The Unpronouncable

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or words that no one seems to be able to pronounce.

I've known loads of people who say "crips" instead of "crisps"

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 08:35 (twenty-three years ago)

dnepropetrovsk!

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 08:38 (twenty-three years ago)

I can't say desks or disks or any "sks" words.

― Miss Laura, Wednesday, 23 October 2002 08:40 (twenty-three years ago)

VULNERABLE

SIXTH

hm, MANUFACTURE

people are not not able. they just. don't BOTHER.

― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 08:41 (twenty-three years ago)

The American Secretary of State can't pronounce my first name properly.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 08:44 (twenty-three years ago)

I have never been able to say Charles without it sounding like Giles, and Frank has always become Frink.

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 08:46 (twenty-three years ago)

and wasps is a hella hard word to get out.

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 08:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Laura, does that mean you say 'floppy dicks' instead of 'floppy disks'?

― Madchen, Wednesday, 23 October 2002 08:49 (twenty-three years ago)

I can't actually say "the". Seriously. I say "duh".

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 08:50 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm still having trouble with Minnellium. I mean Millennium.

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 08:58 (twenty-three years ago)

Heh, maybe I should! It'd be better than "floppy discus" which is the closest to what ti sounds like.

― Miss Laura, Wednesday, 23 October 2002 09:03 (twenty-three years ago)

There is a small town in west yorkshire pronounced variously: Slaithewait, Slaithwait, Slathwaite, or locally Slow'it.

― stevo (stevo), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 09:33 (twenty-three years ago)

if I ever ask anyone "Do you have any mints?" they always think I'm asking for mince.

― andy, Wednesday, 23 October 2002 11:02 (twenty-three years ago)

Nucular.

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 11:08 (twenty-three years ago)

i hear so many people who struggle with the word 'statistics'. the most common variation i hear is 'stasstistics'.

― angelo (angelo), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 11:16 (twenty-three years ago)

'Asthma'
'Anemone'

My mother is a statistician & I have kind of a hard time pronouncing her occupation (not to mention when I was at school having to translate that and 'agricultural economist' into various foreign languages). Bum. Have also inherited a very slight stutter from my dad - when agitated I tend to repeat words or syllables. When I was a wee kiddy I pronounced 'hyacinth' as 'hyckanith'. Heh.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 11:24 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't like the way some people say 'Artic' instead of 'Arctic'.

Perhaps I should just get a life.

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 11:38 (twenty-three years ago)

declarative (i tripped up on this yesterday)

― Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 11:42 (twenty-three years ago)

quesillada (not even sure if I can spell it). I really like them, but always get fear when trying to order them.

― Anna (Anna), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 11:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Lots of people say 'pacifically' for 'specifically' and deny that they do it.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 11:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Ah, yes, I hate that.

[This is where Nick points out that I do it too]

― Anna (Anna), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:00 (twenty-three years ago)

'Jewellery' - or maybe the second syllable of 'Jewel' is supposed to get squashed out of existence when it gets generalised?
I say/hear it pronounced like 'Jool-ray', but shouldn't it be 'Joo-el-ray'? (unless you're in MES mode: joo-ell-err-ay-aah)

― Ray M (rdmanston), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:06 (twenty-three years ago)

No, I don't think you do.

'Aks' (axe?) for 'Ask' is a weird one. It seems to be mainly a West Indian thing, like it's not really a mispronunciation but a peculiarity of dialect.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:08 (twenty-three years ago)

'big floppy donkey dicks'

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:08 (twenty-three years ago)

No, I don't think you do. = response to Anna.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:10 (twenty-three years ago)

Another C J bugbear = people who pronounce "th" as "v", as in 'togever'

and people who say "free" instead of "three"

(I think I need to go and lie down in a darkened room)

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:15 (twenty-three years ago)

Once I saw a CD case type thing and the packaging said stuff like "holds up to 25 compact dicks! keep all your compact dicks in it", but that was just odd.

