What words are commonly mispronounced by literate people who read them before they heard them?

Question

Quite a few words are mispronounced by under-educated people, or people learning English as a second language. Some words are often mispronounced by quite educated people who read, and began reading high-level literature before they heard the vocabulary spoken.

This can lead to a vocabulary dissonance, occasionally leading to the belief that there are two words (the known spelling of one, and the verbal hearing of the same) where only one exists. Epitome is a common example that springs to mind.

Answer with a word and its proper pronunciation (and potentially, the commonly mistaken punctuation).

3 revs, 2 users 86% · Answer 1 · 2012-02-24 07:28:40Z

up vote 14 down vote

Misled

When I was a kid I thought it was pronounced like a strange combination of "miser" and "tiled". You know, mise-uld!

edited Feb 24 '12 at 7:28

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Neil McGuigan

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Or rhyming with "bristled". – mmyers Sep 1 '10 at 15:16

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My husband recounts that for the longest time, he thought it was myzled, past tense of myzle... – JPmiaou Mar 30 '11 at 4:44

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4 revs, 3 users 57% · Answer 2 · 2012-02-21 03:38:49Z

up vote 14 down vote

sepulcher /ˈsɛpəlkər/

Correct pronunciation is "seh-pul-ker." I first said "seh-puhl-chur."

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:38

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tchrist

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3 revs, 3 users 75% · Answer 3 · 2012-02-21 03:38:08Z

up vote 12 down vote

Boolean /ˈbuːlɪən/

Wrong: boo-LEEN
Right: BOO-lee-en

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:38

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Joe Philllips

4

This is easy to remember when you realise that it's named after George Boole. So it's Boolean as in Herculean. – user774 Feb 5 '11 at 19:12

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@Kit: If your "-lian" suffix sounds the same as it would in the words "mammalian", or "Mongolian", then I think you were pronouncing it correctly. Herculean is pronounced hur-kyuh-lee-uhn or hur-kyoo-lee-uhn, so Boolean is pronounced BOO-lee-uhn – e.James Apr 2 '11 at 0:29

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Herculean is pronounced hur-kyuh-LEE-uhn, so it follows that boolean should be pronounced boo-LEE-uhn. – John Gietzen Jun 7 '11 at 22:06

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3 revs, 3 users 73% · Answer 4 · 2012-02-21 03:29:45Z

up vote 3 down vote

dais /ˈdeɪɪs/, /deɪs/

I always want to pronounce it DAYS. Apparently it's pronounced DIE-us or DAY-us.

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:29

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morganpdx

3 revs, 3 users 80% · Answer 5 · 2012-02-21 03:28:56Z

I'm so late to the party, but I can't resist.

Words with silent letters like subtle, (not sub-tel), receipt, (not reseept).

And others like lettuce (not lett-yuse).

Panacea ( Brit. /ˌpanəˈsɪə/, /ˌpanəˈsiːə/, U.S. /ˌpænəˈsiə/) Besides "pa-ne-see-ya", why can't it be "pe-nay-shuh"? Or "pa-ne-ka" like Q. Boudicea,

Finally, when I was a kid, Don Kwikzote for Don Quixote (kee yo tay)

IPA: /dɒn kiˈhoʊteɪ/, /dõŋ kiˈχote/

2 revs, 2 users 67% · Answer 6 · 2012-02-21 03:21:33Z

up vote 5 down vote

Antipodes /ænˈtɪpədiːz/

Apparently it's not pronounces anti-podes

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:21

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tchrist

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2 revs, 2 users 80% · Answer 7 · 2012-02-21 03:20:20Z

up vote 1 down vote

Accuracy Brit. /ˈakjᵿrəsi/, U.S. /ˈækjərəsi/

When I first learned the word, (in first grade, from a pokemon game,) I thought it was Akyur-uh-see).

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:20

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Moshe

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2 revs, 2 users 80% · Answer 8 · 2012-02-21 03:19:12Z

Corollary /kɒˈrɒlərɪ/, /ˈkɒrələrɪ/

I have always pronounced and heard this word as KOR-uh-lar-ee but recently found out that my wife pronounces it kor-AW-lar-ee (I guess like the Brits, if dictionary.com is to be believed). I thought this might have been from her growing up in a small town, but how often are people saying "corollary" in a small town anyway?? Where she picked up the British pronunciation, I'll never know.

2 revs, 2 users 80% · Answer 9 · 2012-02-21 03:17:27Z

up vote 3 down vote

threshold OED: /ˈθrɛʃəʊld/ /ˈθrɛʃhəʊld/

I always thought it was “thres-hold”, just like “uphold” is “up-hold” and not “uf-old”. Eventually, turned out that “threshold” is one of the most written/spoken-wise consistent words in English.

