Written by Toni Bowers
Right or wrong, people often judge you by the way you pronounce things. Say a word incorrectly and POW — they’ve pegged you as a provincial, poorly educated moron. Toni Bowers offers a list of commonly mangled words so you can double-check your own pronunciation.
Previously, TechRepublic ran an article about 10 grammar mistakes that make you look stupid. The examples cited involved the misuse of words in written and verbal communications. I’d like to go a step farther here and talk about words that may be used correctly but are pronounced wrong. They also may be much more flagrant examples of stupidity.
A caveat: My ear may be abnormally sensitive to mispronunciations since in college I developed an unnatural affinity for linguistics (can you say “Get a life?”). However, people often make snap decisions about character and intelligence based on their language biases, so it’s something you should be aware of. Here are some of my pet peeves, which you may or may not ever use in your life.
Note: This article originally appeared in our Career Management blog.
#1: Realtor
Many people — I’ve even heard it from people on national TV — pronounce this word REAL-uh-ter. Is this a case of wide-spread dyslexia, transposing the a and the l? It’s REAL–tor. That’s it. You’d think only two syllables would be easier to pronounce, but apparently not.
#2: Nuclear
Do you know how tough it is to be an advocate for the correct pronunciation of this word (NU-clee-er) when the president of the United States pronounces it NU-cu-lar? I don’t buy that it’s a regional thing. Ya’ll is a regional thing; nu-cu-lar is not.
#3: Jewelry
It’s not JOO-la-ree, it’s JOOL-ree. Again with the making things harder by turning a word into three syllables. What’s with that?
#4: Supposedly/supposably
The latter is a nonexistent word.
#5: Supposed to/suppose to
I think this one is more a matter of a lazy tongue than of ignorance. It takes an extra beat in there to emphasize the d at the end, but it’s worth it. And never omit the d if you’re using the term in a written communication or people will think you were raised in a hollowed-out tree trunk somewhere.
#6: Used to/use to
Same as above.
#7: Anyway/anyways
There’s no s at the end. I swear. Look it up.
#8: February/Febuary
As much as it galls me, there is an r between the b and the u. When you pronounce the word correctly it should sound like you’re trying to talk with a mouthful of marbles — FEB broo ary.
#9: Recur/reoccur
Though the latter is tempting, it’s not a word. And again, why add another syllable if you don’t need it?
#10: Mischievous/mischievious
I know, I know, it sounds so Basil Rathbone to say MIS cha vous, but that’s the right way. Mis CHEE vee us is more commonly used, but it’s wrong.
And last but not least, my personal all-time pet peeve — the word often. It should be pronounced OFF un, not OFF tun. The t is silent.
Great article! Although, I think your fight over the pronunciation of “often” as “OFF un” is as futile as trying to get people to properly pronounce “forte” as “fort” NOT “for TAY” when used to say that one has an expertise in a certain field or ability. Common usage is probably going to win this one. Also, I’ve found both pronunciations of “often” on every dictionary site I’ve checked; however, the same is true for “forte” so that doesn’t really prove anthing.
Anyway(s)… Keep up the good fight!
In addition, the words “like” and “actually” should seldom if ever be pronounced at all.
Whiner, wine-er, or whinner?
lol
I agree with most everything in your article. However, “often” is pronouned both with the ‘t’ and without and is considered acceptable with either pronunciation. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/often
Dant, our junior high school teacher despised the word “like”, I agree with you that they should be seldom used.
A word that sends shivers down my spine if pronounced by an American is “lingerie’. This word should NOT be pronounced ‘loun-juh-ray’, in fact you guys have your own word for it: ‘underwear’. What’s wrong with that one?
The correct pronounciation of the word (in French) is ‘lan-juh-ree’.
I can’t stand people who aren’t “intelligent” enough to realize that language is dynamic and changes over time and as people spread out over the world. And then to have the nerve to call people who use common “mispronunciations” (according to who exactly) unintelligent shows a lack of understanding of how humanity interacts. In the end, if the people who wrote the dictionary decided that the “R” in February was no longer necessary and left it out in the next edition, suddenly all the people critiquing the rest of us English speakers would become “unintelligent”.
And my personal pet peeve: expecially/especially.
Also “pitcher” for “picture”
I’m sure the list goes on….
James is right. Check Merriam Webster. It includes the so-called wrong pronunciations of “February” and “often.” I will continue using the wrong pronunciations.
Thank you James.
Just a few things
#1 is not a case of dyslexia, but of epenthesis, a process used by many languages to break up consonant clusters or change syllables around to a more palatable form.
