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2/15/2007

Top 25 words that make you look like an idiot when you mispronounce them

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who mispronounces a word or says a common phrase wrong? I have, and for me (even though it sounds pompous to say) if I don't know the person well, my impression of their intelligence is lowered at least a little bit. Taken from the Top 100 most commonly mispronounced words list, these are the top 25 that can make you look like an idiot if you say them wrong. Digg this you would like to help out your friend who still says fustrated instead of frustrated.


Portrays Stupidity Portrays Intelligence Comment

A

Old-timer's diseaseAlzheimer's diseaseWhile it is a disease of old-timers, it is named for the German neurologist, Dr. Alois Alzheimer.
AntarticAntarctic Just think of an arc of ants (an ant arc) and that should help you keep the [c] in the pronunciation of this word.
aksask This mispronunciation has been around for so long (over 1,000 years) that linguist Mark Aronoff thinks we should cherish it as a part of our linguistic heritage. Most of us would give the axe to "aks."
bidnessbusinessThe change of [s] to [d] before [n] is spreading throughout the US and when the unaccented [I] drops from this word the [s] finds itself in the same environment as in "isn't" and "wasn't."
a blessing in the skiesa blessing in disguiseThis phrase is no blessing if it comes from the skies. (Pronounce it correctly and help maintain the disguise.)
card sharkcardsharpCardsharps probably won't eat you alive, though they are adept at cutting your purse strings.
duck tapeduct tapeDucks very rarely need taping though you may not know that ducts always do—to keep air from escaping through the cracks in them.
excapeescapeThe good news is, if you say "excape," you've mastered the prefix ex- because its meaning does fit this word. The bad news is, you don't use this prefix on "escape."
expressoespressoWhile I can't express my love for espresso enough, this word was borrowed from Italian well after the Latin prefix ex- had developed into es-.
exceteraet ceteraLatin for "and" (et) "the rest" (cetera) are actually two words that probably should be written separately.
expeciallyespeciallyThings especial are usually not expected, so don't confuse these words.
flounderfounderSince it is unlikely that a boat would founder on a flounder, we should distinguish the verb from the fish as spelling suggests.
foilagefoliageHere is another case of metathesis, place-switching of sounds. Remember, the [i] comes after the [l], as in related "folio."
For all intensive purposesFor all intents and purposesThe younger generation is mispronouncing this phrase so intensively that it has become popular both as a mispronunciation and misspelling.
FustratedFrustratedThis mispronunciation is perhaps the most frustrating. Why do so many people forget the R?
interpretateinterpretThis error results from the back-formation of "interpretate" from "interpretation." But back formation isn't needed; we already have "interpret." (See also 'orientate')
libarylibraryAs mentioned before, English speakers dislike two [r]s in the same word. However, we have to buck up and pronounce them all.
nucularnuclear The British and Australians find the American repetition of the [u] between the [k] and [l] quaintly amusing. Good reason to get it right.
orientateorientAnother pointless back-formation. We don't need this mispronunciation from "orientation" when we already have "orient." (See also "interpretate")
(probly, prolly)probably Haplology is the dropping of one of two identical syllables such as the [ob] and [ab] in this word, usually the result of fast speech. Slow down and pronounce the whole word for maximum clarity and to reduce your chances of misspelling the word.
prostrateprostateThough a pain in the prostate may leave a man prostrate, the gland contains no [r].
sosesoThe phrase "so as" has been reduced to a single word "sose" even when it is not called for. "Sose I can go" should be simply "so I can go." By the way, the same applies to alls, as in "Alls I want is to never hear 'alls' again."
spadespayYou can have your dog spayed but so long as she is a good dog, please don't spade her.
supposablysupposedlyAdding –ly to participles is rarely possible, so some people try to avoid it altogether. You can't avoid it here.
waysway"I have a ways to go" should be "I have a way to go." The article "a" does not fit well with a plural.






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14 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Flounder is a legitimate verb, as well as a fish.

9:02 PM  
Anonymous NancyJoy said...

Strawberry, blueberry, liberry. Whatcher prollem?

10:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

it's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's a blessing in the skies!

8:33 PM  
Anonymous AntiQuest said...

Duck tape is the correct pronunciation/name, it was after a patent. The "Duct" name is a backwards application, from a miss pronounciation of the duck.

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