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What words that people mis-pronounce that drive you nuts? (1 Viewer)

Malcolm R

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Bryan X said:
"In British English, herb and its derivatives, such as herbaceous, herbal, herbicide, and herbivore, are pronounced with h."
I didn't think the British pronounced the "H" on anything.
 

Marianne

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Malcolm R said:
I didn't think the British pronounced the "H" on anything.
Britain consists of 4 countries (England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland) and there are at least 5 distinct languages spoken in Britain and there are hundreds of regional dialects.
In some regional dialects, like Cockney (one of the London dialects), the "h" is not pronounced.
My argument with the pronounciation of herb is that herb is a French word, so if you don't pronounce the "h" in herb you shouldn't pronounce the "h" in hotel (which is also a French word).
 

Marianne

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Bryan X said:
"In American English, herb and herbal are more often pronounced without the h, while the opposite is true of herbaceous, herbicide, and herbivore, which are more often pronounced with the h."
It all makes sense now! ;)
 

Henry Gale

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I really enjoy this subject.

After living all over the U.S. I landed in Texas 35 years ago and have found an interesting mix of pronunciations.

There's the Spanish way, the German way, and the Texas way.

As an example, I live in Guadalupe County and "Guadalupe" has 3 different ways of being said, depending on if you're talking about the River, the Church, or the County.
 

Mike Frezon

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Well, I just waded through all 209 posts (dating back five years) and am stunned that larynx hasn't yet gotten a mention.
I put larynx in the same category with ask and nuclear...words that are simply mispronounced on a regular basis for reasons which escape me.
Why people say "LAR-nix" when the word is clearly spelled so as to be pronounced "LAR-inks" is beyond me. Same with "aks/ask" and "NOO-cu-ler/NOO-clee-er." Maybe it's a dyslexia sort of issue--where the brain "sees" the letters in a different order than they really are.
As part of my work, I have coached people on this issue and it can be really difficult for them to overcome--no matter their level of intelligence.
 

Malcolm R

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Mike Frezon said:
...words that are simply mispronounced on a regular basis for reasons which escape me.
Why people say "LAR-nix" when the word is clearly spelled so as to be pronounced "LAR-inks" is beyond me. Same with "aks/ask" and "NOO-cu-ler/NOO-clee-er." Maybe it's a dyslexia sort of issue--where the brain "sees" the letters in a different order than they really are.
Never heard of the larynx issue. Then again, I'm not often involved in conversations where there's a need to use the word larynx. ;)
 

MarkHastings

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Malcolm R said:
Never heard of the larynx issue. Then again, I'm not often involved in conversations where there's a need to use the word larynx. ;)
Not only that, but when have you ever had to write larynx in order to view how it's really spelled?
"Hey John, What's up? How's your larynx today?"
"Hi Julie, How are you? I can meet you for lunch after my larynx scraping appointment."
"Yo dude! You missed it last night, we were yelling so loud that I f***ed up my larynx real bad"
:D
Seriously though, I've probably pronounced it as "Larnyx", but I've never had to write it (or read it) before, so it never crossed my mind that it was incorrect.
 

RyanAn

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I ALWAYS say "O-bit-uary" not "O-bitch-uary" and "li-brary" not "li-bary."

When did they add bitch to obituary?
 

TonyD

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I've NEVER heard anyone say o-bit-you-ary, always... o-bitch-you-ary.
I have heard a reference to the "O-bit" in the paper.
 

Ruz-El

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Originally Posted by Misspronounce
How about frigerator for refrigerator, thee-ate-er for theater
I prefer to say it the proper way, "Theeee-ah-taaaaawr!" with a few "prum prum prums" afterward.
 

fxrh

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I just now stumbled across this thread (which I notice has been dormant until very recently) and haven't read through more than a couple of pages. Please forgive me if all of the following have been mentioned earlier. Commonly mispronounced words (Wrong : Right) Axe : Ask Excape : Escape Asterick / Astrick : Asterisk Revelant : Relevant Calvary : Cavalry Nucular : Nuclear Momento : Memento Irreconciliable : Irreconcilable Oxymoron (accent is on the second syllable: ox—imoron) (in other words, you shouldn't say "moron" when you say "oxymoron") Often (the t should be silent) Err (sounds like her, not air) Forte (pronounced fort, not fortay)
 

Sam Posten

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Weird timing on this dead thread bump, but I just saw this over the weekend. http://mentalfloss.com/article/32273/11-common-words-youre-probably-mispronouncing So, uh, welcome to HTF Jackie?
 

Mike Frezon

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Originally Posted by fxrh
Oxymoron (accent is on the second syllable: ox—imoron) (in other words, you shouldn't say "moron" when you say "oxymoron")
Often (the t should be silent)
Err (sounds like her, not air)
Forte (pronounced fort, not fortay)
I don't think I agree with any of these.
Oxymoron: I believe the emphasis is on the third syllable.
Often: Either way is acceptable. It has been cyclical throughout time and both ("t" or no "t") are accepted now.
Err: I don't believe either "her" or "air" is right. I've always heard it pronounced like the first syllable of error. ehr
Forte: Common pronunciation is FOR-tay. While historically it began life as a one-syllable word, common usage has changed what is accepted as standard.
 

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