― Elisabeth (Elisabeth), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Dour - I thought for years it was 'dow-er' rather than 'doo-er'.

Wrath - In Britain at least, it's supposed to be pronounced 'wroth', not as it looks.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:19 (twenty-three years ago)

The problem arises when you read words you haven't heard spoken, or just not made the connection. For years I pronounced "awry" as awe-ree (in fact I secretly still think that my poronounciation makes a more satisfying onomatopaeia).

― Matt (Matt), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Library - ends up coming out like libray!

― Fuzzy Wuzzy (Madam Plinky), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:28 (twenty-three years ago)

and it's FebRuary, not FebUary.

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:29 (twenty-three years ago)

Tribunal, not Tribuneral

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Scalextric, not scalectrix.

My mother can't say 'thief': she says 'fieth'.

I never get too irritated by this kind of thing though. Lucky for her.

― Tim (Tim), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:36 (twenty-three years ago)

i had a friend who always pronounced the word 'usual' with an 'n' preceding it. he would say "i nusually go on holiday to llandudno" for example.

― michael wells (michael w.), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Suits. Apparently I say syoots, and apparently that's wrong, but i've never understood what's right. People always think I mean sofas.

Plus just about every word relating to medieval architecture - I've known them since I was 14 but only ever heard a few said out loud by anyone whose opinion I trust. Lierne! Tierceron! Piscina! It;s getting quite embarrasing now I use the buggers in lectures.

― jon (jon), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:43 (twenty-three years ago)

syoots

No Jon - that's correct. It's just a bit posh. Common folk say 'sooots'.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:49 (twenty-three years ago)

jalapeno.

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:23 (twenty-three years ago)

My dad, being employed by the US government in a military capacity to keep an eye out for them damn Commies, often spoke of the Soviet Union in the course of his work. My mom and I always why he pronounced it 'sahviet,' though...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Always wondered, that is. Yes yes. (My own glitch -- forgetting words in posts.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Seck-er-tree seck-you-tree instead of secretary.

― Madchen, Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:17 (twenty-three years ago)

I also have a friend who insists on saying 'brockly' instead of 'broccoli'

― Madchen, Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:19 (twenty-three years ago)

I think dropping of awkward extra vowels in 'february', 'secretary' and 'broccoli' isn't really mispronunciation - it's just effort saving.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:20 (twenty-three years ago)

New-cue-ler for nuclear. ARGH.
I'm very tempted to write "aluminum" but that would be an unnecessary geography war.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:22 (twenty-three years ago)

It's not slovenliness, N. - it's mishearing the ENTIRE WORLD pronouncing broccoli with an o in the middle apart from her. She must be deaf. I think she genuinely doesn't realise it's meant to be pronounced like that.

― Madchen, Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:23 (twenty-three years ago)

I also had a health teacher who pronounced the words "larynx" and "pharynx" as "lar-nicks" and "far-nicks". This is the same man who almost sent me to the principal's office for arguing with him after he told the class that a broken arm was a disease.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:27 (twenty-three years ago)

i think anna wanted to say 'quesadilla' before, not 'quesillada'.
unless it's something you cannot eat.

― joan vich (joan vich), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:31 (twenty-three years ago)

I know someone who says "nuthink" for "nothing".

I have trouble pronouncing "decisions". It always comes out "deshishons".

It's ironic that pronunciation is so often mispronounced (and indeed spelt) "pronounciation".

What's the deal with Wednesday? I always say it "Wensday", but I have noticed quite a few ppl calling it "Weddunsday".

My girlfriend is always criticizing me for pronouncing "parsnip" and "parsley" "parznip" and "parzley", rather than "passnip" and "passley" (southern English variant of "pass"). I used to tell her that it was a London thing, seeing as my mother does the same but now I am seriously beginning to wonder.

Is there really any difference between the pronunciation of "golf" and "gulf"? I can't detect any, but some ppl vehemently insist that there is.

An odd thing occurred to me recently: you know the difference between British & American pronunciations of "Tuesday", "news" etc, with the Americans saying it as it's spelt and the English saying "Tyuesday" and "nyews"? Well, does this mean that to an American, a cow and a cat say the same thing?

