words that should be easy to pronounce but you can't pronounce

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Tell me words that you have trouble pronouncing, even though they aren't difficult words and no one else has problems with the words.

I have had real problem pronouncing the word "vocabulary", and also "McClusky"

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:28 (twenty-one years ago)

This isn't me, but I really fucking hate it when people can't properly pronounce "escape".

― Girolamo Savonarola, Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:30 (twenty-one years ago)

how do they say it?

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:30 (twenty-one years ago)

"ex-scape"

― Girolamo Savonarola, Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:33 (twenty-one years ago)

anesthetist

― Davel (Davel), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Smirnoff. I thought it was 'schmirnoff' but apparently I'm the only person who says this. And now I can't stop.

― ledge (ledge), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I say "Budveiser" and "Kraftverk" but I don't say "restaurau" like some prats do.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:44 (twenty-one years ago)

i say prat like "prahhhh".

I can't say "grolsch" either.

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:46 (twenty-one years ago)

There's that drink called "Noilly Prat" that someone came into the shop I was working in and asked for "Nwalli Pragh" or something. What an oily prat!

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:47 (twenty-one years ago)

"Elinor", which is a bugger as it's my boss's name.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Itinerary

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 10:49 (twenty-one years ago)

After the 50th time I've answered the 'phone on any given weekday, my pronunciation tends to be something like, "Hello, Nrrrraszjollygee". Not that 'neuroradiology' is that easy to pronounce in the first place.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 11:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I cannot say swivle. It comes out as sweeeal. It have no idea why this is. I can say it if I do it very slowly and have no other non-accent related speech impediments. Go figure.

― Pete (Pete), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 11:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I cannot say "participation" without jabbing another syllable in the middle of it.

― edward o (edwardo), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 11:21 (twenty-one years ago)

gynaecologist. it comes out jinacologist. freudian.

― Nellie (nellskies), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I can pronounce it, but whenever i say the sentence:"He/she edited it" I feel stupid. It's more of a tongue twister for me. you end up saying the same word twice. "editedit"

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 12:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Scissor Sisters

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 12:58 (twenty-one years ago)

or as i say 'sizzuzuzuuzuzuzzz'

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 12:59 (twenty-one years ago)

worcestershire, comes out as worcesterestersh and just about then I give up and point to the bottle of sauce.

― donna (donna), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 13:59 (twenty-one years ago)

i cant say crisps. so i have to say a packet of crisp.

― pissboxer (pissboxer), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 15:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Comfortable.

― Huck, Tuesday, 3 August 2004 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

> worcestershire

you know the 'worcester' bit is pronounced 'wooster', yes? makes it a lot easier 8)

― koogs (koogs), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 15:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Brewery, acuarela. And glockenspiel always comes out in a Sean Connery accent.

― lupine lupin (lupinelupin), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:19 (twenty-one years ago)

My mum can't pronounce cactus - it always comes out as catcus. This always annoys me greatly as I can't imagine how you can get a simple word so wrong.

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:24 (twenty-one years ago)

aurora borealis

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:25 (twenty-one years ago)

you know the 'worcester' bit is pronounced 'wooster', yes? makes it a lot easier 8)

My British friend would always correct me on this, so now I say it both ways every time, just to make sure.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, because you can't be sure that the British person would be the one with the correct pronunciation of the name of a place in their own country ...

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, I never said it's wrong, but there's a 50% chance when I pronounce it either way that someone won't know what I'm talking about.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Many Englishers I know pronounce Gloucester as 'gluster' but all the New Englanders I know refer to their town as 'gloster'.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Then theres Fotheringay and Fongy

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:37 (twenty-one years ago)

pwnd.

― briania (briania), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Play that fongy music, white boy.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Who pronounces it Gluster? That's just weird. (also I think these are falling out of the realm of "easy to pronounce")

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I know someone who can't pronounce "drawer."

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:43 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought it was Glauwster.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

"OMGWTF"

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

pumpkin = punkin

― Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought it was Glauwster.

According to this thread (Strangely Pronounced Place Names), it's Gloster.

