What words do you hear mispronounced often?

[Melissa in Australia]

3 hours ago, maize said:

Is it actually said leftenant? I've seen that written out but haven't heard it irl, not having been around many British military folks.

That is how it is said here

[wathe]

11 hours ago, purpleowl said:

Ooooh, can I throw a drug name pronunciation question in here? Montelukast. I have heard different things from different medical people and it drives my brain crazy. 

Here, most people pronounce it SING-gu-lair, LOL.

Seriously, I think drug companies give drugs unpronounceable generic names so that people will default to the easier to pronounce trade-names instead.

  Locally, Mon-te-LOO-kast.  The e is a schwa.

[purpleowl]

11 minutes ago, wathe said:

Here, most people pronounce it SING-gu-lair, LOL.

Seriously, I think drug companies give drugs unpronounceable generic names so that people will default to the easier to pronounce trade-names instead.

  Locally, Mon-te-LOO-kast.  The e is a schwa.

My NP didn't tell me what she was prescribing, just "I'm sending in a prescription for your asthma." I have to google it whenever I need to recall what the brand name is!

I'm really glad you said the third syllable is the stressed one. Ever since I started taking it I have mentally said it that way and imagined Hermione Granger saying, "it's mon-te-LOO-kast, not mon-te-loo-KAST!" But then someone tried to tell me it was mon-TELL-uh-kast, which threw the whole thing off. I'm choosing to believe that you're right. 😄 

[theelfqueen]

I hate when people say Chip-ol-te when they mean chipotle.

My mother will never be broken of saying "eye-talian"

[Spy Car]

Los Angelenos have a lot of fun hearing out-of-town visitors trying to pronounce "Cahuenga," which is the name of a major pass (and boulevard) that links LA city "proper" with the San Fernando Valley (think Hollywood Bowl/Universal).

We, of course, have all sorts of oddly contradictory relationships with our city's many Spanish derived place names.

For example, in Beverly Hills there are side-by-side streets one is Cañon, which is pronounced as "cannon" (the weapon) despite the ñ, while a block over Rodeo is Row-day-Oh.

No rhyme or reason to it that I can see.

Bill

[maize]

20 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

Los Angelenos have a lot of fun hearing out-of-town visitors trying to pronounce "Cahuenga," which is the name of a major pass (and boulevard) that links LA city "proper" with the San Fernando Valley (think Hollywood Bowl/Universal).

We, of course, have all sorts of oddly contradictory relationships with our city's many Spanish derived place names.

For example, in Beverly Hills there are side-by-side streets one is Cañon, which is pronounced as "cannon" (the weapon) despite the ñ, while a block over Rodeo is Row-day-Oh.

No rhyme or reason to it that I can see.

Bill

We lived in El Segundo and later San Pedro. I had such a hard time adapting to the local pronunciation, my brain so badly wanted to give them Spanish-derived pronunciation.

[Spy Car]

59 minutes ago, maize said:

We lived in El Segundo and later San Pedro. I had such a hard time adapting to the local pronunciation, my brain so badly wanted to give them Spanish-derived pronunciation.

I lived with a Chileano roommate durning the 80s who steadfastly refused to conform to the local pronunciation of Spanish street/place names and—despite being a native of LA—at times I found myself saying things like Santa Monica or San Vicente in “Spanish.”
 

Still catch myself doing that sometimes.

Bill

[Laura Corin]

7 hours ago, Spy Car said:

I accidentally imported the clip into my iTunes music library, which has had the nice side benefit of allowing me to "practice" right along with you.

How is your accent received there in Scotland?

And I know it is an American novel, but have you ever considered recording Moby Dick? If so, do keep me in the loop. You'd be terrific!

Bill

Have fun! Scots, and Brits in general,  tend to think I'm Canadian - blame 33 years of my living with a Texan.

You need the late  William Hootkins' reading of Moby Dick. He converted me to MB.

[Junie]

I can't believe I forgot this one earlier:

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

[Amethyst]

33 minutes ago, Junie said:

I can't believe I forgot this one earlier:

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Yes!!! I lived in Lancaster for years. When we first moved there, I needed to call someone (maybe to hook up electric or something) and she told me the correct way to pronounce it so I don’t sound like a tourist. 

[Arctic Bunny]

On 4/29/2021 at 6:59 AM, alisoncooks said:

Gah. Just reading this thread makes me twitch. 

My grandfather says chimley for chimney. 

