TML will be on vacation from July 13-Aug. 4. If anyone would like to fill in, please e-mail me and we will arrange it. Thank you.
Welcome to The Mad Logophile. Here, we explore words; their origins, evolution, usage. Words are alive; they are born, they change and, sometimes, they die. They are our principal tool for communicating with one another. There are one million words in the English language yet only an estimated 171,476 words are in common current use. As a logophile, I enjoy discovering new words, using them and learning about their origins.
Everyone has a word they can't seem to pronounce. Mine is hegemony (okay, amongst mine...). There is a preferred way to say everything and sometimes a secondary pronunciation as well. I have had broadcast training so I'm a bit of a stickler, especially when it comes to lazy announcers and news casters. Want to make me scream? Say "hunnerd" or "tuhmahrah" instead of "hundred" and "tomorrow." Or if you really want to make my head explode, pronounce the "t" in "often."
The following words are some of the hundreds that are commonly mispronounced (and a few uncommon ones). The preferred pronunciation is from Webster's Dictionary, so take it up with them if you disagree :D
►There is no such thing as an assessory, no matter what the salesperson tells you. Pronounce the double "c" in accessory like "ks."
►Acumen can be pronounced one of two ways: ak-yu-men or ak-yew-men. The former is the traditional one, however, reflecting its latin origin.
►Aegis, as in sponsorship or auspices, is pronounced ee-jis, not ay-jis.
►Be sure to pronounce the hard "c" in Arctic; ahrk-tik. Unless you're talking about the overshoes.
►When you look at a globe and find two antipodes, be sure to say an-tip-uh-deez. Where the prefix anti- is added to a Greek or Latin word, the accent is on its second syllable (anticipate, antipathy).
►Is saying "ax" rather than ask is a regional thing? It should be ASK. The transposing of the "s" and "k" in incorrect.
►Always pronounce the second "s" in asterisk; as-ter-isk, not as-ter-ik or -ix. Unless you mean the cartoon character.
►Don't make the mistake of adding a syllable to athlete. It is ath-leet, not ath-uh-leet.
►In origin, Babel and babble are not related. Babel is the Hebrew version of the city we call Babylon. The traditional pronunciation is bay-buhl but bab-uhl is accepted due to the assumption of the relation to the onomatopoetic babble.
►The next time you find something common or trite, don't shy away from calling it banal just because you are afraid of mispronouncing it. Say buh-nahl or buh-nal, bay-nuhl is accepted but is... well, banal.
►If you are talking about the god Bacchus, be sure to say his name correctly; bak-us, not bok-us.
►Balsamic is pronounced bawl-sam-ik. Don’t say bawl-som-ik no matter what you may hear on the Food Network.
►A barbiturate is a sedative or narcotic drug and is pronounced bahr-bich-er-it not bar-bit-yoo-ate.
►Unless you are a sculler or mariner you might not know that boatswain is pronounced bow-sun.
►In the movie Mystery Men, Janeanne Garafalo's character is accepted into the group when she pronounces cadre correctly. While cah-druh is the French way of saying it (and it is a French word), cah-dray is accepted as an alternate. Sounds weird to my ear, though.
►That slick gambler is cardsharp, not a card shark.
►The guys who always show up are the cavalry (kav-uhl-ree). Watch the placement of the "l" or you'll be talking about the hill where Jesus was crucified.
►Unless you are referring to the basketball team, Celtic is pronounced with a hard "c" sound; Kel-tik.
►That chair you lounge in on your deck is a chaise longue. Because of the activity (or lack there of) to which it is dedicated, it's often called a chaise lounge. But that's a transposition of the "n" and "g." Say shays-long and you will not raise eyebrows among more sophisticated company. Or avoid the whole problem and say simply chaise.
►Chimera may look like a French word but it's not. So don't pronounce the "ch" as "sh"; ki-mere-uh is correct.
►Those Irish rings with the hands and heart are so cool but I can never say the word claddagh right. In case I'm not alone, it's claw-duh.
►If you see the word comptroller, you may be tempted to pronounce the "mp." Well, it's acceptable but it's not proper. Say it like controller.
►Comfortable should be pronounced with three syllables; kuhmf-ter-buhl. Using 4 syllables (kuhm-fer-tuh-buhl) is the secondary pronunciation.