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:56 (twenty-one years ago)

i can say "saturday" just fine, but for some reason i trip over it if it's immediately followed by "night live".

fortunately this does not come up very often

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 18:47 (twenty-one years ago)

mirror (meer)
innards (in ahds)

― isadora (isadora), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 20:14 (twenty-one years ago)

My sister's idiot friend:

library (libarry)
picture (pitcher)
have (of) in conjugations

Come to think of it, many of the 'gluster' utterers are Yorkshiremen.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 20:31 (twenty-one years ago)

My friend says "sam-wij" for "sandwich." My aunt says "shtreet" for "street." Both make me want to punch walls.

― Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 20:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I actually had an ENGLISH PROFESSOR that said LahBarry instead of library. His degree? In "LahBarry Science."

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 21:03 (twenty-one years ago)

my grandmother had two problem words "Burgular" and "Cutle-ry" My only error is pronouncing the "w" in sword. It started as a joke when i was 5 or 6 and i can't shake it.

― Anthony (Plato Guy), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 21:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Subtly. Sut-lee? Sub-tilly? Supt-lee?

― The Dreaded Rear Admiral (Leee), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 21:32 (twenty-one years ago)

months, or anything else that ends in "nths"

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 21:52 (twenty-one years ago)

this kid i knew in high school had trouble with certain contractions--instead of "wouldn't" or "shouldn't" he said "wunt" and "shunt". he couldn't say "couldn't" right either...

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 22:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't park the car properly. It's always pahk the cah.

New Englandish.

― jim wentworth (wench), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 02:50 (twenty-one years ago)

i cannot pronounce statutory no matter how hard i try. this is an important issue for me since i have to say it numerous times daily at work and i am also studying law. people think i'm even more ditsy than i actually am.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:12 (twenty-one years ago)

After years of work in coffee shops, I'd become actively annoyed when people would order 'expresso' rather than 'espresso.' I've got trouble saying 'Claude Debussy' - he always comes out "Clawedee Deebyousee," and Prokofiev always ends up 'Prokofovich.'

― x j e r e m y (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I used to similarly foul up and say "Profokiev."

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:21 (twenty-one years ago)

i also have trouble with archipelago. you don't have to say that out loud very often though so that's ok.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:22 (twenty-one years ago)

I keep pronouncing 'orchid' like 'orchard'. Shits me to tears.

― Which Describes How You're Feeling All the Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:23 (twenty-one years ago)

A transposition of sounds of two or more words, especially a ludicrous one, such as Let me sew you to your sheet for Let me show you to your seat. (dictonary.com)

On a very tangential note - I once worked for a guy named A1an R0se. I pointed out to him that his name was a spoonerism (anagram, transposition, what-have-you) for Anal Sore. He got really, really, disproportionately fucking mad.

― x j e r e m y (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe he was tormented as a kid by a group of intelligent bullies.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 05:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Nukeyoular

Abu grabbagabbagabba hey-you know that prison camp

― George W. Bush (AaronHz), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 06:39 (twenty-one years ago)

S'il vous plait.

I was actually better than most of the people in my class at pronunciation (not at other stuff though), but that one phrase just never felt right to me.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 07:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I get humiliated when trying to pronounce humiliated.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 07:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Fith and sicth. My mum does this too, though, so it's her fault.

― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 11:52 (twenty-one years ago)

my mother pronounces the word "parsley" "parz-lee" rather than "pass-lee" and for years I did too, until someone put me right on the matter.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:07 (twenty-one years ago)

duty to do.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I remember someone from the US (tho I don't remember who) reacting in horror when an English person said they were going to wipe the dew off their window.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Worry. I need to stop myself saying war-ry and say wuh-ry instead. But now as I'm typing it out I'm not sure either is right. I also say odditer instead of auditor because as a kid I first heard the word from a Glaswegian accountant. (I have a London accent.)

― beanz (beanz), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Gatport Airwick always trips me up.

― NickB (NickB), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Itinerary, sixth, paella, subtly and like Liz my workplace often gets very garbled on the phone - 'SusxLngwidjInstoot' kind of.

― Archel (Archel), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:32 (twenty-one years ago)

my mother pronounces the word "parsley" "parz-lee" rather than "pass-lee" and for years I did too, until someone put me right on the matter.

?!??!?!?

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

i learnt to say that word from Simon and Garfunkel and they say "PARRRRSLEY!"

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

and S&G are like my yardstick for measuring correct pronunciation.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:46 (twenty-one years ago)

But they are poxy Americans!

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:47 (twenty-one years ago)

but i like americans!

