound [hw], spelled wh, is vanishing and these two words are pronounced the same. Elsewhere they should be distinguished. Y Dont say: yoke | Do say: yolk Comment: Another dialectal change we probably should not call an error: [l] becomes [w] or [u] when not followed by a vowel. Some people just confuse these two words, though. That should be avoided. Z Dont say: zuology | Do say: zoology Comment: Actually, we should say [zo], not [zu], when we go to the zoo.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 06:13:08 +0000
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