This time, pronunciation from the Tech Republic blog. OK, I'll get over this top ten thing soon.
Pronunciation fascinates me because I'm English and subject to the whole tomato/tomaydo thing. But Tech Republic says "Right or wrong, people often judge you by the way you pronounce things. Say a word incorrectly and POW — they’ve pegged you as a provincial, poorly educated moron." So here's their list. As usual, my comments under the bold list items.
#1: Realtor
I hear this a lot. People say REALATOR. They bung in an extra a for some reason. How do these things start? Some people pronounce things incorrectly because they are difficult words anyway - I once heard someone say epitome exactly as it is written - and I know that English is a tricky language but I don't know where this one came from at all.
#2: Nuclear
Of course, it was George W who famously pronounced this so badly - NUKERLER. Look at the word, it's made up quite simply, nu-clear. I could understand people getting floccinaucinihilipilification wrong. I know that I certainly would, but nuclear? It's perfectly, um, clear.
#3: Jewelry
Of course, I have an English perspective on this because I, like the rest of the English speaking world excluding America, spell it jewellery. That is easy to pronounce. It's jewel with ry tacked on at the end. Maybe it's the American spelling that gives people problems? There you are then.
#4: Supposedly/supposably
Another one that is more common in the US. I'm not sure that I ever heard it in the UK. But I do know that there's no such word as supposably.
#5: Supposed to/suppose to
Tech Republic say that this is just laziness and I think I'm inclined to agree. I like what they say though "if you’re using the term in a written communication or people will think you were raised in a hollowed-out tree trunk somewhere."
#6: Used to/use to
Exactly the same as number 5.
#7: Anyway/anyways
This drives me nuts. And I hear it (and read it even) so much that I was beginning to think that it's permissible in the States. Thanks to Tech Republic, I now know that it isn't. Good.
#8: February/Febuary
Guilty!
#9: Recur/reoccur
I sometimes thing that some of these strange pronunciations are due to reading. People know that there is such a word as occur. Therefore, if something can occur, they think, it can re-occur. But there again, people pronounce things wrongly sometimes because they have only read the word and not heard it, like my friend above who said epitome not epitomy. So, typical Libran, I sit on the fence as to the cause.
#10: Mischievous/mischievious
It should be MISchievous; with the emphasis being on the mis. My mum always got that wrong so I probably do sometimes too!
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And some of mine to add to the list:
Prolly
Yes, I have seen this written down. Again, lazy speech converts probably to prolly. Awful.
Couple
Also seen in writing - a couple people. No, it's a couple OF people.
Heighth
Yes, I've heard this a lot. The logic seems to be that if you can have a width, you can have a heighth.
Croissant
This is me being English, I'm afraid. But the American pronunciation of croissant is horrible. It's sort of CRASsonT. (Spelling bad pronunciation is very tricky, isn't it?) But really, it should be cwaSON.
Warrantee
So very annoying and it's on TV all the time. It's a sort of mixture of warranty and guarantee. There is not such thing as a warrantee. Well, not in that context. He who warrants is a warantee, just like he who is employed is an employee.
Mirr/terr/err
"I saw myself in the mirr". "We are fighting a war on terr". "I made an err". Again, it's on TV all the time. Mirror! Terror! Error!
Haitch
They mean aitch, when describing the letter H.
Ax
"I am going to ax him". Are you going to ask him a question or chop him into little pieces?
OK, let's see if I can get rid of this list obsession now.
And yes, it IS tomato and not tomaydo.
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