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:48 (twenty-one years ago)

i also say "possibilidees" rather than possibilities

e.g. while i look around for my possibilidees.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:51 (twenty-one years ago)

and chaainsahhhhhh rather than chainsoaw

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Iron.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 18:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Wennsday instead of Wedensday.

― Michael White (Hereward), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 18:35 (twenty-one years ago)

or even Wednesday.

― Michael White (Hereward), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 18:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Does anyone pronounce it some other way besides "Wennsday"? Not around my parts they don't.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 18:36 (twenty-one years ago)

seven months pass...

why can't anyone pronounce "nuptials" right? nup - shulls. not nup - shoe - ulls.

― jbr (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:09 (twenty years ago)

hmmm, i hear it with a "ch" rather than an "sh"...

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:25 (twenty years ago)

Me too.

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:31 (twenty years ago)

aubade

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:35 (twenty years ago)

what about 'nupe choo ulls'?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:35 (twenty years ago)

actually the 'p' and the 't' are supposed to be silent

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:42 (twenty years ago)

GWB cracks my shit up when he pronounces "mullahs" as "moo-lahs." It's "mull-ahs," right?

I, on the other hand, have never pronounced anything incorrectly.

― sugarpants (sugarpants), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:49 (twenty years ago)

actually the 'p' and the 't' are supposed to be silent

NUH-YALLZ????

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:51 (twenty years ago)

Candicepants, your boyfriend is out of town, surely hyuo can find something bettert o be doing!?!?

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:52 (twenty years ago)

I can't ever quite get "futile" right on first pass. I'm always in a hurry and say "feudal".

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:53 (twenty years ago)

Then I repeat myself all fyoo-TAEuhl and sound like a cartoon.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:54 (twenty years ago)

Candicepants, your boyfriend is out of town, surely hyuo can find something bettert o be doing!?!?

HELL NO that would involve leaving the house and talking to people!

― sugarpants (sugarpants), Friday, 4 March 2005 01:34 (twenty years ago)

nihttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/ubreve.gifphttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/prime.gifshihttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/schwa.gifl, -chihttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/schwa.gifl

― jbr (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 4 March 2005 02:29 (twenty years ago)

fuck, i had a feeling that wouldn't work

― jbr (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 4 March 2005 02:29 (twenty years ago)

i can't say 'rural' very well.

― ai lien (kold_krush), Friday, 4 March 2005 03:13 (twenty years ago)

Perhaps more of a misreading I guess but I went for ever calling that game Morrowind "Morrowmind".

Also some of these pronunciation things seem regional rather than wrong, ya? Not espresso tho, I'm with Jeremy on that one - IT IS NOT EXPRESSO ARGH.

My nan says maintenance as "maintain-ants", ie the same way maintain is said.

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 4 March 2005 03:35 (twenty years ago)

I'm totally with ailen on 'Rural'. It's the only word that really troubles me.

My Dad has always pronounced available as 'avaidable'. I have no idea where he gets the 'd' from. It always frustrated me that someone could fuck up such a simple word. And in such a weird way.

― Seuss, Friday, 4 March 2005 08:23 (twenty years ago)

I've never been able to say 'economical' in my entire life. I remember being 7 years old and practicing on the schoolbus!

― Remy (null) (x Jeremy), Friday, 4 March 2005 08:24 (twenty years ago)

"excuse me" comes out "ex-cruise me."

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Friday, 4 March 2005 08:32 (twenty years ago)

i've recently developed a problem with saying 'regularly'

― gem (trisk), Friday, 4 March 2005 09:28 (twenty years ago)

I can't say anything with a "th" in it. Nobody notices, but I notice, and it bugs me greatly.

Also lasagne. I say "la--saaaaaaa-neee-ur". I really stretch the "saaaa". Most distressing.

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Friday, 4 March 2005 10:49 (twenty years ago)

Now I think about it Im not so sure I say "regularly" right either gem! I tend to say "regyarly". Wtf.

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 4 March 2005 11:02 (twenty years ago)

Reservoir = "reserv-wire" when i say it.

― The Horse of Babylon (the pirate king), Friday, 4 March 2005 11:04 (twenty years ago)

i've had several meetings where i've had to talk about the 'ombudsman' and, man, i just can't say it no matter how hard i try.

― colette (a2lette), Friday, 4 March 2005 11:40 (twenty years ago)

Geir will be able to help you on the correct pronunciation of "ombudsman"

― Some Dadaismus Implied (Dada), Friday, 4 March 2005 11:41 (twenty years ago)

"Mwyn"

Though there's no reason that should be easy to say.