You may not buy that #2 is regional (or varietal), but that doesn’t mean that’s not true.
#3’s maybe similar to #1 (and #2 may be as well)
#5 is not a mispronunciation: when the “d” comes before the “t,” English phonology causes them to, in a way, combine (homorganic stops in normal speech for many varieties of English only have one closure for the two stops, the former being the the close and the latter the release).
#6 is same as the above
#8: just because it’s spelled that way doesn’t mean it should be pronounced that way. It’s odd you make this claim since your pet peeve is the complete opposite of this case.
#9 is merely novel word formation, not mispronunciation. For that reason, you can’t say it’s “adding another syllable.”
This has been very helpful to me, because I´m learning english… by the way you shouldn´t be so harsh about this because some foreigners don´t have a talent for learning languages… they try their best and still have problems with pronunciation.
Then again, this is your article and you can do whatever the hell you want, right?
FYI, The Often/silent-t thing is an americanism; brits pronounce the T. Moreover I would argue that it’s pure laziness on the part of most American’s that it has dropped out of the language.
The one that really grinds my gears is when Americans say ‘I could care less’.
The phrase is ‘I could not care less’ or “I couldn’t care less”!
If you could ‘care less’, you are saying you do actually care. The phrase is supposed to mean you don’t care at all.
Let’s just say: I SHOULD care less, but I can’t… I work at an HR office and get phone calls all the time from people asking “y’all is hiring?” I understand that being close to DC leaves the door open for a lot of “y’alls,” but if someone is asking for a job, shouldn’t they at least TRY to use correct grammar in their speech? My colleagues tell me our applicants don’t know any better, so I should just let it go. Some word usage changes over time, or we would still be speaking like the characters in a Jane Austen novel. HOWEVER, there are always some things that are just plainly unacceptable… like a president who cannot say the word “nuclear” the same way as the majority of the citizens of his country! Majority rules in things like language (and democracy).
For the record, the White House has consistently been aware of the proper pronunciation of “nuclear” since the word entered politics. Their official stance is that, for the sake of clarity to the American Public, weapons are “NUKE-u-lar”, while power is “nu-clear”. Presidents are trained in both pronunciations, as well as their uses.
Not that the President you were referring to was any good, mind you. Just that this particular issue isn’t any real indicator of his (lack of) intelligence.
A few of mine…..
1) You don’t know you better axe somebody.
2) I seen it (my mother rolls her grave every time this is said)
3) I ain’t got no
And one I heard the other day…..
“Where’d she went?”
Another one worthy of mention: “acrossed”. This is my personal pet peeve, and I hear it a lot from well educated people.
You forgot Mature. People always mispronounce it with a “ch” in it.
Mary, that’s an acceptable way of pronouncing it.
I don’t believe you about often.
Is language dynamic and subject to change? Sure. Burt that fact does not insulate against the observation that certain usages, when deployed under certain circumstances, reflect ignorance. If I am living in 1972 and am attending an international conference on the dangers of nuclear proliferation, and I consistently pronounce the word as, “nucular”, while everyone else there adopts the universally recognized version, that does not make me correct. Right or wrong, it will make me come off as ignorant.
The phrase that drives me nuts sometimes is:
“For all intensive purposes.”
The phrase is “for all intents and purposes!”
Just thought I might make a suggestion;
In most instances I feel the same way as you (bar #8) HOWEVER, Jewelry can also be spelled ‘jewellery’ (and is most English speaking countries) so I am afraid you are being just a little pedantic on that point.
Remember that spelling is a result of pronouncation. We had talked for quite some time before we started to write.
And that the spoken language develops. I’m from Sweden and we’ve had several spelling changes in swedish through out the years and I guess it’s the same with english.
A few that bothers me is when I hear the word Italian pronounced ” eye-talian.
I agree with Tony, when I hear those phrases, I cringe also. And in email, people are abbreviating their spelling and it hurt’s my eyes to read. They are carrying over their text messages. I think that is being lazy.
I’m surprised no one brought up the pronunciation of etc.
People often say excetera instead of etcetera – it kind of drives me crazy.
Two Japanese words I hear mispronounced all the time on the national news just drive me crazy: Tokyo and Kyoto. They are not TO-key-oh, or KEY-o-toh. They are to-kyo and kyo-to.
Granted, in Japanese, it’s a little more complicated as the syllables are held for two beats. The important thing to remember is that there is no vowel between the k and the y. It’s not it’s own syllable. It’s a blended consonant.