May I ask where he is from? Because my grandpa said this also. And we looked it up in the days before the internet, and it was an Old English word, or something. His mother came from the States somewhere, and I would love to know if this is regional and maybe give me clues about where to look for her parents!

[alisoncooks]

Just now, Arctic Bunny said:

May I ask where he is from? Because my grandpa said this also. And we looked it up in the days before the internet, and it was an Old English word, or something. His mother came from the States somewhere, and I would love to know if this is regional and maybe give me clues about where to look for her parents!

Coastal NC. 

[Arctic Bunny]

Just now, Amethyst said:

Yes!!! I lived in Lancaster for years. When we first moved there, I needed to call someone (maybe to hook up electric or something) and she told me the correct way to pronounce it so I don’t sound like a tourist. 

Not that I’m letting myself believe I’ll ever be a tourist again, just yet, but how is it said? 

[Arctic Bunny]

Just now, alisoncooks said:

Coastal NC. 

Interesting! Thank you, I will keep that in mind the next time I splurge on Ancestry!

[cintinative]

I can't tell you why but I always pronounce cupboard as cup+board instead of "cubbord." It drives my husband nuts.  We called them cabinets growing up though--so this only applies when I am reading aloud.

I am personally confused about why sideboard is pronounced as side+board but cupboard is pronounced totally differently. Oh well.

My mom still says "warsh" and our personal favorite "indin" (for indian).  I am guessing it is regional but my mom and dad both grew up here and my dad doesn't pronounce the words that way.  

[MEmama]

13 hours ago, Spy Car said:

Los Angelenos have a lot of fun hearing out-of-town visitors trying to pronounce "Cahuenga," which is the name of a major pass (and boulevard) that links LA city "proper" with the San Fernando Valley (think Hollywood Bowl/Universal).

We, of course, have all sorts of oddly contradictory relationships with our city's many Spanish derived place names.

For example, in Beverly Hills there are side-by-side streets one is Cañon, which is pronounced as "cannon" (the weapon) despite the ñ, while a block over Rodeo is Row-day-Oh.

No rhyme or reason to it that I can see.

Bill

I avoided all LA pronunciation and location issues by being a native of the northern part of the state. Thus, everything south of say, Santa Barabara is simply LA. Problem solved. 😬

 

[Junie]

17 minutes ago, Arctic Bunny said:

Not that I’m letting myself believe I’ll ever be a tourist again, just yet, but how is it said? 

 

[MEmama]

1 minute ago, Junie said:

 

DH tried for years to teach me how to pronounce it correctly. The sounds are still a garbled mess when I try, but this video sure would have helped! 

[Arctic Bunny]

24 minutes ago, Junie said:

 

Well, THAT I can do! Rather like when we met friends from “Ore-gun”....

Edited April 30, 2021 by Arctic Bunny
I try, really!

[stripe]

I don’t think this is a mispronunciation so much as a variation, but what’s with people who say “ashphalt”? 

ETA: cintinative, my grandma always said “warsh” too. Including the state of “Warshington.”

Edited May 1, 2021 by stripe

[Guest]

On 4/29/2021 at 9:32 AM, maize said:

It's one syllable around here as well. Unless I'm speaking French; then it's two.

I think orange is a one-syllable word in at least half of the US. Ornj.

I remember when I was teaching my son syllabication and I realized there were some words where it is not clear. I think “fire” was one of the words under question: is it FI-yer? Or FIIIIR? 

[wathe]

4 hours ago, stripe said:

I don’t think this is a mispronunciation so much as a variation, but what’s with people who say “ashphalt”? 

ETA: cintinative, my grandma always said “warsh” too. Including the state of “Warshington.”

"ASHphalt" pronunciation is  dominant here.  Actually, I don't think I've ever  heard it pronounced asphalt locally, always aSHphalt.  Google tells me that this is a regionalism.

[stripe]

29 minutes ago, wathe said:

"ASHphalt" pronunciation is  dominant here.  Actually, I don't think I've ever  heard it pronounced asphalt locally, always aSHphalt.  Google tells me that this is a regionalism.

One of my kids was “corrected” by older neighborhood girls, who told him it was inappropriate to say “asphalt,” and he should just say “fault.” 😆 

[bibiche]

This is probably incorrect usage rather than mispronunciation, but “tenant” for “tenet” drives me mad.