― mei (mei), Friday, 4 March 2005 12:27 (twenty years ago)

three years pass...

PHOTOGRAPHY

pronounced by everyone I know (incl. me) as 'fertagerphy'

― i'm shy (Abbott), Thursday, 5 February 2009 20:34 (sixteen years ago)

I used to ax questions, but have since corrected my use of that word.

― The Reverend (rev), Thursday, 5 February 2009 21:04 (sixteen years ago)

My mother

always

says

ALBLUM.

I can't get her to stop and now it just annoys both of us if I mention it.

― How can there be male ladybugs? (Laurel), Thursday, 5 February 2009 21:17 (sixteen years ago)

pluralism is one i noticed recently. i don't know why, but it comes out something like plurllllsm.

― Ralph, Waldo, Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Merdeyeux), Thursday, 5 February 2009 22:13 (sixteen years ago)

My boss cannot pronounce "supposedly" for the life of 'im. He only says "supposably".

― muomus (libcrypt), Thursday, 5 February 2009 22:16 (sixteen years ago)

He's really a catalogue of misuses and mispronunciations. One that I have bitten my tongue for years in not correcting: "simplistic" used when "simple" is correct.

― muomus (libcrypt), Thursday, 5 February 2009 22:18 (sixteen years ago)

It's like "-istic" has saved "simple" from itself.

― muomus (libcrypt), Thursday, 5 February 2009 22:19 (sixteen years ago)

I used to ax questions, but have since corrected my use of that word.

Wasn't there an Onion joke about this?

― It is not enough to love mankind – you must be able to stand (Michael White), Thursday, 5 February 2009 22:21 (sixteen years ago)

things i say:

sposed (supposed)
libary (library)
samwitch (sandwitch -- only occasionally)

― Calling All Creeps! (contenderizer), Thursday, 5 February 2009 22:24 (sixteen years ago)

caricature - this word is the bane of my enunciatory skills.

― Ricky Apples (Pillbox), Thursday, 5 February 2009 22:27 (sixteen years ago)

When I was a kid, my mother would ask me to explain how to pronounce words she had trouble with. The one thing she could never entirely get was the name "Charles." I think the idea that it was all one syllable was kind of ridiculous to her.

Long story short, now I can't say the name "Charles" without saying it kind of funny.

― nabisco, Thursday, 5 February 2009 22:32 (sixteen years ago)

Atlantic

― Bill Magill, Thursday, 5 February 2009 22:35 (sixteen years ago)

I love you.

― •--• --- --- •--• (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 5 February 2009 22:46 (sixteen years ago)

humididity - I think about it too much when saying it and introduce a stutter effect.

― Bob Six, Friday, 6 February 2009 00:02 (sixteen years ago)

- architecture
- antibiotics

― salsa shark, Friday, 6 February 2009 00:06 (sixteen years ago)

What Pleasant Plains said, i pronounce it "really, me too"

― not_goodwin, Friday, 6 February 2009 00:34 (sixteen years ago)

Ugh I say samwich way more than I should and I don't know where that came from.

― one art, please (Trayce), Friday, 6 February 2009 09:30 (sixteen years ago)

Hierarchy. Poxy word.

― Frank Sumatra (NickB), Friday, 6 February 2009 09:54 (sixteen years ago)

My wife sometimes says 'ashume' and that drives me frigging bananas.

― Frank Sumatra (NickB), Friday, 6 February 2009 09:56 (sixteen years ago)

"lil" never seems to roll off my tongue quite right. Or else it just sounds incredibly weird when you focus on it too much.

― Nate Carson, Friday, 6 February 2009 10:04 (sixteen years ago)

After 36 years, I still find it difficult to say my last name. It looks simple, but it's hard to say it clearly without slurring it.

― nate woolls, Friday, 6 February 2009 10:17 (sixteen years ago)

My brother kept saying eskliator for escalator the other day and I had to say 'Stop saying eskliator it's escalator'. I wasn't proud of myself but I was going mad.

'Orangery' for the win.

― Abbe Black Tentacle (GamalielRatsey), Friday, 6 February 2009 10:20 (sixteen years ago)

For years I pronounced segue to rhyme with league - more through ignorance than an inability to pronounce it. I can't think of anything offhand that I can't say properly (or as properly as you can with Scottish rolling 'r's).

