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Let’s face it. Most of us weren’t born great orators who can step onto a barrel and captivate the whole square with their speech like Cicero.
In reality, we can barely pronounce words like isthmus, myriad and… just wait until you get to "otorhinolaryngologist." But some people are doing everyone a public service and suggesting whole new pronunciations for some very popular words.
From Wayne pronounced like Kanye to baseline pronounced like vaseline, I sign up for every one of them. I suspect that Merriam-Webster’s dictionary won’t approve, but hey, language is a living thing and we may as well have some fun with it!
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There are tons of words in the English language that do make our heads spin now and then if we have to pronounce them. Luckily, these are usually not ones we use often.
For example, the word "defibrillator" is an example of a linguistic phenomenon in which similar consonants or vowels in a word become less alike, e.g. defibrillator becoming "defibyulator." Blame your mispronunciation on them.
Another confusing word for many is "February," which is a case of dissimilation. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, "The y heard from many speakers is not an intrusion but rather a common pronunciation of the vowel U after a consonant, as in January and annual."
If you want to get your tongue twisted, try saying "antidisestablishmentarianism" out loud. For many, it’s the longest word they know with 28 letters in total and 13 syllables.
However, the longest word in most English dictionaries is “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis,” which refers to a lung disease contracted from the inhalation of very fine silica particles, specifically from a volcano.
#7
#8
Eva the Ravenclaw Bookworm📚💖 5 years ago
If I'm not mustachen, I sense a lot of pun potential here
#14
Dave In MD 5 years ago
Well, Nike like Adidas is pronounced differently by us Americans than by everyone else.
#16
Melissa Meaux 5 years ago
you have to squeeze your thumb, middle, and index fingers together and shake them slightly when saying it that way
#18
#19
Dragonfruit'nrollerskates 5 years ago
*Horse gallops through a field of roses* *Random lady in flowing dress waves some fabric around to the Halo song* (soft male voice whispers) *its Horsé*
#26
Meyer Weinstock 5 years ago
The 'gua' in regional Spanish is pronounced 'whah'...so it's already there...
#31
#37
Yeah, you heard 5 years ago
Thins would make so mych more sense if they were actually spelled the same. But Dwayne is not spelled Dwanye
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What do you think ?
Eva the Ravenclaw Bookworm📚💖 5 years ago
If languages were a story, English would be one giant plot hole.
Monika Soffronow 5 years ago (edited)
Few other languages have such seemingly haphazard orthography as English does, and I pity all dyslexic children having to learn how to read in English. But what a language! There is such an insanely large vocabulary in English because it so readily borrows and incorporates words from other languages, and most of the words juxtaposed in the post do indeed come from different languages. Personally, I very much prefer to call it 'guacamole' instead of 'mashed alligator pear salad'. One of my favourite loanwords is 'window'. I bet that not many English speakers realize just how poetic this humble old Norse loanword is. and it may change how you see your house or apartment once you process the fact that it has walls, doors, and eyes to the wind.
Rissie 5 years ago
The size of the English vocabulary is hardly unique though :) I believe many countries try to hold the claim for largest dictionary. The Institute for the Dutch language has a dictionary online with words from 1500-1976 with 400,000 words in it that are explained. I found something about Korean having a dictionary with an oddly specific number of 1,100,373 words. It's more what we use in daily life I guess. English is a great language, that's for sure.
Load More Replies...
Raine Soo 5 years ago (edited)
I have no idea why my original comment about 'Keeping up Appearances' Bucket vs Bouquet is hidden. Any suggestions?
Rissie 5 years ago
I've had a few pop-ups about community guidelines while posting very ordinary comments resulting in a hidden comment...
Load More Replies...
Yugan Talovich 5 years ago
My teacher, Mr Ed Parker, was from Hawaii. He told about the tourists asking about the "pee pay lee nay" on the sign. Locals explained, We pronounce that "pipeline."
Raine Soo 5 years ago
About 20 years ago, there was a British comedy program called 'Keeping Up Appearances' about an overbearing and snobbish woman, who wanted to raise her station in life. Her last name was Bucket. But, she kept telling people that it was pronounced 'Bouquet' because it sounded classier. She had a son named Tarquin. Tarquin! It was a great show.
