Skip to main content

Funny List of the Most Misprounounced English Words

Image
Milton Ramirez
An interesting list of 51 mispronounced words it's been posted by DailyWritingTips. A the moment we write this post, comments number by 297, from people who have contributed to the list or have made appreciations on the topic. There is a word of caution, though: "I’m writing from an American perspective" says DailyWritingTips. At least one of these is, in our view, a lost cause: #21 the two pronunciations of forte. We’ve never heard any English-speaker use it to mean 'strong point' and pronounce it according to French rules — everyone we’ve ever heard pronounces it the Italian way. If you want to get really picky, the masculine form of the French adjective is 'fort' — if it should be pronounced in English according to French rules, then how come English has adopted its feminine form 'forte'? Reasons are lost in the mists of time — let’s just get on with it! 1. aegis - The ae in this word is pronounced /ee/. Say EE-JIS/, not /ay-jis/. In mythology the “aegis” is associated especially with the goddess Athene. It is her shield with the Gorgon’s head on it. 2. anyway - The problem with this word is not so much pronunciation as the addition of an unnecessary sound. Don’t add an s to make it “anyways.” The word is ANYWAY. 3. archipelago - Because the word is from Greek, the ch is pronounced with a /k/ sound. Say /AR-KI-PEL-A-GO/, not /arch-i-pel-a-go/. 4. arctic - Note the C after the R. Say /ARK-TIK/, not /ar-tik/. 5. accessory - the first C has a “hard” sound. Say /AK-SESS-OR-Y/, not /ass-ess-or-y/. 6. ask - The S comes before the K. Say /ASK/ not /aks/. 7. asterisk - Notice the second S. Say /AS-TER-ISK/, not /as-ter-ik/. 8. athlete - The word has two syllables, not three. Say /ATH-LETE/, not /ath-uh-lete/. 9. barbed wire- Notice the AR in the first syllable. Say /BARBD/, not /bob/. 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/. We don't want to steal the whole post from DWT, so for the next 31 words, you would have to head over the original post. Any contributions this far?
Labels:

Comments

  1. Anonymous3:13 PM

    Nice post! I actually say a couple of these wrong now that you mention it :S

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Cogitate or Contact

Milton Ramirez
You can use the following form to contact the webmaster. Your email will be read, but due to the large numbers of emails received each day a reply may not be prompt. Name: E-mail: * Message: * Please, be assured we welcome guest posts and if you find any problems on our page we will be glad to attend your issues. This form also works for suggesting an article. Thank you for arriving at this point.   If the contact form script is not working for you, please send email using this link instead: Send an email to Webmaster send us an email to tonnetisalove [at] gmail [dot] com
More »

How 'The Times' Strives to Polish Its Contents

Milton Ramirez
You all know how popular and read is The Times The following extract are part of When Spell-Check Can’t Help and adapted from After Deadline, a weekly newsroom critique overseen by Philip B. Corbett, the deputy news editor who is also in charge of The Times’s style manual. Since most writers and bloggers encounter similar troubles, Cogitate thinks these observations might interest all readers, too. The goal, however, is not to chastise, but to point out recurring problems and suggest solutions. "When we stumble over sound-alike words, readers accuse us of turning our editing chores over to a computer program (and not a very sophisticated one). [...] Here’s a reminder from The Times’s style book: reason (n). Both because and why are built into the meaning of reason. So avoid the reason is because and the reason why. Write The reason is that the mayor got more votes and She found out the reason the mayor won. Usually a phrase like reason why the decision was made can be short...
Post a Comment
More »

Decoding Skills

Milton Ramirez
Some help along the way with a short vowel, long vowel, and consonant. Thanks to Mary Kay Linge who in her Reading Tutor points: 1. When one vowel appears between two consonants, the vowel usually says its short sound. 2. If there is an e at the end of a word, the vowel sound is long and the e is not pronounced -it's silent. 3. A vowel before a doubled consonant says its short sound. 4. When two vowels appear together, we usually hear only the first vowel, and it says its long sound(or, "When two vowels go walking, the first does the talking") 5. When a word has only one vowel and it appears at the end of the word, it usually says its long sound. 6. When c or g comes immediately before a,o or u we say its hard sound. 7. When c or g comes immediately before e, i, o or y we say its soft sound. However, there are many exceptions to every one of the rules, and learning them will only come with time and reading experience. No wonder so many struggle!
1 comment
More »