►In the places where they can catch and eat the conch, that word is pronounce konk. Saying the "ch" is possibly influenced by the French word for shell-shaped, conche, which is said with the final "sh" sound. But if you're offered some deep-fried conch, you might get a snicker if you do this.
►Congratulations is correctly pronounced kun-grach-u-lay-shinz, not kun-graj-uh-lay-shinz.
►A cornet (kawr-net) is a brass instrument and is often mixed up with coronet (kawr-uh-net), a small crown.
►The mercy blow or "stoke of mercy" is the coup de grâce. It is often written and spoken as coup de gras, which means "stroke of fat," because of the similarity to mardi gras or foie gras. Be sure to pronounce it as koo-duh-gras, with that final soft "s" sound.
►Recently, the word cumin has come to be pronounced kyoo-min or koo-min. It is traditionally pronounced kum-in. All are acceptable.
►Another word from French is débâcle, which has shed its accent marks since its Anglicization. It is pronounced duh-bock-uhl or duh-back-uhl, with the accent on the second syllable.
►Demeter is the Greek goddess of the grain Her name should be pronounced di-mee-tur rather than the way I used to say it (dem-it-er).
►Desultory might appear to be pronounced like olfactory, perfunctory or refectory but it's not. Stress the first syllable; des-uhl-tor-ee.
►Readers of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books know that Sgt. Detritus is pronounced duh-trite-us.
►There are only 2 syllables in dilate (dye-late) not three. Don't say dye-uh-late.
►Students of Jewish history know this; Diaspora is pronounced dye-as-puh-ruh.
►Be sure to pronounce the "ph" in diphtheria as an "f" sound; dif-theer-ee-uh.
►It's a disaster to mispronounce disastrous: di-zas-tres, not di-zas-ter-es. Only three syllables.
►The traditional pronunciation of dour still exists side-by-side with the newer one. Rhyme it with either tour or sour and you are right.
►Drowned has one syllable. The pronunciation drown-ded is incorrect.
►Electoral should properly be pronounced e-lek-tor-al, not e-lek-tor-al.
►Epoch sounds a lot like epic but the latter has a short "i" and the former, a schwa. Say eh-pahk or, the unapproved but widely used ee-pok.
►That coffee drink is espresso with an "s" (es-press-oh), not an "x" (ex-press-oh).
►Etcetera does not have an "x" in it. It's et-set-er-a, not ek-set-er-a.
►Experiment is pronounced ek-sper-uh-mint or ek-spair-uh-mint. Do not say ek-speer-uh-mint, as there is no spear in experiment.
►February should be pronounced feb-roo-er-ee. Feb-yoo‑er-ee is the dissimilated pronunciation and is considered standard but secondary.
►The word flutist was first recorded in 1603, and floo-tist has been and still is the only acceptable pronunciation for it. The variant flautist (flow-tist) was adapted from the Italian flautista so unless you have some special reason for preferring Italian spellings and pronunciations, stick with the English one, which is both traditional and unaffected.
►God forbid that you should say forbade incorrectly. Due to the spelling with a final "e" it's assumed that the "a" is a long one. While this is acceptable, the primary pronunciation is for-bad. Or you can just use forbid as the past tense.
►A forte (fort) is a strong point. The pronunciation for-tay is a result of confusion with the musical term. When speaking of a talent or skill, this is a one-syllable word.
►I have a fascination with the geisha of Japan. Despite Hank Locklin's song, it is correctly pronounced gay-shah.
►Genre is pronounced with a soft "g" sound; zahn-ruh, not jahn-ruh.
►If you like gnocchi, be sure to say it right; nyoh-kee.
►Or maybe, like me, you prefer a gyro. I don't care what they say in NYC, it's a Greek food and should be pronounced as the Greek do; yee-ro(s). When I hear jye-ro or jee-roh, I want to scream!
►Of course, you may want to harass me about that. If so, be sure to say heh-ras. Heh-rus is the older, more traditional pronunciation but is archaic today.
►It would be heinous to say hee-nis or hee-nee-us rather than the correct hay-nis.
►Hierarchy has 4 syllables, not three; hi-uh-ar-kee not hi-ar-kee.
►The word I have trouble with is hegemony. Oh sure, now I say it right - huh-jem-uh-nee - but that's because I have worked for a week on this diary.