[Pawz4me]

43 minutes ago, bibiche said:

This is probably incorrect usage rather than mispronunciation, but “tenant” for “tenet” drives me mad.

Which reminds me of one I often hear that is like nails on chalkboard -- "Mute" for "moot."

[Halftime Hope]

On 4/29/2021 at 2:24 AM, Laura Corin said:

Do you think that some of this comes from the international movement and education of doctors? I believe all those pronunciations are common in different countries.  For example, in the UK I grew up saying CERvical and ECS'ma, but I  think cerVIcal is common in the US.

I've never heard cerVIcal.  Not once, not ever. Is that a long i or short?   In my area, it tends to become CERvuhcle.  

[Laura Corin]

31 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

I've never heard cerVIcal.  Not once, not ever. Is that a long i or short?   In my area, it tends to become CERvuhcle.  

Interesting. I looked it up and I was wrong - you get both in the UK but the initial stress is more common in the US. 

[maize]

On 5/1/2021 at 5:21 AM, Quill said:

I remember when I was teaching my son syllabication and I realized there were some words where it is not clear. I think “fire” was one of the words under question: is it FI-yer? Or FIIIIR? 

Fire is definitely two syllables in a lot of songs. 

"We didn't start the fi-yer..."

[stripe]

57 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

I've never heard cerVIcal.  Not once, not ever. Is that a long i or short?   In my area, it tends to become CERvuhcle.  

Yeah. I hear “urinal” and “vaginal” with a long “i” and emphasis on the middle syllable in UK crime shows. I found “cervical” pronounced in UK YouTube videos both ways. 

 

[QueenCat]

On 4/28/2021 at 11:57 PM, Arcadia said:

My husband and I have the same country of origin. We still pronounce twelve differently. 

I'm trying to figure out how that could be pronounced more than one way.

 

Never mind... saw your response. I pronounce it like elves. No f in it for me.

Edited May 2, 2021 by QueenCat

[history-fan]

Samich -sandwich 

aks- ask

wal-mark - wal-mart

ark kansas - Arkansas 

illinoise- Illinois 

worchestershire - wurster- wurstershire -that sauce

[Halftime Hope]

2 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Interesting. I looked it up and I was wrong - you get both in the UK but the initial stress is more common in the US. 

It's been fascinating to listen to John Campbell now and then and hear the differences in medical terminology, but this was a first for me. Thank you! (I find language fascinating.) 

[SoCal_Bear]

44 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

It's been fascinating to listen to John Campbell now and then and hear the differences in medical terminology, but this was a first for me. Thank you! (I find language fascinating.) 

I noticed American English will keep "the" as an article with hospital. i.e. She is in the hospital. Versus British English drops the article. She is in hospital.

I noticed only because of Covid, hospital comes up a lot in news clips. I wonder what Canadians do with "the" and "hospital."

Edited May 2, 2021 by calbear

[Lucy the Valiant]

I was surprised to see "chester draws" for sale on our local sale pages . . . Chest of Drawers.

I live in a different region of the country than where I grew up, and accidentally named one of my children something unpronounceable here . . . child has gone by middle name her whole life for that exact reason. 

I find these things fascinating!

[stripe]

1 hour ago, calbear said:

I noticed American English will keep "the" as an article with hospital. i.e. She is in the hospital. Versus British English drops the article. She is in hospital.

I noticed only because of Covid, hospital comes up a lot in news clips. I wonder what Canadians do with "the" and "hospital."

Canadians are in hospital as well.

[NewnameC]

How do you pronounce niche?

[Laura Corin]

23 minutes ago, NewnameC said:

How do you pronounce niche?

Neesh?

[Not_a_Number]

On 5/2/2021 at 8:05 PM, stripe said:

Canadians are in hospital as well.

Huh. I’d say in the hospital. I’m from Toronto.

[Pawz4me]

36 minutes ago, NewnameC said:

How do you pronounce niche?

Rhymes with rich.

[MEmama]

13 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Huh. I’d say in the hospital. I’m from Toronto.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard the British “in hospital” in Canada. Might be regional, though, like most things.

Of course, we drop the “the” in the US sometimes too, like with school. Kids go to school, not to the school, generally.

[maize]

20 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

Neesh?

This is how I say it.

[Laura Corin]

How about lichen?  I say LIE-kuhn.  But I've heard LITCH-in in the UK too.  It's all good, as far as I'm concerned

The one that always makes me laugh is 'fungi'.  I've heard at least four pronunciations being used within the same science podcast: FUN-gee, FUN-jee, FUN-guy, FUN-jye.  Again, just fun variety.