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:17

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ΤΖΩΤΖΙΟΥ

1

I don't get it; “uf-old”? E.g. Wiktionary says threshold is pronounced /ˈθɹɛʃhəʊld/, just like I thought it would be. – Jonik Nov 24 '10 at 15:06

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According to at least one theory of the etymology, threshold is a composite word (thresh+hold), but if so it isn't pronounced like one. – neil Feb 1 '11 at 12:20

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2 revs, 2 users 80% · Answer 10 · 2012-02-21 03:16:15Z

up vote 4 down vote

Disheveled /dɪˈʃɛvəld/

I always read it as dis-HEAVE-eld. I was wrong.

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:16

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moioci

3 revs, 3 users 67% · Answer 11 · 2012-02-21 03:15:31Z

up vote 5 down vote

Two for me:

parsimony Brit. /ˈpɑːsᵻməni/ , U.S. /ˈpɑrsəˌmoʊni/

boatswain /ˈbəʊtsweɪn/ , usually /ˈbəʊs(ə)n/

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:15

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jbelacqua

2 revs, 2 users 80% · Answer 12 · 2012-02-21 03:13:08Z

up vote 9 down vote

Rapport /ræˈpɔr/

Pronounced ra-PORE, not ra-PORT. French, but not obviously so.

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:13

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res

2 revs, 2 users 77% user2565 · Answer 13 · 2012-02-21 03:11:55Z

up vote 1 down vote

Well, i have some words

Subtle ( Pronounced "suttle") /ˈsʌt(ə)l/
Panache (I have heard that this is pronounced "punash".) /pəˈnæʃ/

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:11

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user2565

2 revs, 2 users 50% · Answer 14 · 2012-02-21 03:10:29Z

up vote 1 down vote

debris /dɛˈbriː/

"Debris" took me a few years to figure out.

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:10

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Potatoswatter

3 revs, 3 users 40% · Answer 15 · 2012-02-21 03:08:15Z

up vote 0 down vote

Ornery /ˈɔrn(ə)ri/

It's pronounced "awn-ree" or "awr-ner-ee". It is not pronounced "or-ner-ee".

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:08

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Cory Klein

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3 revs, 3 users 50% · Answer 16 · 2012-02-21 03:07:11Z

Oxymoron /ˌɒksɪˈmɔːrɒn/

Usually pronounced "ok-See-mawr-On" with the emphasis on the second and fourth syllables (i.e. Oxy plus Moron.) One of my high school English teachers would always mispronounce the word to make it sound ever so much better: ox-Zim-a-ron with the emphasis on the second syllable. This pronunciation makes the word almost poetic and I'll use it to this day but it does very much confuse people.

2 revs, 2 users 80% · Answer 17 · 2012-02-21 03:06:03Z

up vote 0 down vote

Acolyte Brit. /ˈakəlʌɪt/, U.S. /ˈækəˌlaɪt/

In my head, it was "ah-colt". The correct pronunciation is "ah-col-ite".

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:06

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Blorgbeard

2 revs, 2 users 80% · Answer 18 · 2012-02-21 03:04:43Z

up vote 1 down vote

comfortable /ˈkʌmfətəb(ə)l/

It's pronounced “cumftible”, while I as a foreigner (furriner :) thought it was “cumfort-ible”

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:04

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ΤΖΩΤΖΙΟΥ

8

As a native English (US) speaker, I variously say "cum-fort-i-bel" or "cum-fert-i-bel" or "cumf-ter-bel". – Gary Aug 24 '10 at 5:42

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That reminds me of a joke that an Indian(from India) friend used to tell me in an Indian accent. "Are you comfortable (come for table)"? "No, I came for tea". Said in an Indian accent, it's hilarious! – Atømix Aug 25 '10 at 22:01

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@Atømix: and the traffic cop to the recently arrived Far-eastern immigrant, who was nearly run over by a car: “Hey, mister, did you come here to die?” “No! I cahm hear yester-die!” – ΤΖΩΤΖΙΟΥ Aug 26 '10 at 7:38

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@Gary: if any native English speaker says "cum-fort-i-bel" I'll eat my hat. – delete Aug 26 '10 at 13:19

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@Ex-user, sorry for adding fiber to your diet! – Gary Sep 19 '10 at 2:12

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2 revs, 2 users 91% · Answer 19 · 2012-02-21 03:03:12Z

up vote 2 down vote

Quark /kwɑːrk/, /kwɔːrk/

Murray Gellman insisted on kvork pronunciation, while it was supposed to rhyme with 'bark' in the original poem, "Three quarks for Muster Mark!/Sure he hasn't got much of a bark/And sure any he has it's all beside the mark."

Ridiculously, outside english it is pronounced as kvark.