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:43 (twenty-three years ago)

My mum's name is Margaret and she goes nuts if people miss out the middle 'a' (ie Magrit) which is very common in Glasweigien slang.

― Plinky (Plinky), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh my god, my spelling has gone to hell. I should be flogged!

― Plinky (Plinky), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:52 (twenty-three years ago)

My Massachusetts-born mom still pronounces California without the r, like "Cali-phone-ya". Some crazy old New England thing. Pepperidge Fahm Remembers. Although my Connecticut-born dad would always add an r to Washington, like "War-shington". And squash was always "squarsh".

― Arthur (Arthur), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:58 (twenty-three years ago)

girl, i di-int know you could get down like that!

― Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 15:01 (twenty-three years ago)

Joan you are right. I told you I couldn't even spell it. How do you say it?

― Anna (Anna), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 15:22 (twenty-three years ago)

i once heard someone pronounce 'anime' as if it was a french word rhyming with 'seem'

(hi!)

i've also had to spell out the word 'cow' to two separate people because they couldn't understand what i was saying. crazy.

andy

― koogs, Wednesday, 23 October 2002 15:26 (twenty-three years ago)

Geography War Alert: accent skirmishes are breaking out.....

― Ray M (rdmanston), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 15:29 (twenty-three years ago)

Is there really any difference between the pronunciation of "golf" and "gulf"? I can't detect any, but some ppl vehemently insist that there is.

Err.. where are you from Mark? Golf/Gulf - they are totally different. Unless you are John Major. Are you John Major? You are a very bad mang.

I don't think I've ever pronounced the second 'a' in Margaret in my life. Maybe I've been a native Glasgwegian all my life.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 15:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Next you'll be telling me the first 'i' in aspirin isn't silent.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 15:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Anna: KAY-SAH-DEE-YAH.

I like Quesillada, though -- sounds like a major figure in the Inquisition.

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 15:50 (twenty-three years ago)

People who say "fustrated" instead of "frustrated" drive me up the wall.

― mark p (Mark P), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 15:52 (twenty-three years ago)

Why?

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 16:01 (twenty-three years ago)

Space Clown Alert, Sean!

I remember reading a review of Jobraith's first album in Rolling Stone when I was a teen. They quoted lyrics from the song "I'maman". I thought it was pronounced like a French word: "ee-mahmahn". It seemed more classy and true fairy-ish that way: "I'maman/so I'm an elegant man/I'maman/Clara Bowes and open toes/are what I am" I was so disappointed when I finally got the album and he was just singing "I'm a man", like Chicago or something.

This isn't the point of the thread, I know, sorry.

― Arthur (Arthur), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 16:12 (twenty-three years ago)

I struggle with anything French (or ex-French) with an R sound late on. I can't do that subtle, understated R - I do a rolling, yokellish West Country R. I dodge with things like "body of work" when speaking!

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 19:46 (twenty-three years ago)

Haha, I totally say "brockly."
What about "Squrl" instead of "Squirrel" ? Also, I have a hard time getting out "Antarctica."

― Mandee, Wednesday, 23 October 2002 20:10 (twenty-three years ago)

I can't do French Rs either, so I hate saying croissant. I stuck to "pense" half the time at GCSE because "crois" would just sound like "quoi" most of the time and at best would sound like saying "quoi" while attempting to dislodge a hairball. (Then again perhaps that is actually how it's supposed to sound.)

I don't think my Rs are that yokellish, in my head they seem neither rolled nor burry and thus no use for attempting to speak other languages, but maybe I'm wrong. I think my vowels do tend towards "oi" or schwas, though. A while ago someone told me my Ls were really weird and I still don't know how an L can possibly sound weird.

Mark, practically everyone at my primary school said "nuffink". Playground fights would usually start "I en't done nuffink!" The glottal-stop-heavy local version of "buttercup" annoyed me even then, though.