I have a friend who can't say pattern (comes out as pat-ren) and it annoys the shit out of me. Someone else I know says boppin instead of bottom.

I used to get annoyed with Rafael Nadal saying "sufrace" in interviews but then realised I couldn't pronounce anything in Spanish and should maybe cut the guy some slack.

― super shareaholic firefox add (onimo), Friday, 6 February 2009 10:23 (sixteen years ago)

Wait, so how ARE you supposed to say segue?

― nate woolls, Friday, 6 February 2009 10:25 (sixteen years ago)

segway. It got me for years too :/

― one art, please (Trayce), Friday, 6 February 2009 10:28 (sixteen years ago)

libary (library)

YES. i had a girlfriend that used to give me hell about this - "and you get all huffy about W & nucular, lol!!"

it was cold, man.

― now is the time to winterize your manscape (will), Friday, 6 February 2009 14:06 (sixteen years ago)

You guys are all pronouncing "sandwich" wrong. It's "sammitch."

Anyway, I have a friend who pronounces "compilation" with a long "i." Drives me batty.

― Pancakes Hussein Obama (Pancakes Hackman), Friday, 6 February 2009 14:07 (sixteen years ago)

things i say:

sposed (supposed)
libary (library)
samwitch (sandwitch -- only occasionally)

I wouldn't say any of those are mispronunciations, just normal examples of elision and assimilation. I think lots of people would pronounce those words that way. I would say all of them like that, or possibly 'spose to', 'lie-bree', and 'samwidge'.

― Teh Movable Object (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Friday, 6 February 2009 18:32 (sixteen years ago)

Erm... the first part of that post ^ is a quote from upthread, by the way

― Teh Movable Object (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Friday, 6 February 2009 18:33 (sixteen years ago)

Anyway, I have a friend who pronounces "compilation" with a long "i." Drives me batty.
― Pancakes Hackman

i have this same friend

― Calling All Creeps! (contenderizer), Friday, 6 February 2009 18:36 (sixteen years ago)

Wait, so how ARE you supposed to say segue?

In a twist, I must've heard the word before I ever read it, because I have journal entries from early adolescence in which I spell it "segway."

― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Friday, 6 February 2009 18:45 (sixteen years ago)

I never realized this until someone pointed it out a couple of years ago, but I actually pronounce all four syllables of "comfortable."

― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Friday, 6 February 2009 18:46 (sixteen years ago)

^ this is okay, unless it's comFORTable

i used to say "pahrahdiggum"

― Calling All Creeps! (contenderizer), Friday, 6 February 2009 18:47 (sixteen years ago)

Oh BTW I can't pronounce my own first name correctly -- it's really embarrassing, okay thanks

― nabisco, Friday, 6 February 2009 18:51 (sixteen years ago)

i always pronounce remember memember.
there are prolly others, i have a very lazy tongue.

― ianmaxwell, Friday, 6 February 2009 18:57 (sixteen years ago)

There are mispronunciations that have become oddly ingrained in the corporate culture of my job. It's like 1 person says it incorrectly and then everyone starts making the same mistake.

A couple of examples that come to mind:
peripherals pronounced peripheeals
incidents pronounced incidenses

― Moodles, Friday, 6 February 2009 19:03 (sixteen years ago)

murder

― Jena (who is actually a man) (Jena), Saturday, 7 February 2009 05:11 (sixteen years ago)

san(d)*witch

* the d is there in that it affects the transition from n to w but is unpronounced itself. surely that's right? one thing that has always got on my tits is the southern based media's belief that northern (north-western?) english peepz pronounce the word 'fuck' as ' 'fook'. i mean wtf?

― or something, Saturday, 7 February 2009 06:05 (sixteen years ago)

this week i've forgotten how to say "unequivocally"

― PappaWheelie V, Saturday, 7 February 2009 06:08 (sixteen years ago)

i cannot pronounce the name Robert Rodriguez ever on the first try. thankfully i don't have to say it often.

― circa1916, Saturday, 7 February 2009 11:06 (sixteen years ago)

also "edited it"

― circa1916, Saturday, 7 February 2009 11:07 (sixteen years ago)

I have a friend who can't say pattern (comes out as pat-ren) and it annoys the shit out of me.

My primary school teacher used to do this. She was one of those people who pronounces film as fillum as well. I presumed it was a regional thing.