►The word hovel, as in a small shack, should be pronounced huh-vel to rhyme with shovel.
►Hundred is pronounced hun-drid. Don’t transpose the "r" and "e" and say hunderd. Also avoid the even more awful huh-nurd unless you are trying to drive people crazy.
►Many times, I have been accused of being impious. That doesn't bother me but at least say it right; im-pye-us. Though im-pee-us is the more traditional pronunciation, it is considered archaic now.
►To say Iraq correctly, say ih-rohk or ih-rak. There is no eye in Iraq.
►Irony is pronounced eye-ruh-nee (like the name Ira + knee). Don’t say eye-ur-nee.
►Jaguar is jag-wahr. The "u" is pronounced as a "w." Don’t say jag-you-are unless you are singing Pink Floyd's Welcome To The Machine. There are only two syllables, not three.
►Something jejune is 1) dull or 2) lacking in maturity. Either way, it is pronounced jeh-joon. It is not French so the "j" is not a soft one.
►Jewel(s) is pronounced joo-wuul(z); don’t say jool(Z). Jewel(s) is a two-syllable word, not just one.
►Kudos to you if you know that this is not a plural word, but singular. There is no kudo. It should be pronounced koo-doze, kyoo-doze being the secondary.
►If you want to lambaste someone, be sure you say lam-bayst, not lam-bast or you may be the one lambasted.
►Library is properly pronounced ly-brer-ee. Don’t say ly-ber-ee, as if the word were spelled liberry. It is a place of books, not berries.
►If you are loath to do something, you don't necessarily loathe it. Just remember... the "th" in loath is unvoiced as in cloth; lowth.
►Even if one is long-lived, they may not realized that it is pronounced long lye-ved.
►Machination is correctly pronounced mak-i-nay-shin. Do not say mash-i-nay-shin. The "ch" should be pronounced like "k," as in Machiavelli, not as in machine.
►Do you like maraschino cherries? If you're like me and the answer is yes, be sure to pronounce it mare-uh-skee-no. It's an Italian word and the "sch" has a hard "k" sound.
►Marquis is pronounced differently depending on whether you are talking about a French or a British nobleman. The French say mahr-kee, while the British say mahr-kwis. I'm not judging, just reporting.
►Masonry often has an extra syllable added to it. It is only 3 syllables; may-suhn-ree not may-suhn-air-ee.
►You may stress mayonnaise either on the first or last syllable; may-uh-nayz or may-uh-nayz but take care to give the word three syllables. Don’t say may-nayz.
►Mauve is pronounced with a long "o"; mohv, not mawve.
►Medieval should be pronounced in four syllables; mee-dee-ee-vul or med-ee-ee-vul. Especially avoid saying mid-ee-vul, which manages also to mispronounce the first syllable. Got that, Tarantino?
►Merchandise (noun and verb) is mur-chin-dyz, not mur-chin-dys. It should rhyme with size, not dice.
►Mischievous is another word that gets an extra syllable. Its mis-che-vus, not mis-chee-vee-us
►It would be really awful to mispronounce mispronunciation. Say mis-pro-nun-see-ay-shun, not mis-pro-nown-see-ay-shun.
►Mores, as in customs or useages, is a two-syllable word. You can say either mohr-ayz or mohr-eez, but never morz.
►Nausea is naw-zee-uh or naw-shuh; both are correct. Nauseate naw-zee-ate and nauseous naw-shus are two other forms of the word. Current sources list from three to five variants for each of these words so it should be easy to settle on one.
►In 1856, the bones of a prehistoric man were discovered in the Neander valley in Germany. The creature was named Neanderthal after the place it was found. The German word for valley, thal, has a hard "t." So this is properly pronounced Nee-an-der-tall. The use of the soft "th" is acceptable but not by most scientists.
►The long history of niche (nich) has yielded two alternative pronunciations, neesh and nish. The latter is eccentric, the former is pseudo-French, and both are best avoided.
►This one is a favorite... nuclear is pronounced noo-klee-ur, not noo-kew-lur. Anyone in the possession of physiologically normal organs of speech and at least half a brain is capable of pronouncing nuclear correctly.
►Another word that often receives an extra syllable is nuptial. It is only 2 syllables; nup-shul, not nup-shoo-al.
