Posted on 11/18/2016 12:35:53 PM PST by EveningStar
Fred Astaire drew laughs back in the Thirties with his song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" in which the lovers can't agree on the pronunciation of words like either, neither, and tomato.
On a personal level, I cringe when I hear someone sound the "t" in often or pronounce pecan with a short "a," but I have to acknowledge that both these pronunciations are widely accepted alternate pronunciations that can be justified by the spelling.
Alternate pronunciations, however, are a different matter from out-and-out mispronunciations. The latter, no matter how common, are incorrect, either because of the spelling that indicates another pronunciation, or because of what is widely agreed upon to be conventional usage. Word of caution: I'm writing from an American perspective.
Here are 50 frequently mispronounced words. The list is by no means exhaustive, but provides a good start.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailywritingtips.com ...
I say “pa-con.” 7th generation Southerner. We’ve always said it like that.
wuss tah sure sauce
I recently read a book that had very liberal use of 18th century cockney slang. It was almost impenetrable at times. Brits are also some of the most underrated artists of the personal insult. It is truely an art form.
Lots more of these sources of irritation to make you a hit at any party are found in Charles Harrington Ellster's book, "There is No 'Zoo' in Zoology". (I think it's out of print but copies are around ... quite entertaining.)
I've heard that track - yes, the diction does jump out at the listener. Good series - and soundtrack.
Re: prolly
I sometimes say or write that just to piss folk off.
Yes, they can wield the language like a stiletto.
Great to find anoth Bebop fan. One of the best of its type out there IMO. I’m a Ghost in the Shell fan too.
oh duh me.
Aaron F. Broussard was the president of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana during Katrina.
He was interviewed on national TV and started crying, asking: “Where’s the calvary ? Where’s the calvary ?”
LOL!
I like Ghost in the Shell, too - though I'm wondering how in the IRL version will fare.
Me, neither (sic):
9. barbed wire -- Notice the AR in the first syllable. Say /BARBD/, not /bob/.
Unless youah from Bahston wheah the Hahvahd prahfessah pahks hez cah in the Yahd, jahst befoah the bahbd wah.
29. "irregardless" -- See the real word, regardless.
Don't disregard the word regardless.
48. ticklish -- The word has two syllables. Say /TIK-LISH/, not /tik-i-lish/.
Ah, well, how then do you pronounce the letter "L" when it is pointed out? Does one say "ell", or does one place a glottal stop before it, " 'L " as in "Let me go!" I'll take the "tick el ish," regardless of what someone else wants.
51. wintry -- Here’s another weather word often mispronounced, even by the weather person. The word has two syllables. Say /WIN-TRY/, not /win-ter-y/.
Thought I'd look this one up. From page 1763 of the Reader's Digest Oxford "Complete Wordfinder," Reader's Digest Association. Inc./Oxford University Press, Inc., Pleasantville, NY (1996):
wintry /wintree/ adj. (also wintery /-tah*ree) (wintrier, wintriest) 1 characteristic of winter (wintry weather; a wintry sun; a wintry landscape) , etc., etc.
How much more English can one get than that, eh?
(* superscript indicates the sound spelled "ah" is substituted for the phoneric upside down "e" symbol in the original text)
Is cache pronounced cash-A or just cash?
It’s MIS-chi-vus, not mis-CHEE-vus, just added in case you missed that aspect.
The latter, though the French word from which it originated was probably pronounced like the former.
Cachet is sometimes meant and is just misspelled ‘cache’.
Cheer up, there are regions where they say "sher."
There is a town in south central Kansas named “Arkansas City.” God help you if you pronounce it like the state of Arkansas. The locals call it “Ar KAN sas” City, with the final s sounded. The Arkansas River (pronounced like the state - no final s sounded) runs past it.
(Parenthetically, FWIW, Obama’s real father, Frank Davis, is from there.)
Spelling Nazi sees what you did.
"10. cache – The word is of French origin, but it does not end with an accented syllable. A cache is a hiding place or something that is being hidden: a cache of supplies; a cache of money; a cache of drugs. Say /KASH/, not /ka-shay/."
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