I can't pronounce my own first name either. Well, I can, but I have two different ways of doing it, and I've never quite settled on which one sounds better.

― ailsa, Saturday, 7 February 2009 11:18 (sixteen years ago)

I knew the word segue as a written word and the word pronounced segway as a thing as well, but i was about 18 before I worked out they were the same thing. I presumably never had cause to write it down/read it out loud before then.

― ailsa, Saturday, 7 February 2009 11:21 (sixteen years ago)

not that anyone's right or wrong on this one, but i once had trouble understanding the name someone meant when she said i needed to talk to "cahr - uhhl." up until then i had only heard "carl" as a one-syllable name.

― forecast from stonehenge (get bent), Saturday, 7 February 2009 12:51 (sixteen years ago)

(i was like "carol? carla? what are you trying to say?")

― forecast from stonehenge (get bent), Saturday, 7 February 2009 12:53 (sixteen years ago)

niche

― pterodactyl, Saturday, 7 February 2009 14:25 (sixteen years ago)

If I'm being lazy, I sometimes say "problem" kinda like "prollum" and "probably" like "probly". Also, nailing all the consonants in "exactly" can be tricky, ha.

(Is pronouncing "comfortable" with 4 syllables really unusual in the Midwest?? I do sometimes say "comftable" but I just thought that was laziness.)

― Sundar, Saturday, 7 February 2009 15:12 (sixteen years ago)

dittz - i always mean to find out the etymology of that word b/c it makes no sense to me that it should be pronounced "segway". for so long i thought people who said "segway" were taking the piss.

― lex pretend, Saturday, 7 February 2009 15:15 (sixteen years ago)

For some reason, I've always said "melk." It's just a lot of effort to go from the downward "M" to the upward "I" when pronouncing it, if that makes sense.

― steve "no neck" yamaguchi (vermonter), Saturday, 7 February 2009 19:20 (sixteen years ago)

i have trouble with "specific". usually comes out something like 'spaz-pacific"

― JAM, DWANGELA, RELLY! (sunny successor), Saturday, 7 February 2009 19:21 (sixteen years ago)

i always mean to find out the etymology of that word b/c it makes no sense to me that it should be pronounced "segway"

wild guess: france

― nabisco, Sunday, 8 February 2009 01:33 (sixteen years ago)

italian, apparently. meaning "it follows" and taken from directions in sheet music.

― joe, Sunday, 8 February 2009 01:59 (sixteen years ago)

"lesser" comes out "lessel" 90% of the time unless i am focused on saying the "er".

― gangsa paradise (tehresa), Sunday, 8 February 2009 02:02 (sixteen years ago)

if french u would say" seh-gyew"
xpost

― gangsa paradise (tehresa), Sunday, 8 February 2009 02:03 (sixteen years ago)

Puyallup, Washington.

― remy bean, Sunday, 8 February 2009 02:15 (sixteen years ago)

four years pass...

"niche"

saying "neesh" seems pretentious. i say "nitch." but now i'm worrying that i invented this and that no one else says it this way?

― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 26 April 2013 17:42 (twelve years ago)

quiche or kitch

― calumerio, Friday, 26 April 2013 17:44 (twelve years ago)

I'm surprised no one has said hamster yet.

― c21m50nh3x460n, Friday, 26 April 2013 17:49 (twelve years ago)

I cant say "statistics". It always comes out "sasiststics"

― frogbs, Friday, 26 April 2013 18:01 (twelve years ago)

i always mix up "sale" and "sell"

― clouds, Friday, 26 April 2013 18:02 (twelve years ago)

but now i'm worrying that i invented this and that no one else says it this way?

I say it this way.

― jaymc, Friday, 26 April 2013 18:02 (twelve years ago)

I noticed only recently that I have problems with 'gallery' that don't correspond to how I pronounce anything else, it comes out like 'garrarry' unless I'm very deliberate with my tongue shape. A single word speech impediment.

― the kind of man who best draws girls' eyeballs (Merdeyeux), Friday, 26 April 2013 18:03 (twelve years ago)

saying "neesh" seems pretentious.