Ack, my officemate pronounces a word with a really affected "aw" in the middle, I have to try quite hard not to growl audibly when he does it, but I can't remember what it is. It's worse than "awff" though because I think it's an A sound and there is no reason to do that. Ew!

("Asked" is also an awkward bugger, it always turns into "arsed" for me, one day I'm going to get laughed at for that. I don't think anyone's ever commented on it yet, though. Speaking of such things, I hope jel calls "wasps" "wopses", metathesis = aceness. Wasn't it once the other way round, or was it just an equally acceptable form like "aks" for "ask"?)

God, this is too long. Squirl is ace though. I delight in saying it with the closest I can manage to the aforementioned west-country Rs.

― Rebecca (reb), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 20:35 (twenty-three years ago)

Thank you Nabisco, thank you.

― Anna (Anna), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 20:49 (twenty-three years ago)

People who say escape as if it's ecks-cape.

Orange - orANGE vs. orINGE vs. ORNGE?

― Kim (Kim), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 23:46 (twenty-three years ago)

Mirror - mirrOR vs. mirrER vs. MEERrer vs. MEERor vs. MEER

― Kim (Kim), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 23:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Do people say ORNGE outside Boards of Canada records?

(Your search - rdevine orange bd oh sn - did not match any documents, cusses cusses)

― Rebecca (reb), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 23:57 (twenty-three years ago)

punkin.

golf=gawlf. gulf=guhlf.

a friend of mine says hyoosh when he tries to say huge.

― RJG (RJG), Thursday, 24 October 2002 00:03 (twenty-three years ago)

Scads of people say "ornge!" It's a whatchamacalit.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 24 October 2002 01:23 (twenty-three years ago)

An epidemic.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 24 October 2002 01:24 (twenty-three years ago)

N. has just officially blown my mind with his "dour" revelation. Both pronunciations are acceptable according to my sources but indeed, "doo-er" is preferred. I am but an ant in N.'s anthill.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 24 October 2002 01:36 (twenty-three years ago)

It's so cruel that "lisps" is hard to say.

― Miss Laura, Thursday, 24 October 2002 06:45 (twenty-three years ago)

People say ornge in Glasgow. Squrl is great! I will definitely make an exception for squrl. But Mandee, I will chop your head off if you ever say brockly in my presence.

― Madchen (Madchen), Thursday, 24 October 2002 07:18 (twenty-three years ago)

when i try to say children it comes out CHIL*D*REN -

where the * s stand for this horrible splooshy guttural sound, like a whale falling into a swimming pool. I have a low palate I think.

and jeremy, my roommate, i call him Germee. but that's just cuz he's durtee.

― gabriel (gabe), Thursday, 24 October 2002 07:44 (twenty-three years ago)

If we're including foreign languages, I cannot get my mouth around the Austrian "-erl" suffix without sounding like a strangling Dutchman. I can say "Erlkönig" perfectly well, however, and get told that it's just like that, only I need to leave off the "König". As if it were that easy, liebe Schwiegermuaterlkönig.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Thursday, 24 October 2002 09:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Wanted to slap someone who always said cal-GAR-EE instead of CAL-gry.
Montreal is supposed to be like "sun" and "fun" not "gone".

(but I say Teronno which is just as bad)

― Miss Laura, Thursday, 24 October 2002 10:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Half my class at school used to write 'mirrow' for 'mirror' following very northern pronunciation. 'Do-wer' is also the more common form in Yorks (where it is of course indispensable). I can't say 'cardomom pobs'. I didn't used to like 'f'/'v' for 'th' but Nelly changed my mind (viz 'down Souf' in Dilemma).

― Ellie (Ellie), Thursday, 24 October 2002 10:06 (twenty-three years ago)

Connecticut. i kept pronouncing it like "connect" ee "cut". it sounds so british when you say that. Arkansas i only found out about 5 years ago is not "are" and "kansas" but arcunsaw, and i never noticed this in the "arkansas chugabug" on Whacky Races either.