►The ob- in obscure is properly pronounced like "ab-" in about; uhb-skyuur. Saying ahb-skyuur with the overly audible "ob-" is fastidious to a fault.
►Some speakers think it sounds more uh-fish-ul to say oh-fish-ul, with the initial "o" long. This is an overpronunciation. Officially.
►Often is correctly pronounced awf-in. Do not pronounce the "t." You don’t want a "t" in here any more than in soften.
►Your ophthalmologist would prefer you to say it correctly; off-thuhl-mol-uh-jist. Be sure to get the "l" in there and to pronounce the "ph" as an "f."
►Not so much a mispronunciation as it is a useless back-formation of orientation, is orientate. The correct, and perfectly fine word, is orient (or-ee-int).
►We seldom use the word oeuvre outside of discussions about fine arts. But when we do, we should attempt to say the French vowel œ and not just urve. Try saying an "e" as in let, with your lips in the same position as saying "o" as in low. Takes practice but you'll sound so very elitist.
►The proper place to emphasize parental is on the second syllable; puh-ren-tul. Do not say par-en-tul.
►As a clergy person, I had pastoral training. So I learned to say it correctly; past-or-ul, just like pastor+al.
►Pathos is pronounced pay-thahs (with a soft "s" sound) or pay-thaws (with a soft "z" sound). The first pronunciation has the greater authority and is recommended.
►Patriot (pay-tree-it) has seen current American dictionaries recognize the variant pay-tree-aht. I've never heard anyone use this pronunciation, which strikes some as ridiculously exaggerated and pretentious, like saying id-ee-aht.
►If you like pińa coladas.... then you should order it with the correct pronunciation. The tilde over the "n" means it has an "ny" sound; pee-nya coh-lah-da.
►Do you have a plethora of pińatas? If you do, then be sure to say pleh-thor-uh or El Guapo might get angry.
►When something is portentous, don't be afraid. Just say por-ten-tus.
►Something suitable to drink is potable
(poh-tuh-buhl) not pawt-uh-buhl. I guess the latter would be something one can cook in a pot?
►Don't misplace the first "r" in prerogative: pre-rog-a-tive, not per-rog-a-tive.
►Same letter, different placement with peremptory: say per-emp-tuh-ree, not pre-emp-tuh-ree.
►Though you use primer before you paint, it is not descended from the same place as primer, the word for a textbook. The former comes from the Latin primus, "first." The latter comes from a Medieval word for a prayerbook. When painting, you say prye-mer. When teaching, it's prim-er.
►The plural of process is processes. But how do you say the darn thing? The stress is on the first syllable; pros-es-eeze or pros-es-ez. Pro-sess-eez is the British pronunciation.
►Pronunciation has a nun in it, not a noun; pruh-nuhn-see-ey-shuh not pro-nown-see-ey-shun.
►Quite often mixed-up with prostate, prostrate means to lie face-down. Watch where you place that "r" or you will get some strange looks especially if you are female.
►We may want to call certain people puerile, but we'd better say it right if we do. The first syllable is pronounced so as to rhyme with pure. The second is a schwa or a long "i": pure-uhl or pure-ayl. Saying por-uhl is just wrong.
►Those of us who live on the coasts may recognize that quay is pronounced either kee or kay.
►Do not say ray-bid, say rab-id. Rabid and rabies have different pronunciations. Rabid properly has a short "a", as in rabbit. Rabies has a long "a" as in ray.
►Realtor has only 2 syllables: reel-ter. Do not say reel-uh-tur.
►Repeat should be pronounced with the stress on the second syllable; ri-peet.
►In the same manner, reprise is accented on the second syllable; rep-reez.
►Respite is just the opposite. It should always be pronounced stressing the first syllable; res-pit.
►Like me, you may enjoy ribald jokes. It's hard to tell from the spelling tat this is from a French word, but it is. The first syllable is stressed; rib-uld.
►Though there is an "l" in the word, salve is not pronounced with it. Just say sav.
►The Republican Party could be said to be undergoing a crisis of schism. They are not the first nor will they be the last. But hopefully they will say it correctly; skih-zem. This pronunciation supplanted the original sih-zem. But saying shiz-um is right out!
►Semi (sem-ee) rhymes with Emmy, not eye. Unless you mean the big rig, of course. Otherwise, as a prefix, it should always be semmy.