WHO THE PHUCK CARES? IS EVERYBODY HOOKED ON PA-HONICKS (phonics)
My gripe: “Should of known better.” People will even write it that way. It’s “Should have known better.”
I am not surprised. Old American movies and TV series are filled with mis spellings and grammar errors, mostly coming out of mouths of people they want to point out as dumb or less educated. That is probably done on purpose to give the role the right character, however it both reflects reality and educates those who watch. People who wants to belong to a certain “reference group” easily can pick details they think are right for them, to give the right impression. I mean groups as “gangsters” or mafioso, “cowboys”, “black people from the south”, “foreigners” and so on. I am not a native English speaker and it is somewhat confusing sometimes to be confronted with language rules, not only between the British English and American English, but also between all other local versions used, and also discussed, as on this web. I’m trying my best to learn but it seems to a never ending process.
Overzealous articles like these are precisely the reason I stopped majoring in English studies in college. Slight mispronunciation of words does NOT mean the person is stupid. Broad generalizations, very picky grammar hounds, and people who misinterpret regional/societal pronunciations as stupidity are not only rude, but can also be incorrect. Slight mispronunciation does NOT equate laziness. If laziness is at the heart of these phonetic “atrocities,” then so is your casual usage of contractions (it’s, and there’s) in the article, one must assume by your own definition that you’re lazy as well.
As for “I hate when Americans pronounce it like…” comments, different pronunciations are a natural part of being, oh, hundreds or thousands of miles away from each other. I could bring up the different pronunciation of “garage” in the UK and America, but it doesn’t matter, because it’s NOT about intelligence.
I’d give you more credit if you’d not misspelt “y’all”.
In your example #2 you commit a horrible spelling error that we southerners abhor. “Y’all” is a contraction of the words “you” and “all.” The apostrophe should be between the the two words it joins, rather than splitting the latter.
Correct: Y’all
Incorrect: anything other version
If you want to get really fancy you can make it into a plural possessive, as in, “Y’all’s barbeque looks delicious!”
I hate how Toni Bowers, who complains about grammar, abuses it in his first paragraph, “I’d like to go a step farther here and talk about…”
The correct word here is “further.” When referring to physical, concrete distance, use “farther.” When speaking figuratively or abstractly, use “further.”
In his second paragraph, whose sentence structure is characteristically convoluted and poorly worded, he uses, “so it’s something you should be aware of.” He ended the sentence with a preposition, which deserves a slap in the wrist, since in this case, “so it’s something of which you should be aware,” or “so it’s something you should remember,” would be much better.
Stick with Words into Type or Elements of Style. Don’t pronounce the t in “often.” That sounds retarded.
LI-brary VS LI-berry ATH-lete VS Ath-uh-lete
I have a friend who pronounces “birthday” as “birtday.” It really bugs me…
In reference to the arrogant idiot who has decided to attempt sounding “smart”…..Maggie:
It should have read “I’d give you more credit if you had not MISSPELLED y’all”. Not “MISSPELT”, princess.
Come on girl! Pump your game up a little bit if you want to take someone to school!
(Original thread)
Maggie
December 31st, 2008 at 00:13
I’d give you more credit if you’d not misspelt “y’all”.
??? Why are people supposed to pronounce the ‘r’ in “February” but not the ‘t’ in “often”? Some of these rules are accurate, some of them are way outdated. If everyone mispronounces it, then it’s no longer a mispronunciation. So as DUMB as the “supposably” people are today, in 30 or 40 years it could be a legitimate word. Just like “irregardless.”
Not that everyone ever agrees on anything. The closest thing we have to standard English is the consistencies that we see on TV, but there are hundreds (thousands?) of dialects in the U.S.
@ The arrogant, uninformed bastard also known as Cynthia Tavares
Misspelt does exist, dear. It is how British spell it, mmm’kay?
You best do your research before you eagerly attempt to lambaste someone for an error that isn’t there.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/misspelt
Was not aware that “British” lingo was universally accepted. Pompous much?
How is he/she being “pompous” if YOU’RE the one who claimed that the usage was wrong the in the first place when it wasn’t necessarily? Also, when did he/she argue for the universal acceptance of misspelt in the first place?
“Let me AX you a question.” Gets me every time. AAAAARRRRGGHHH!!
I share three of the above; alas there are 17 more. As a member of the literary illuminati, I feel compelled to full disclosure on my own 20 Embarrassing Mispronunciations. See if you may share some of my burdens and “out yourself” for proper penance.