I found an article online about the 10 words you mispronounce that make you sound less than smart. I am happy to say I only mispronounce one of them... how about you?
The original article is here... it's so funny, you need to read it. Here are the ten words:
1) Athlete. I have heard this pronounced 'athalete' many a time. There's only one 'a'.
2) Escape/Espresso/Et Cetera. If someone around me says 'expresso' a part of my soul dies. Please help my soul.
3) Nuclear. I hear people say 'newk-luh-er' a lot... including my hubbers. I correct him and am polite and charming when I do so. Or at least, that's how I recall it.
4) Prescription/Prerogative. I've notice people saying prerogative wrong, but I think most people get prescription right.
5) Utmost. People sometimes say 'upmost'. I forgive them though, because I like the word 'up'.
6) Candidate. If you're saying 'can-uh-date', you're saying it wrong. But I'll still vote for you.
7) Sherbet. There is only one 'r' in Sherbet. My mother refuses to accept this and will continue to say 'sherbert' until her dying day.
8) Awry. It's pronounced 'uh-ry'. I've never heard anyone pronounce it differently which means I surround myself with awesome and smart people.
9) 'For all intents and purposes'. Apparently, the author of the article used to say 'for all intensive purposes'. I find this a little adorable.
10) Often. Here's the one I'm guilty of mispronouncing. The 't' is apparently silent. When I say "often", I get it right... but if I say "oftentimes", which I oftentimes do, I pronounce the 't'. I had no idea it was silent. I will hang my head in shame until Weird Al Yankovic wins an Oscar.
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Very fun! I will have to hang my head in shame with you, though. I always pronounce the "t" in often. Who knew? LOL!
ReplyDeleteOne that drives me crazy is when some one says "I could care less"! It is supposed to be "I couldn't care less" Saying I could care less tells me that you have a certain amount of care invested in whatever it is that is that has been proposed! Oh, and "irregardless" is not a word!!!
ReplyDeleteJules
Ewwww, it's like fingernails on a chalkboard, although I guess there's a whole generation who won't understand just how annoying that sound is. My family always thought I would be an English teacher because I have a true love of vocabulary, spelling, and correcting other people's mistakes. (Or that's what my brothers say!)
ReplyDeleteARGH, EXPRESSSOOOO - the amount of times...
ReplyDeleteOne that I quite frequently hear (not sure if it's a Cornish thing) is "have" pronounced as "haft". (Only in the "I must" sense, not the "I own" sense!)
For example, "I hate hafting to have a bath.."
I FORGOT ABOUT HAVE! I hear people say 'haftoo', like it's one word... it's so sad. I also get a case of the grumpies when people say 'all of the sudden'.
DeleteI HATE when people say expresso!!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, it bothers me when people say "should of" or "could of" HAVE people, HAVE!!
I've heard that "often" can be pronounced both ways, but I don't recall who told me that, so I can't remember if he/she was a good source. haha
Some friends and family call me the grammar police... hehe
Oh, should 'of' drives me crazy! It's bad enough when people say it, but when they actually write that out? DRIVES ME NUTS!
DeleteI love it! Grammar, language, & punctuation can be irritating but can be so much fun at times. I also think the 't' in often can be pronounced either way. I can't imagine saying 'off-en times'. Oh, and how about when people say pacific instead of specific??? Drives me nuts!!!
ReplyDelete