(other than the word “incorrectly” – I see you)

A friend just posted on Facebook that he was recently astonished to discover that “‘caveat’ is pronounced ‘cav-ee-at’, and not ‘cav-eet'”. I think this may be a common affliction of people who are well read or who ‘escaped’ into books when they were younger.

The first (fairly lame) example of my own I thought of was “inventory”. I learned the word inventory from 1980s text adventures, I read it as “in-VENT-ry” – a near-homonym with infantry. Today I hear people on YouTube and podcasts saying “IN-vnt-ory” and whilst I know they’re right it makes me twitch.

What have you got?

My wife keeps saying olcut instead of occult. She has a degree in English.

Not quite the same but, in rugby, I always thought a term used was the “game line” whilst it’s actually the “gain line” …… which is quite obvious really!

Not pronunciation as such, but I always read hyperbole as hyper-bowl, and ethereal as e-thu-real, and have to correct myself.

I’m also mildly intrigued as to why Mrs Molgrips talks about the occult so much…

Nomenclature. But nobody really uses it so I have been getting away with it!

MrsP had some telly on where they referred to ‘Foilage’ which I expected to be shiny metallic material for hat making, but it turns out they mean ‘Foliage’ as in green leafy stuff (or plastic imitations thereof).

Oh and when I’m reading I always read ‘lieutenant’ as the Americanism ‘lOOtenant’ then correct myself and hate myself a little bit more for getting it wrong again.

Not me, but ones that I often hear.

Tri-Ath-A-Lon. – Where that extra a come from? it’s Tri-Ath-Lon

Regardless of Bush Jnr, it will always by Nu-Clee-Ur.

Oh, one that I always have to re-read…

Larvea is pronounced Lar-Vee not Lar-Vay.

But then I’m married to Canadian, apparently I can barely speak English

My wife keeps saying olcut instead of occult

Are you sure that’s what she’s saying to you?

I’ve loads, as exactly said: kid who read a lot of grownup books. I dunno “segue” written took a while to connect with “seg way” spoken.v

“Larvae”…

My dad always used to pronounce yacht as yacht rather than yot. A lot of people swap tender for tenter when on tenter hooks which has it’s derivation from stretching animal hides or cloth. True fact!

hyperbole

Oh and when I’m reading I always read ‘lieutenant’ as the Americanism ‘lOOtenant’ then correct myself and hate myself a little bit more for getting it wrong again.

I fell foul of this due to American films when I need to ring the navy years ago (brother had had an incident) and ask for Lieutenant So-and-so. It’s ‘lef-tenant’ we’re the British Navy was barked at me 😂

I wouldn’t care I knew the difference, but it was quite a stressful situation

I’m also mildly intrigued as to why Mrs Molgrips talks about the occult so much

Common topic of discussion in our house 😉

She has a deep understanding of stories, literature and imagery; actual text not so much.

My grandma used to say “reservoy” for reservoir. Maybe partly a regional thing?

Some words are tricky though:

patina – pa-tina or pat-in-a

Mandatory – man-day-tory or manda-tory

I had an ex-girlfriend who couldn’t say denim – she’d say dem-nim

No excuse!

The first (fairly lame) example of my own I thought of was “inventory”. I learned the word inventory from 1980s text adventures, I read it as “in-VENT-ry” – a near-homonym with infantry. Today I hear people on YouTube and podcasts saying “IN-vnt-ory” and whilst I know they’re right it makes me twitch.

YES!! exactly the example I was thinking of when I clicked the link 🤣 Being an 80s computer nerd, everything was self-learned from books & mags, so there were words I read and indeed used all the time but had never heard them spoken! I’m sure there are others but that’s the main one! Similarly, in my head my username will always be “Zillog” but I’m pretty sure it’s correctly pronounced “Zy-log”
There’s a fancy word that was common in Fighting Fantasy books or something which again I’d often read but never heard until I was a lot older, cannot for the life of me remember what it was though!

Oh and when I’m reading I always read ‘lieutenant’ as the Americanism ‘lOOtenant’ then correct myself and hate myself a little bit more for getting it wrong again.

definitely this as well actually! Bloody American films 😃

I am incapable of pronouncing “the water in Majorca don’t taste like what it ought to” correctly.

I listen to audible loads, and am left wondering if these professional narrators are completely stupid (saying completely the wrong word out of context) or if it’s part of Audible anti-piracy tactics (so they know where/when a books been pirated).

Hyper-bole, say what you see…

I can say it right, but I can’t read it right:
Quay.
I cannot read that word as “kee”, even when I typed it just then my head was saying kway.

Apparently I pronounce ‘no’ incorrectly, as my kids never understand me when I say it.

quantitatitititve,

also qualitatititive

and pilates arrr me hearties. That one’s deliberate though.

I cannot read that word as “kee”, even when I typed it just then my head was saying kway.

I do this with some words, too – I think it’s almost a way of spelling them right…?

Bloody American films

YouTube is a source of alternative pronunciations too: the other day my eldest asked which “rowt” (route) we were taking. 😖

wasnt all that long ago (a year or two) i read

“to all intents and purposes”

I always thought it was

“to all intense purposes”

which, i appreciate, makes no sense at all, but it didnt come up often enough for me to appreciate it.

For me it is ‘crisps’ – I often add an extra ‘sps’ or two – ‘crispspsps’

I never understood why Anti-po-dee-un described someone from the anti-poads. Why have two different pronunciations for words with identical etymology? Oh.

A friend at school went through a stage of overusing eppy-toam (to mean ‘best’ or similar). It took me ages to realise he meant epitome.

I’ve heard football commentators pronounce debacle as debber cull. Presumably having read it loads but never hearing it.
I don’t know which way to say cornice either, even though my work usually has one on top.

I’ve heard football commentators pronounce debacle as debber cull.

Everton fan I assume?

Always enjoyed how Aussie commentators pronounce the “maroon” team in the Origin games, “the muh rohns”.

I can’t pronounce Dalglish, never could. Comes out dangle eesh.

One I wish would be pronounced differently is omnipotent. I’d like it to be omni potent. Essentially two words. Gives you a far better understanding of its intent than the current pronunciation.

Living in Central Scotland, there are many “u”s added to words (girul, filum, etc.) and swapping of “i”s for “ai”s … gairul for example. Also, dropping of hard consonants … butter … jeepers, it’s not bu-er.

Belvoir

Fungi.
Fun-guy, fun-gee*, or fun-jee?

*Like key, but with a g
Or ghee, if you cook with butter.

Tallpaul Full Member
Belvoir

https://imgflip.com/i/69ulrv

Not me but two examples which grate:
– ask pronounced as axe
– specific pronounced as pacific

northernsoul

YouTube is a source of alternative pronunciations too: the other day my eldest asked which “rowt” (route) we were taking. 😖

Maybe he’s getting into woodworking?

Demonstrable / demonstratable.

I cannot read that word as “kee”, even when I typed it just then my head was saying kway.

I have this with sword. I’ll say “sord” but I’ll read it as sword.

Fungi.
Fun-guy, fun-gee*, or fun-jee?

*Like key, but with a g
Or ghee, if you cook with butter.

Sounds like you need clarification.

YES!! exactly the example I was thinking of when I clicked the link 🤣 Being an 80s computer nerd

I’m going to regret this as a thread derailment of “what do you call a barm cake?” degrees but,

How would you pronounce "?

I am incapable of pronouncing “the water in Majorca don’t taste like what it ought to” correctly.

It… doesn’t taste quite how it should?

I can’t pronounce Dalglish, never could. Comes out dangle eesh.

This is easy, it’s what you go get when you take your hound for walkies.