It's a French word. Either say it like it should be pronounced or say alcove. ;)

― He has a lot of baggage (handlers' perks) (Michael White), Friday, 26 April 2013 18:04 (twelve years ago)

i can't pronounce my wife's last name. wtf dude

― frogbs, Friday, 26 April 2013 18:05 (twelve years ago)

I never understood why Americans say nitch
I had trouble saying 'parliamentary' all week

― kinder, Friday, 26 April 2013 18:07 (twelve years ago)

Had the same thing above about 'segue'. Always pronounced it 'seeg'

― Pingu Unchained (dog latin), Friday, 26 April 2013 18:07 (twelve years ago)

wait, it doesn't rhyme with "egg"??

― clouds, Friday, 26 April 2013 18:08 (twelve years ago)

I have trouble with my own first name.

― WilliamC, Friday, 26 April 2013 18:09 (twelve years ago)

it's pronounced 'neitzsche'

― ampersand cooper black (elmo argonaut), Friday, 26 April 2013 18:11 (twelve years ago)

I guess the 'seeg' thing must have come from a mixture of 'vogue' and 'siege' in my mind

― Pingu Unchained (dog latin), Friday, 26 April 2013 18:16 (twelve years ago)

Oh, regarding niche -- boy, do I have stories when I moved here. I say <i>neeeeesh</i>. 'Nitch' sounds so strange to my ear.

Talking about phraseology and moving here, it's funny how some people 'corrected' my English because they thought it was incorrect, when really it was either another way of saying something or <i>they</i> were the ones in the wrong. It was frustrating at first, but I got used to it.

― c21m50nh3x460n, Friday, 26 April 2013 18:18 (twelve years ago)

neitzsche otm

― how's life, Friday, 26 April 2013 18:23 (twelve years ago)

cliché
quiche
crèche
clique
quickie

are a bunch of fuckers.

― ^ sarcasm (ken c), Saturday, 27 April 2013 08:17 (twelve years ago)

albeit

― ^ sarcasm (ken c), Saturday, 27 April 2013 08:19 (twelve years ago)

incentivize always gets me. after the first few syllables i give up and slip into the last bit of "synthesize"

― chilli, Saturday, 27 April 2013 10:12 (twelve years ago)

by the way what's the deal with putting an "L" sound in "both"? is this a common thing?

― chilli, Saturday, 27 April 2013 10:15 (twelve years ago)

Now that I think about it, I have trouble pronouncing my own last name sometimes. It's H0lm, and sometimes I get hung up on the transition from the o to the l.

― how's life, Saturday, 27 April 2013 12:54 (twelve years ago)

by the way what's the deal with putting an "L" sound in "both"? is this a common thing?

Say what?

― Bees Against Racism (Tom D.), Saturday, 27 April 2013 12:57 (twelve years ago)

so it sounds like "bolth." have you never heard this? it's fairly rare where i'm from but i hear it enough that i figure it must be some sort of variation in dialect.

― chilli, Saturday, 27 April 2013 20:49 (twelve years ago)

noticed that I had the same pronunciation issue when I was talking about Mulholland Drive last night.

― how's life, Sunday, 28 April 2013 12:06 (twelve years ago)

"curriculum" and "Lily" cause me serious difficulty (which sucks when you, like I do, live with someone called Lily).

― the Shearer of simulated snowsex etc. (Dwight Yorke), Sunday, 28 April 2013 12:40 (twelve years ago)

Girl at work says 'ibrufen' instead of ibruprofen

― Pingu Unchained (dog latin), Sunday, 28 April 2013 14:04 (twelve years ago)

dog latin says 'ibruprofen' instead of ibuprofen

(sorry)

― Pyotr Ilyich Chai Latte (Paul in Santa Cruz), Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:01 (twelve years ago)

lol snap

― the late great, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:04 (twelve years ago)

scooby doo says "ribruprofen!"

― the late great, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:05 (twelve years ago)

My mum calls it ibrufen as well. Google suggests this is definitely a thing. A WRONG thing.

― ailsa, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:06 (twelve years ago)

'Canada Day'--my brain wants to eliminate the middle 'da', so I end up overemphasizing it and going 'Can-NUH-DUH-day'.

― lazulum, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:08 (twelve years ago)

Puyallup, Washington

You pronounce it 'pwee-AWL-up'. But this is non-obvious. Humptulips is much easier.

― Aimless, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:14 (twelve years ago)

pull a yup?

― the late great, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:19 (twelve years ago)

until recently i had no idea people were saying "segue" when i heard "seg-way".