Mike Rodrick 5 years ago
What EYE want to no is HOW did Arkansaw become Arkansas? If you were from a non-English speaking country, how long would it take you to learn our idiotic language? Especially given that our OWN CITIZENS have so many problems with it!
Demi Zwaan 5 years ago
Well, someone’s upset about people making fun of English pronunciations... he’s downvoting every comment.
Laurie Ostergaard-Overbey 5 years ago
are you people not listening to 'our president'? we are using new pronouncations for EVERYTHING
Edwin Lesperance 5 years ago
In Hawai`i tourists mispronounce so many Hawaiian words. My favorite example: Kamehameha (Ka-meha-meha) the chief who united the islands, is frequently pronounced Kame-hame-ha. It's fun to be on the phone with a mainlander when they try to pronounce my street name and town. Hawaiian has only 12 letters, less than half of English. It's not that hard.
Sebastian Greenholtz 5 years ago
The entire premise of this list is completely oblivious of linguistics and etymological routes by which words evolve. The pronunciation of words goes along with the root words and languages that the words were borrow and/or notified from.
Parmeisan 5 years ago
My husband is going to love these, and I'm going to regret showing him this for the rest of my life (but I cannot stomach the guilt of keeping such a massive secret!). He's been mispronouncing certain things forever because he gets a kick out of it. "Croissant" = "croysent", "Star Trek" = "Stir Trak", etc. EVERY TIME. Of course he loves this part of the movie Megamind. (And now I'm thinking meega-minned - oh god it finally broke me...)
glowworm2 5 years ago
I actually have this problem. If I've never heard a word spoken before, I tend to mispronounce it/say it the way I think it's pronounced. My late mother used to tease me. "Where are you from?"
Monika Soffronow 5 years ago
Please don't worry about it. We all do. And the same word may very well be pronounced in different ways, depending on which country one is in or even on the dialect spoken within a country.
Load More Replies...
Dilly Millandry 5 years ago
Tear as in to rip something is like bear. Pear the fruit rhymes with bear... Best not to try and hope for sense!
Load More Replies...
Danielle Renee 5 years ago
this is why the English language is so hard to learn...it makes no sense!
Julie 5 years ago (edited)
There are certain words I purposely pronounce different because I prefer to. I say warsh instead of wash because of Loretta Lynn. I say sangwitch instead of sandwich because of an Italian man I know. I say ch-hoo-a-hoo-a instead of Chihuahua because of Les Nesman from WKRP in Cincinnati. I have more but you get the point.
Demi Zwaan 5 years ago
And most people have no idea how that stuff works. I was never taught this in school either, so all those weird letters that are supposed to describe the pronunciation mean nothing to me.
Load More Replies... Meyer Weinstock 5 years ago (edited)
...or people under the age of 35, who were not taught English as prior generations learned it, regardless of which Anglophone system under which they learned... -retired k-12 English teacher & history professor
Load More Replies... Eva the Ravenclaw Bookworm📚💖 5 years ago
If languages were a story, English would be one giant plot hole.
Monika Soffronow 5 years ago (edited)
Few other languages have such seemingly haphazard orthography as English does, and I pity all dyslexic children having to learn how to read in English. But what a language! There is such an insanely large vocabulary in English because it so readily borrows and incorporates words from other languages, and most of the words juxtaposed in the post do indeed come from different languages. Personally, I very much prefer to call it 'guacamole' instead of 'mashed alligator pear salad'. One of my favourite loanwords is 'window'. I bet that not many English speakers realize just how poetic this humble old Norse loanword is. and it may change how you see your house or apartment once you process the fact that it has walls, doors, and eyes to the wind.
Rissie 5 years ago
The size of the English vocabulary is hardly unique though :) I believe many countries try to hold the claim for largest dictionary. The Institute for the Dutch language has a dictionary online with words from 1500-1976 with 400,000 words in it that are explained. I found something about Korean having a dictionary with an oddly specific number of 1,100,373 words. It's more what we use in daily life I guess. English is a great language, that's for sure.
