Words commonly mispronounced

Discussion in 'Linguistics' started by I Push Wood, Apr 2, 2009.

  1. I Push Wood Dreadlocked Skateboard Fanatic Registered Senior Member

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    What words do you find most mispronounced in your area or in your country?

    I seem to hear Blatantly pronounced Blaintantly quite a bit, along with hearing Supposedly as Supposebly. Another favorite has to be hearing Specifically spoken as pacifically. I love bad grammar

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  3. leopold Valued Senior Member

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    atlantic and antarctica are two words that are commonly mispronounced.

    laboratory is also mispronounced.
     
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  5. I Push Wood Dreadlocked Skateboard Fanatic Registered Senior Member

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    hmmm I haven't heard those two in quite a while to be honest, I guess they just don't come up in conversation.

    But yeah, hearing "labertory" does get annoying...
     
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  7. mathman Valued Senior Member

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    "nuclear" was a problem for Pres. Bush - he pronounced it "nukelar".
     
  8. I Push Wood Dreadlocked Skateboard Fanatic Registered Senior Member

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    One of my teachers said it "nuke-you-lar."

    Yes, my teacher. . .
     
  9. takandjive Killer Queen Registered Senior Member

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    Best story ever: A lady had her hubby pass away. Now, before I read any reports, she told me he'd passed away of Smiling Mean Jesus. I tried to remain calm. Yes, the doctor actually diagnosed him with that, she said. Now, I was racking my brain trying to figure this out trying to figure what I was going to be dying of before my boss informed me he passed away of spinal meningitis.
     
  10. I Push Wood Dreadlocked Skateboard Fanatic Registered Senior Member

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    Thats just plain horrific, honestly.
     
  11. takandjive Killer Queen Registered Senior Member

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    Horrific and delightful are pretty interchangable.
     
  12. I Push Wood Dreadlocked Skateboard Fanatic Registered Senior Member

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    Depends on your disposition I suppose.
     
  13. takandjive Killer Queen Registered Senior Member

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    You have dreads. What happened to "letting in the light," Bob Marley?

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  14. shorty_37 Go! Canada Go! Registered Senior Member

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    Potato and Tomato

    Pronounced like......

    Patato and Tamato
     
  15. CutsieMarie89 Zen Registered Senior Member

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    I know I say "everything, everyone... the word every" wrong. I can't help it though. Everytime I do it I chastise myself, but it's too late I already said it.
     
  16. Oli Heute der Enteteich... Registered Senior Member

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    Pacifically for specifically.
    Then for than: also very commonly written as such by a number of posters here.
     
  17. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    The original word was "artic." It came from medieval French, in which the C in Latin arcticus had already been lost. It was only when scholars began to "correct" the spelling of English words of Latin origin that they mistakenly "replaced" a C that was never there. Then when literacy became common in the 18th century people began to think they had to pronounce the C that was never there.

    These are the same "scholars" who put the S in "island," thinking it was related to the French word isle, when in fact it's not. Fortunately no English speakers have yet tried to pronounce the S in that word.

    The T in "often" has been silent since the 17th century. But once again, people who claim to be "educated" just because they can read began thinking that was a mistake that marked the speaker as illiterate, so they started pronouncing it. It has become so prevalent that today "of-ten" is considered a legitimate, although not preferred, pronunciation of the word.
    If you lived in the U.K. you'd have to put up with luh-BOR-uh-tree.
    The unaccented O in both words invariably reduces to a schwa (IPA ə) except in the most formal speech. It doesn't matter whether that letter is A E I O U or Y. It will be pronounced as a schwa.
    Again, in both words when they're not being emphasized it's an unstressed vowel and reduces to a schwa. Short vowels almost always degrade to a schwa in unaccented syllables. That's just the way English phonetics works!
     
  18. shorty_37 Go! Canada Go! Registered Senior Member

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    I am guilty of this one myself.

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  19. Oli Heute der Enteteich... Registered Senior Member

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    Not a dig at you!
    I had someone very specific in mind who constantly does it their posts.
    And it makes me laugh because it highlights the pseudo-considered language used in the rest of the post.
     
  20. Bells Staff Member

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    Truck and Fuck

    By my 3 year old. His 'truck' comes out like 'fuck'. And he loves cars and trucks so when we are out, he will screech excitedly... "Look Mummy.. LOOK at that big Fuck"..

    Thankfully the overly overweight man who was walking past us was very understanding.

    -----------------------------------

    The most grating where I live in Australia is 'Maroon' pronounced as 'Marone'. Unfortunately, the State football team is referred to as the 'Mighty Maroons', which ends up being pronounced as the 'Might Marones'. Football season results in my developing facial tick each time I hear 'Go the mighty Marones'.
     
  21. Oli Heute der Enteteich... Registered Senior Member

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    Ah no, I wouldn't mind if the "mispronunciation" was th(uh)n (easiest way I can describe it) I object to to the clear pronounced use.
    Meh, it probably is more a lack of knowing the difference rather a mispronunciation.

    Example "That's bigger then the one I saw last week" where the E is the same as in hen.
     
  22. Pandaemoni Valued Senior Member

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    I think the most mispronounced word in my neck of the woods is "February."
     
  23. Bells Staff Member

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    When they say "Febuary", as though the 'r' no longer existed?

    It is actually one of my pet hates, to be honest.
     

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