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50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should Avoid
Daily Writing Tips ^ | December 2, 2008 | Maeve Maddox

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 ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Education; Society
KEYWORDS: grammar; mispronunciations; pronunciation; pronunciations; words
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To: EveningStar

Elec tor al, not E lec tor ehl


21 posted on 11/18/2016 12:48:50 PM PST by Theodore R. (Let's not squander the golden opportunity of 2017.)
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To: EveningStar

> I don’t agree with all of these.
Ditto.


22 posted on 11/18/2016 12:49:11 PM PST by BuffaloJack (Own a rifle. Be an American.)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

Their ‘Intellectual Property’ lawyers likely instructed them that spelling the name in that way would strengthen their claim to the trademark.


23 posted on 11/18/2016 12:49:28 PM PST by Zeppo ("Happy Pony is on - and I'm NOT missing Happy Pony")
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To: Red Badger

What about pock E stan


24 posted on 11/18/2016 12:49:45 PM PST by al baby (Hi Mom Its a Joke friends)
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To: EveningStar

Thank heaven “nuclear” didn’t make the list!


25 posted on 11/18/2016 12:50:30 PM PST by papertyger (The semantics define how we think.)
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To: EveningStar

Back on the old “PASSWORD” tv game show the password was deer. The celebrity gave the clue “doe”. The contestant answered “knob”


26 posted on 11/18/2016 12:50:38 PM PST by shotgun
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To: Battle Axe

That’s funny, where I’m from we warsh our sqwash.


27 posted on 11/18/2016 12:51:01 PM PST by piasa
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To: Cowboy Bob

Wuhp cream


28 posted on 11/18/2016 12:51:43 PM PST by piasa
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To: Dr. Sivana
50. vehicle – Although there is an H in the word, to pronounce it is to sound hicky. Say /VEE-IKL/, not /vee-Hikl/.

Never met a southerner who didn't say the H.

29 posted on 11/18/2016 12:51:54 PM PST by workerbee (The President of the United States is public enemy #1)
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To: EveningStar

I could care less. Irregardless of how this guy may feel, my own feeling is that my head will literally explode if I have to hear from another grammar Nazi.


30 posted on 11/18/2016 12:51:58 PM PST by ClearCase_guy (Abortion is what slavery was: immoral but not illegal. Not yet.)
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To: All

I am surprised “supposedly” did not make the list, along with “pacific” when people should say specific.


31 posted on 11/18/2016 12:52:53 PM PST by WillVoteForFood
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To: al baby

Perhaps it has something to do with peanuts size?


32 posted on 11/18/2016 12:53:33 PM PST by piasa
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To: rightwingcrazy
You don’t need to pronounce the first “c” in arctic.

Artic is something you see in a museum.Arctic is where you need mittens.

33 posted on 11/18/2016 12:54:33 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Deplorables' Lives Matter)
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To: EveningStar


Where's the calvary ?

(He finally completed a 46 month prison sentence this year)
34 posted on 11/18/2016 12:54:33 PM PST by stylin19a (obama = Fredo smart)
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To: Red Badger
I say PE-CAN, rhymes with ‘American

Around here it is Pah-Kahn ... like Star Trek II Wrath of Kahn.

35 posted on 11/18/2016 12:55:18 PM PST by GregoTX
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To: EveningStar
The Red Sox are wikkid pissah!
36 posted on 11/18/2016 12:55:23 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Deplorables' Lives Matter)
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To: Dr. Sivana

Pee-CAHN, pee-CANN, or PEE-can? You know, like the pah.

One that bugs me — not a word but an expression — is the use of the adjective instead of the infinitive in the expression “It needs _______.” As in “It needs washed” or “It needs painted.”

No, it needs TO BE washed or it needs PAINTING. The verb “to need” is transitive; it requires an object. And an object, by definition, cannot be an adjective.

How’s that for grammar nazism?


37 posted on 11/18/2016 12:56:02 PM PST by IronJack
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To: Pelham
Only those of us with roots in Dixie know how to say pecan properly.

Pee can

38 posted on 11/18/2016 12:56:15 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Deplorables' Lives Matter)
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To: EveningStar
When I'm thirsty I enjoy a glass of wooder.

My kids like to color with crowns.

I would prolly make this author's head explode.
39 posted on 11/18/2016 12:56:16 PM PST by needmorePaine
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To: EveningStar

I don’t think I’ve ever heard “medieval” pronounced with four syllables, or with an “ee” in the first syllable.

I work at a university and a staff member came to me once and said there was a student asking about a course and she gave me a sticky with “Mid-Evil History” written on it (by the staff member). I wonder how many people thinks that’s actually what it is?


40 posted on 11/18/2016 12:57:26 PM PST by Tenlein
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