How Is Your Pronunciation?

[LazyGun]

Independent today running an article on 10 commonly mispronounced words.

How well did you guys do?

Must admit to surprise at finding I was guilty of mispronouncing 2 of the words - apparently my pronunciation of bruschetta and often would be wrong ;)

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/threequarters-of-britons-are-saying-it-wrong--the-top-ten-most-common-mispronunciations-9184517.html

[emmie]

one, that was cos it's a foreign word, innit

[grasscarp]

Well I got 10 out of 10, but as I am married to an Italian and once worked, believe it or not, in the BBC Pronunciation Unit - I would damn well hope so!

[jim360]

I messed up Bruschetta because I never use it. Sch can be "sh" in German (e.g. the Schlieffen Plan, or schule (shool-uh)), or "skuh" in English (scholastic= "skolastic" etc), so it's hard to say. Otherwise I knew them all, but in part that's because I've been corrected over things like "Ely" (I had "ellie" for a while I imagine).

[Arksided]

Not too bad, only Ely and Often.

[stewey]

"Often " is "offen"?...I got nine correct; however, I'm still going to pronounce it "often".

[jeffa]

Who on earth pronounces sherbert as "sher-bur"? As for pronouncing the "t" in often, what's wrong with that?

I'm with them on broos-KET-ta and es-PRESS-oh. The one I hear a lot these days is people who say chee-a-BAR-ta instead of cha-BAT-ta for ciabatta.

[sandyRoe]

When I heard how 'Chalmodleigh' is pronounced I decided I'd just drawl on in broad Belfastese.

[LazyGun]

Does seem Bruschetta and Often are the words at issue. I will continue to pronounce often as oft-en rather than the suggested offen :)

But I will change my pronunciation of Bruschetta.

[Old_Geezer]

If folk want something pronounced in a certain way then they should ensure the spelling is such that it will ensure "correct" pronunciation. Otherwise it isn’t being mispronounced, it is being misspelt causing undesired correct pronounciation.

[Ken4155]

Apparently i always - not offen -mispronounce just the one from that list. And i will, no doubt, continue to do so unless i soffen up in my latter years.

As for mispronouncing words that aren't even English................................

[stewey]

Offen, it's just a case of putting the emPHAsis on the inCORRect sylLABLE.

[The Builder]

This from Fowler's English Usage .......

"...the pronunciation of the t in often is practised by two oddly consorted classes—the academic speakers who affect a more precise enunciation than their neighbours…& the uneasy half-literates who like to prove that they can spell….”

Anyway, we all know it's really .......... awff'n ;o)

[emmie]

sandy, is this what you meant

Cholmondeley
Pronunciation: chum-lee
chum - rhymes with SUM, RUM
lee - rhymes with SEE

[shoota]

How is my pronunciation?

Perfect, thank you.

It's the rest of the world that is wrong......

[LazyGun]

@ Builder One of those classes mentioned from your Fowlers reference describes me to a T - I leave it to your imagination to decide which one :)

[Peter Pedant]

Grassie you should call for your job back
the Beeb's pronunciation is terrible

The hacks all read an -ology degree in something and it is obviously not English.

Have you noticed Allah, now has an 'r' on the end as in
Aller and the Prophet ?

respite like despite

oh God the list goes on .....

[The Builder]

:o)

[DocHH]

Some attribute the following to George Bernard Shaw.

How do you pronounce "GHOTI"? The answer is FISH

GH = F as in ROUGH
O =I as in WOMEN
TI = SH as in NATION.

How wonderful is our language. Think about ROUGH, then add THO to make THOROUGH. Lots of other examlples.

[Peter Pedant]

Yeah Evelyn Waugh who er lived there was the only one about to pronounce Taunton correctly - as /tarnton/

Most people 'automatically correct' the obvious western burr.

[Baldric]

9/10 due to an 'often' made mistake, who the heck says 'offen?
Ok with the rest, but then I am a Southener!
;o)