Load More Replies... Raine Soo 5 years ago (edited)
I have no idea why my original comment about 'Keeping up Appearances' Bucket vs Bouquet is hidden. Any suggestions?
Rissie 5 years ago
I've had a few pop-ups about community guidelines while posting very ordinary comments resulting in a hidden comment...
Load More Replies... Yugan Talovich 5 years ago
My teacher, Mr Ed Parker, was from Hawaii. He told about the tourists asking about the "pee pay lee nay" on the sign. Locals explained, We pronounce that "pipeline."
Raine Soo 5 years ago
About 20 years ago, there was a British comedy program called 'Keeping Up Appearances' about an overbearing and snobbish woman, who wanted to raise her station in life. Her last name was Bucket. But, she kept telling people that it was pronounced 'Bouquet' because it sounded classier. She had a son named Tarquin. Tarquin! It was a great show.
Mike Rodrick 5 years ago
What EYE want to no is HOW did Arkansaw become Arkansas? If you were from a non-English speaking country, how long would it take you to learn our idiotic language? Especially given that our OWN CITIZENS have so many problems with it!
Demi Zwaan 5 years ago
Well, someone’s upset about people making fun of English pronunciations... he’s downvoting every comment.
Laurie Ostergaard-Overbey 5 years ago
are you people not listening to 'our president'? we are using new pronouncations for EVERYTHING
Edwin Lesperance 5 years ago
In Hawai`i tourists mispronounce so many Hawaiian words. My favorite example: Kamehameha (Ka-meha-meha) the chief who united the islands, is frequently pronounced Kame-hame-ha. It's fun to be on the phone with a mainlander when they try to pronounce my street name and town. Hawaiian has only 12 letters, less than half of English. It's not that hard.
Sebastian Greenholtz 5 years ago
The entire premise of this list is completely oblivious of linguistics and etymological routes by which words evolve. The pronunciation of words goes along with the root words and languages that the words were borrow and/or notified from.
Parmeisan 5 years ago
My husband is going to love these, and I'm going to regret showing him this for the rest of my life (but I cannot stomach the guilt of keeping such a massive secret!). He's been mispronouncing certain things forever because he gets a kick out of it. "Croissant" = "croysent", "Star Trek" = "Stir Trak", etc. EVERY TIME. Of course he loves this part of the movie Megamind. (And now I'm thinking meega-minned - oh god it finally broke me...)
glowworm2 5 years ago
I actually have this problem. If I've never heard a word spoken before, I tend to mispronounce it/say it the way I think it's pronounced. My late mother used to tease me. "Where are you from?"
Monika Soffronow 5 years ago
Please don't worry about it. We all do. And the same word may very well be pronounced in different ways, depending on which country one is in or even on the dialect spoken within a country.
Load More Replies... Dilly Millandry 5 years ago
Tear as in to rip something is like bear. Pear the fruit rhymes with bear... Best not to try and hope for sense!
Load More Replies... Danielle Renee 5 years ago
this is why the English language is so hard to learn...it makes no sense!
Julie 5 years ago (edited)
There are certain words I purposely pronounce different because I prefer to. I say warsh instead of wash because of Loretta Lynn. I say sangwitch instead of sandwich because of an Italian man I know. I say ch-hoo-a-hoo-a instead of Chihuahua because of Les Nesman from WKRP in Cincinnati. I have more but you get the point.
Demi Zwaan 5 years ago
And most people have no idea how that stuff works. I was never taught this in school either, so all those weird letters that are supposed to describe the pronunciation mean nothing to me.
Load More Replies... Meyer Weinstock 5 years ago (edited)
...or people under the age of 35, who were not taught English as prior generations learned it, regardless of which Anglophone system under which they learned... -retired k-12 English teacher & history professor
Load More Replies... You May Like 98 Funny Last Words That Are Pure Comedy Gold 50 Funny Final Words People Would Say If They Had The Choice, As Shared In This Online Thread 30 Wonderfully Weird English Terms You Might Not Know
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