― Alan (Alan), Thursday, 24 October 2002 10:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Utah: is youtar acceptible, or should it be youtaw?

― Madchen (Madchen), Thursday, 24 October 2002 10:38 (twenty-three years ago)

I can't say 'celebrity', 'particularly', 'crisps' and probably other words. I am sure there is some exciting phonetic basis for not being able to pronounce things but I'm not very good at that sort of thing.

― alix (alix), Thursday, 24 October 2002 10:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Ever since the video technology lecturer last year repeatedly went on about the "uman eye", I've been unable to pronounce human without saying it like him. I think he managed to reprogram me.

― Graham (graham), Thursday, 24 October 2002 13:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Madchen: thankfully in the U.S. sticking extraneous Rs at the end of words just because they end with A sounds is never acceptable. (It's only okay in the middle, cf when you "warsh" your car.)

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 24 October 2002 13:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Ah, whoops, that's meant to be a silent R, like in UK English. Sorry. What I meant is, is it youtah or youtaw?

― Madchen (Madchen), Thursday, 24 October 2002 14:02 (twenty-three years ago)

My friend says skellington for skeleton and Topnem for Tottenham. I on the other hand am perfect.

― Mckenzie (Mckenzie), Thursday, 24 October 2002 14:03 (twenty-three years ago)

It's annoying when people say 'skellington'. I think it's supposed to be a cute affectation.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 24 October 2002 14:19 (twenty-three years ago)

skellington is the correct pronunciation, fools. like frankingstein.

― Alan (Alan), Thursday, 24 October 2002 14:21 (twenty-three years ago)

Topnem Hopsterz! (Er, don't mind me.)

I always said "dowr" until someone on the TV news did so fairly recently and my mother grumbled about how in her day it was always "doo-er". Then again it sounds all wrong to me. She also complains about people not pronouncing "trait" as if it were French, but I feel silly pronouncing it the same as "tray" so rather than changing my pronunciation I just decided never to say either word again.

Eek, Fowler's (Burchfield edition) says of "dour" that "rhyming with tour not sour" is "the only standard pronunciation in Britain... but [dowr (I can't remember ASCII IPA)] is common in AmE and Australia". It says my mother is right on "trait" too, though it concedes the t is often pronounced even over here. Sigh. Why does my mother always have to be right?

I love Fowler's; any time I get any hassle for "misspelt" online I feel compelled to type up the entire -t/-ed section, which usually causes my opponents to die of boredom. If it doesn't the first time then I have all three editions so I have plenty of ammunition for my obnoxious pedantry. (You'd think that with all this I might punctuate a bit better, but no, alas.)

― Rebecca (reb), Thursday, 24 October 2002 14:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Madchen: I'm not sure how strongly we even differentiate between "youtah" and "youtaw," but basically it should be more like a clean "youtah" and yet in practice Texas's slight extending influence over the southwest leads a lot of people to drawl it into a slight tawww.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:35 (twenty-three years ago)

In Texas they spell it YEWW-TAHWL. The L is silent.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:36 (twenty-three years ago)

I pronounce 'mirror' like 'muRRRR', unless I force myself not to.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 24 October 2002 18:35 (twenty-three years ago)

Martin Skidmore covering 'I'll be your mirror' on ILX compilation CDR NOW!

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 24 October 2002 18:46 (twenty-three years ago)

I pronounce it more as "mirra", I think

― C J (C J), Thursday, 24 October 2002 18:56 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually the only two singers I've ever known who are in my league, i.e. intolerable, both post here - Andrew L and Tim B. There was talk once about our teaming up to do versions of nice easy vocally undemanding covers like of the Beach Boys and Temptations.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 24 October 2002 20:07 (twenty-three years ago)

(yay a suck cess full thread!)

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 24 October 2002 20:16 (twenty-three years ago)

Rebecca, that book turns me on too. I read it on the toilet.

― Eyeball Kicks (Eyeball Kicks), Friday, 25 October 2002 02:52 (twenty-three years ago)

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