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:03

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Pavel Radzivilovsky

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I've only heard it pronounced "kwark". – Gary Aug 24 '10 at 6:54

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If he wanted it pronounced as "quork", he should've spelled it that way. Given that he didn't, I will continue to say "kwark" (to rhyme with 'bark'). – Marthaª Oct 13 '10 at 3:33

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2 revs, 2 users 80% · Answer 20 · 2012-02-21 03:01:15Z

up vote 3 down vote

Cacophony /kæˈkɒfənɪ/

Until about two years ago, I was pronouncing it Cack-ah-phoney. I finally found out after saying it in front of my friends and they all burst out laughing. :(

edited Feb 21 '12 at 3:01

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BBischof

2 revs, 2 users 67% · Answer 21 · 2012-02-21 02:54:52Z

up vote 5 down vote

Carotid. /kəˈrɒtɪd/ It is a big artery in the neck. Not sure where the stress goes, but it goes in an unnatural place.

edited Feb 21 '12 at 2:54

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MatthewMartin

1

I think it's pronounced "cuh-RAW-tid." I originally thought it was "KAY-row-tid." – kitukwfyer Aug 27 '10 at 20:21

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US: cuh-ROT-tid. Cuh-RAW-tid sounds British to me. – moioci Sep 1 '10 at 3:10

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In RP (British English), it's also cuh-ROT-tid, not cuh-RAW-tid. Amusingly, RAW would seen to most RP speakers to be indicative of a drawl, which would seem decidedly American. – wyatt Sep 26 '10 at 13:58

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I intuitively want to pronounce it as "carroted" which I suppose is what happens when you have just had a lot of carrots thrown at you. – glenatron Nov 30 '10 at 23:19

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2 revs, 2 users 89% · Answer 22 · 2012-02-21 02:53:30Z

up vote 8 down vote

Paradigm |par-uh-dahym| (OED: Brit. /ˈparədʌɪm/, U.S. /ˈpɛrəˌdaɪm/)

I've winced a couple times when people have said |par-uh-di-jum|

edited Feb 21 '12 at 2:53

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Matt

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Or Para-dig'em :) – Benjol Sep 8 '10 at 6:37

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"par-uh-dahym" seems a strange pronunciation to me. I say "pare-ah-dime". – Gary Sep 19 '10 at 2:40

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Just use the paradigmatic pronunciation. – jbelacqua Apr 3 '11 at 7:23

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And what is the paradigmatic pronunciation of 'paradigmatic'? – Jonathan Leffler May 6 '11 at 6:23

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2 revs, 2 users 80% Obsidian · Answer 23 · 2012-02-21 02:49:37Z

up vote 10 down vote

Queue /kjuː/

I've never known how to pronounce this. On the rare occasions when it comes up in conversation, I generally say "Qu... K... Line."

edited Feb 21 '12 at 2:49

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Obsidian

11

FYI: "Queue" is a homophone with "cue". I believe "queue" is vastly more common than "line" in British English. – res Nov 23 '10 at 14:33

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We British do love a good queue. – glenatron Nov 24 '10 at 15:34

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2 revs, 2 users 80% user362 · Answer 24 · 2012-02-21 02:47:09Z

up vote 12 down vote

Behemoth. (OED: /bɪˈhiːməθ/, /-ɔːθ/)

I always stress the first syllable (BEE-heh-moth), even after hearing it with the stress on the second syllable (buh-HEE-muth). I just can't get seem to get past it.

edited Feb 21 '12 at 2:47

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user362

7

The correct pronunciation is BEH-heh-moth as far as I'm concerned. – Noldorin Aug 27 '10 at 15:20

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This is a Hebrew word, and in Hebrew, the last syllable is accented, therefore b'heh-MOTH. Yet, many Henrew words are pronounced differently in English. – malach Sep 17 '10 at 12:24

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By the way, the word is pronounced beh-heh-MOT. – wilhelmtell Nov 23 '10 at 0:09

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@wilhelmtell: Maybe in Hebrew, but not in English - dictionaries list various pronunciations, but the "th" is invariably a soft "th" not a "t". – psmears Apr 1 '11 at 20:36

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5 revs, 5 users 33% · Answer 25 · 2012-02-21 02:28:58Z

up vote 39 down vote

Ennui /ɑ̃nɥi/, /ɒnˈwiː/

Imagine my surprise at learning that it's pronounced "on-wi" and not "eh-new-ee"!!

edited Feb 21 '12 at 2:28

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Jonik

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Oh...I can imagine it really, really well. – kitukwfyer Aug 26 '10 at 2:21

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You mean it's not pronounced eh-new-ee? – Marthaª Oct 13 '10 at 3:29

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Isn't it "on-wee"? – MGOwen Jan 11 '11 at 2:32