[maize]

8 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

How about lichen?  I say LIE-kuhn.  But I've heard LITCH-in in the UK too.  It's all good, as far as I'm concerned

The one that always makes me laugh is 'fungi'.  I've heard at least four pronunciations being used within the same science podcast: FUN-gee, FUN-jee, FUN-guy, FUN-jye.  Again, just fun variety.

I say Lie-ken and fun-guy. 

I was listening to NPR yesterday and the scientist being interviewed pronounced it fun-jee.

[stripe]

Someone ran some statistical analysis of the hospital question

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/506084/do-canadians-say-go-to-hospital-or-go-to-the-hospital

The CBC regularly reports someone is “in hospital.”

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by stripe

[TravelingChris]

On 4/28/2021 at 11:54 PM, wathe said:

Mostly medical stuff by patients, especially drug names, which is usually fine, and not a problem as long as I can figure out what they actually mean.

They say "metro-pole", I say "metoprolol?", they say "yes, that!", and we're good.

More problematic is when patients pick the wrong medical word altogether when giving a history. It happens a lot.  Either substituting the wrong word (ie an aneurysm is quite a different thing than an embolism, even thought they sound a little alike), or using diagnoses they don't actually have to describe symptoms, or using medical words to mean things that those particular words don't actually mean.  It makes it hard to take an accurate history and can be quite dangerous.  Usually I can figure out what people are trying to tell me by using context (prostate vs prostrate as an obvious example) but sometimes I really can't.  I have to walk the fine line of delicately asking people what they mean in plain language when they say x,y,z medical term (because the history as they've related doesn't make medical sense) without making them feel silly or like I don't believe them or like I'm condescending etc - it's sometimes a lot harder than you'd think it should be.

I have to say that having a very good vocabulary (including medical) has helped me a whole lot.  I have a very complicated medical history.  It is much better to use precise language.   And after my stay of 7 days in hospital in March,  I really, really, really feel very sorry for all those patients who have a less well developed vocabulary than me.  None of the doctors, nurses, PAs, etc bothered to explain anything to me.  I had known what MRSA was but not was MSSA was.  But I quickly figured it out.  And when I got my phone in the hospital a few days later, I checked and I was correct.

And yes, I often don't know common names of medications since I only seem them printed usually.

 

[maize]

11 minutes ago, stripe said:

Someone ran some statistical analysis of the hospital question

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/506084/do-canadians-say-go-to-hospital-or-go-to-the-hospital

The CBC regularly reports someone is “in hospital.”

 

Looking at the examples from Canada, it looks like there is a tendency to use "in hospital" in places where an American might use "hospitalized" (for example, in the paragraphs where both "in the hospital" and "in hospital" were used, I think "hospitalized" would have replaced the second usage in the US).

Which makes me wonder if we here in the US use "hospitalized" more often than is done in other English speaking countries. Is "hospitalized" common in the UK?

[Jean in Newcastle]

3 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Neesh?

Yup. 

[Laura Corin]

2 hours ago, maize said:

Looking at the examples from Canada, it looks like there is a tendency to use "in hospital" in places where an American might use "hospitalized" (for example, in the paragraphs where both "in the hospital" and "in hospital" were used, I think "hospitalized" would have replaced the second usage in the US).

Which makes me wonder if we here in the US use "hospitalized" more often than is done in other English speaking countries. Is "hospitalized" common in the UK?

I don't think so. 

[NewnameC]

6 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Neesh?

I have heard that one recently,including from one of my young adults.

6 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Rhymes with rich.

This is how I say it in my head, however, my young adult recently told me I was wrong when I said it out loud. I spent part of my childhood somewhere known for odd pronunciations, so I wasn’t sure if this was one of another one of those. 

Edited May 6, 2021 by NewnameC

[maize]

14 minutes ago, NewnameC said:

I have heard that one recently,including from one of my young adults.

This is how I say it in my head, however, my young adult recently told me I was wrong when I said it out loud. I spent part of my childhood somewhere known for odd pronunciations, so I wasn’t sure if this was one of another one of those. 

Both pronunciations are common and considered correct.

Neesh is closer to the original French pronunciation; nich is a more anglicized version.

Rich also originally came to English from French and the French version is pronounced more like reesh.  If we can anglicize one we can anglicize the other 🙂

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/niche