►Sherbet often gets an extra "r." It's pronounced shur-bit, not shur-bert.
►Spontaneity should be pronounced spahn-tuh-nee-i-tee, not spahn-tuh-nay-i-tee.
►Spurious should have a "y" placed softly after the "sp"; spyoor-ee-us, not spur-ee-us.
►Supposedly often loses its 'd" sound to a "b" sound. Its su-pos-ed-lee, not su-pos-ab-lee.
►Saying supremacist might make us cringe but saying it wrong is even worse. It is 4 syllables; suh-prem-uh-sist, not suh-prem-ist.
►Alright all you bulls out there, you probably know this but Taurus is pronounced tor-us not taw-rus..
►Take care to pronounce the "k" sound in technical; tek-ni-kuul. Careless speakers say tet-ni-kuul.
►Watch out for the tendency to place an extra "n" in tenet. It is ten-it, not ten-unt.
►Properly, theater has three syllables (thee-uh-tur), but when pronounced quickly in the flow of conversation it often comes out in two, theer-tur. That is okay but avoid the horribly affected mispronunciation thee-ay-tur.
►All you college elitists know this but we less-educated types might not have got the singular thesis (thee-sis) and plural theses (thee-seez) right. But we will now.
►Like athlete, triathlon often gets an extra syllable. The correct pronunciation is try-ath-lon, not try-ath-a-lon.
►When saying tribunal, pronounce tri- like try and stress the second syllable, never the first (try-byoo-nul). The noun tribune is properly accented on the first syllable, trib-yoon, but when it occurs in the names of newspapers one often hears second-syllable stress.
►I've been reading an interesting book on Progressive Rock in which the word timbre is used quite often. I was tempted to say tim-buhr but found that was wrong. It is properly pronounced tahm-buhr so as to rhyme with amber. It's a good book, BTW.
►The eternal question... is it yur-ah-nus or yur-ay-nus? The majority of astronomers pronounce Uranus with the accent on the first syllable. It causes a lot less giggling, anyway.
►Unless you are British, vase rhymes with case and lace or with haze (vays or vayz). The pronunciations vahz and vawz are British and sound affected here in Murika.
►In the word vehement stress the first syllable, never the second, and don’t pronounce the "h" (vee-uh-mint). The same goes for the adverb vehemently: first-syllable stress, silent "h."
►Remember on The Beverly Hillbillies when Granny would ring the dinner bell and yell that "vittles is ready!"? Well, when you see that spelled correctly, it is victuals. But it's pronounced exactly as Granny did; vit-uhls.
►Another title that we might see and be unsure of is Viscount. It looks like discount, right? It's kind of like Marquis, so maybe the "s" is pronounced, right? No, as usual, the rules never hold. This is pronounced vie-count.
►When you see the word wont, you may think that there's a missing apostrophe. But wont means inclination, as in "that is his wont." The preferred way to say this is wohnt, with a long "o." But both wunt and want are acceptable. You can always be sure though, that you won't please those who wonted a different pronunciation of wont than yours.
►Come next Christmas, remember that wassail rhymes with fossil and jostle (wahs’l).
►At the risk of sounding like Stewie Griffin, whet actually is pronounced with a "hwa" sound.
►Wintry, the proper spelling, is pronounced with two syllables, not three; win-tree, not win-tur-ee.
►Xenophobia is properly pronounced zen-uh-foh-bee-uh, not zee-nuh-foh-bee-uh.
►You know those pseudo-Medieval signs you see; Ye Olde Shoppe? Well, ye should actually be pronounced exactly the same as the. Really.
►I am a bit zealous about the correct way to say that. It is zel-us. Do not say zee-lus.
►Those of us who know about the astrological aspects of the heavens know that zodiacal is pronounced zoh-dye-uh-kuul. The accent is on the second syllable. The mispronunciation zoh-dee-ak-ul is neither in the dictionaries nor in the stars.
►When studying zoology, don't think of the zoo except as a place to see the animals. Zoh-ol-oh-gee is the correct pronunciation, not zew-ol-oh-gee.
There are many regionalisms that people will insist are correct. As I said up top, take it up with Webster's, I'm only the piano player. ;-)
So, what words trip you up? What mispronunciations drive you batty?
EDIT: Wow, the Rec List! Thanks so much!! I'm honored :)