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I originally thought it was "in-you-eye". – Joey Adams Jan 17 '11 at 2:21

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@MGOwen: this is the father-bother merge. For many US speakers, “ahn” and “on” represent the same vowel. For me (and presumably you) they’re completely different — so “ahn-wi” is accurate for them, though incorrect for us. Editing it to “on”, though, since that’s I believe accurate for everybody… – PLL Apr 2 '11 at 21:13

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4 revs, 3 users 78% · Answer 26 · 2012-02-21 02:22:43Z

up vote 42 down vote

Awry /əˈraɪ/

Wrong: AWE-ree

Right: uh-RY

Omnipotent /ɒmˈnɪpət(ə)nt/

Wrong: Omni-Potent

Right: omNIPPOtent (think "hippo")

edited Feb 21 '12 at 2:22

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Tonza

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I still do this... – kitukwfyer Aug 25 '10 at 21:12

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common English pattern: stress goes on the antepenultimate syllable – moioci Sep 1 '10 at 3:01

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Omnipotent comes from omni (all) and potent (from posse in latin). I understand people who say omni-potent. There's no etymologic reason to say om-nippo-tent :s – Elenaher Oct 13 '10 at 8:25

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4 revs, 3 users 64% · Answer 27 · 2012-01-24 22:52:02Z

up vote 1 down vote

"Minuscule" is often mispronounced and misspelled as "miniscule".

"Err" is often mispronounced as "air".

"Long-lived" and "short-lived" are too often pronounced with a short I sound. It means long or short "life", not as in the verb "to live".

edited Jan 24 '12 at 22:52

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Tim

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The difference between "minuscule" and "miniscule" is so, ahem, minuscule as to make no difference. (Sorry, had to say it.) Dunno if I've ever heard "air" for "err". As for long- or short-lived, both pronunciations are now considered correct, and more people use the short-i than the long-i. (It also makes sense that way - English often uses the past tense of verbs as adjectives. Borrowed time, linked cause, forwarded email...) – Marthaª Nov 19 '10 at 17:00

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@Martha, Everyone where I come from (Hanover, Virginia) that I heard say err pronounced it as air. If I've ever heard it pronounced differently, I didn't recognize it or don't remember. – kitukwfyer Nov 19 '10 at 20:21

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@Tim, (1) etymology has never governed pronunciation. (See many of the examples in this topic.) And despite what the French think, language change is not automatically equivalent to language ruination. (2) I know that the correct spelling of minuscule is with two u's, but the pronunciation difference between an unstressed i and an unstressed u is so small as to be nonexistent. Sorry if I wasn't clear. :) – Marthaª Nov 19 '10 at 20:32

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Where else does one EVER pronounce u as a short i? It is just plain wrong. – Tim Nov 19 '10 at 20:53

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What is the "correct" pronunciation of "Err" if not "air"? In Canada, we say "to air is human". – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Nov 25 '10 at 14:32

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2 revs, 2 users 80% · Answer 28 · 2011-10-14 09:29:55Z

up vote 1 down vote

Perhaps it's just me, but I pronounced bedraggled with two syllables ("bed" + "raggled") for years before I made the connection: "be" + "draggled".

I had always pictured torn bedclothes...!

edited Oct 14 '11 at 9:29

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shipr

2 revs, 2 users 67% · Answer 29 · 2011-10-14 09:24:12Z

"Cleansing" has a short "e" in the first syllable, so it rhymes with "hens." A friend in English pronounced it quite logically with a long "e" just like in the word "clean." We all kept quiet for a few minutes, expecting him to realise his mistake. We were, however, forced to take him to task. ;)

2 revs, 2 users 67% · Answer 30 · 2011-07-30 18:43:43Z

up vote 41 down vote

Greenwich is "grenitch", not "green-witch".

edited Jul 30 '11 at 18:43

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Picturepocket

20

Well, there's a million British placenames that are traps for the unwary. Leicester is another famous one, but I remember there was once a dance troupe called "The Cholmondeleys and the Featherstonehaughs" (pronounced, The Chumleys and the Fanshaws")! – thesunneversets Nov 19 '10 at 1:10

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worcestershire is another good one – jk. Jan 11 '11 at 13:43

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Good lord people. How in the heck do you go from Featherstonehaughs to Fanshaw?!?! – morganpdx Apr 1 '11 at 23:06

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@morganpdx - it's deliberate. It lets people know if you are really in 'our set' or if you just read the name. – mgb Aug 13 '11 at 17:30

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What words are commonly mispronounced by literate people who read them before they heard them?

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What words are commonly mispronounced by literate people who read them before they heard them?

locked by waiwai933♦ Oct 18 '11 at 5:05

116 Answers

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