― sleepingsignal, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:28 (twelve years ago)

i always thought it was c'est guaix

― Aimless, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:30 (twelve years ago)

Speaking of the Northwest, I'm glad I don't live in Oregon because I can't say it. Always comes out "organ" or "or-gon."

― Josefa, Sunday, 28 April 2013 20:29 (twelve years ago)

i can't say "water" normally i can only say it with a gross long island /new jersey accent, "wuh-dda". (shudders) i've tried to correct it.

― Pat Finn, Sunday, 28 April 2013 21:14 (twelve years ago)

maybe it's more like "whugh-der" but still, it's wrong

― Pat Finn, Sunday, 28 April 2013 21:14 (twelve years ago)

I panic inwardly a little when I have to say "schedule" because I can never remember if sked- or shed- is the British pronunciation. I pick at random and worry people will jump to conclusions about my class and/or education from my choice. This is bad with other words with an older/French pronunciation vs a less pedantic pronunciation as neither option seems 100% safe, but I guess that's off-topic-ish.

For some reason "duplicate" I end up saying as doo-plicate so as not to say jew-plicate, even though I can successfully say dyu- without angst in other du- words.

When I say "thanks" the th- sound sometimes gets rushed and I feel like I just said "nanks" instead.

I have a very slow mouth, I think. I trip over lots of words, though usually not consistently, and just crash on and hope nobody noticed.

― susuwatari teenage riot (a passing spacecadet), Sunday, 28 April 2013 21:29 (twelve years ago)

the hardest word of all is PATHS. there is way too much going on there. any word beginning with a P is difficult, especially a P and then certain vowel sounds-- pussy is really hard to say too!-- and anything ending in THS. how do you know how long to say the th and the s?? i feel like i go on forever. paathhhhssssszzz. having to do readings during mass in grade school and the microphone just blowing up in your face on the plosives-- a reading from the aPOSTle PAUL's letter to the philiPPPPPPians or whatever has probably caused some deep anxiety forever.

― ehkarl, Sunday, 28 April 2013 22:00 (twelve years ago)

Oh yeah re "ths", "tenths" is bad. "Tense". "Tennuths". "Tenthuhs-uh". For some reason "months" is easier. We should all go back to saying "tithes" iirc

― susuwatari teenage riot (a passing spacecadet), Sunday, 28 April 2013 22:13 (twelve years ago)

four years pass...

something

― infinity (∞), Wednesday, 31 January 2018 17:40 (seven years ago)

two years pass...

How to pronounce “midwifery”? Is there a US/UK split?

― Time Will Show Leo Weiser (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 1 August 2020 18:00 (five years ago)

Mid WHIFF ur ee in U.S.

I can't say "google." Most people say GOO-gle. But I segment the word weirdly, and catch on the second hard g, and so it comes out GOOG-ull. When I try to say 'googling' it comes out GOOG-ling.

― america's favorite (remy bean), Saturday, 1 August 2020 18:11 (five years ago)

I hear differing opinions from yours, remy,

― Time Will Show Leo Weiser (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 1 August 2020 21:28 (five years ago)

Rural :'(

― Scampidocio (Le Bateau Ivre), Sunday, 2 August 2020 08:46 (five years ago)

When I was a child I always had problems with the 'unvoiced th' /θ/ sound - and that is a problem for an English speaker! And it carried over into adulthood so I sometimes found myself having to think about pronouncing words before I said them - I'm OK now though, sorry, though.

― Sonny Shamrock (Tom D.), Sunday, 2 August 2020 09:34 (five years ago)

I was tongueties as a kid so although it was operated on when I was 6ish I strugged to articulate some words and still have mental blocks on. I tend to refactor sentences around them if I can so "you should" becomes "you ought to", "just because" becomes "mainly because" anything involving the dishwasher avoids the name of the machine itself, I pronounce "schedule" the american way with a hard "k" sound. Lots of other examples I'm no longer even conscious of. ( there's another one... "conscious" becomes "cognisant"!)

― thomasintrouble, Sunday, 2 August 2020 09:49 (five years ago)

https://64.media.tumblr.com/b6b527f27309ea3678704ef206425f26/tumblr_o856abYMZl1u2if3uo1_400.png

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Sunday, 2 August 2020 10:51 (five years ago)

My pronunciation of "Minneapolis" often gets an extra syllable like "Indianapolis"

― Vinnie, Sunday, 2 August 2020 11:02 (five years ago)

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