MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Words you pronounced wrong

Words you pronounced wrong

posted 3 years ago by [deleted]
63 replies | jump to latest

I was in my fifties when I learned that 'chasm' is pronounced 'casm'. And I had to be corrected by a guy who speaks English as a second language.

Hirsute. No a big deal, but I didn't realize that it was pronounced 'hirsuit'.

Bury, buried. My wife corrected me on this when I was in my 30s. I always said it like it's spelled, 'brrr-y' rather than the correct "berry". In my defense though, I've occasionally encountered other people who pronounce it wrong. We were watching a movie some nights ago and one the actors pronounced it my way, so now I'm not sure I'm wrong.

About. I'm Canadian and I pronounce it 'abowt'. Apparently, I should be pronouncing it 'aboot' according to Americans, LOL.

[–] ShogunofYonkers (78608) 3 years ago

I think it's aboot time you pronounced it correctly you hoser, eh?

[–] samoanjoes (58613) 3 years ago

Racist!

[–] ShogunofYonkers (78608) 3 years ago

I can't help it if Strange Brew taught me everything I know about Canada, eh?

[–] samoanjoes (58613) 3 years ago

Strange Brew is a song by British band Cream. You can't tell us apart, can you?

(Fun fact: The movie Strange Brew is actually inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet. I'm not even joking)

[–] ShogunofYonkers (78608) 3 years ago

I didn't know about the Hamlet connection

[–] joej2923 (3149) 3 years ago

I had a problem with chasm too. I always say brrry and I won't change. I'm from the US and I've never heard anyone say aboot. Pronunciation is weird in that the proper pronunciation will change if a significant number of people pronounce a word incorrectly. If enough of us keep saying chasm and bury wrong, it might eventually be acceptable.

I had a problem for the longest time with draught. That's the British way of spelling DRAFT but I was saying drought. I always liked Guinness draught and Chang draught BUT I was calling them drought. Ugh!

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 3 years ago

"Pronunciation is weird in that the proper pronunciation will change if a significant number of people pronounce a word incorrectly."

Like the word advertisement. I was told that the proper pronunciation places the accent on the second syllable, and that the third syllable has the "short i" rather than the "long i" sound: "ad-VERT-is-ment." The most common pronunciation is "AD-ver-tize-ment," and I believe it is now considered acceptable.

Or you could just call them "ads" for short.

[–] joej2923 (3149) 3 years ago

I think that's more of a British vs American accent issue. Both pronunciations are correct. I think the Brits emphasize vert and the yanks emphasize tize. Aluminum is the word that I find to be most amusing. The Brits say Al ooh' mini um while the yanks say uh loom' in um.

https://youtu.be/tY6GW-fPhpI *** Brit vs Yank advertisement pronunciation ***

https://youtu.be/Qq2BYKLfUQM *** British aluminum pronunciation ***

[–] beancrisp (1746) 3 years ago

Aluminum has fewer syllables than aluminium proving it is a more logical pronunciation.

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 3 years ago

Yes. It's two different spellings.

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 3 years ago

[deleted]

[–] tcrum (31863) 3 years ago

Gyro and Tabbouleh. The second one I'm still not sure how to pronounce.

[–] jriley555 (8552) 3 years ago

homosexual. i was pronouncing it homosexyul, like the late president bush probably did. someone finally set me straight.

[–] Carrot (1725) 3 years ago

Set straight? Like some sort of linguistic conversion therapy?

[–] jriley555 (8552) 3 years ago

in a manner of speaking, yes. but i'm straight is a darn straight arrow, make no mistake about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2wfSBYizRI

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 3 years ago

"About. I'm Canadian and I pronounce it 'abowt'."

I usually hear Canadians pronouncing "about" like "aboat." Some Americans in the northern parts of the U.S. use this same pronunciation. The closest thing I ever heard to "aboot" was by someone who was from the extreme eastern part of Canada; it might have been Newfoundland... I can't remember.

I was told that I pronounced words like "small" and "ball" in a nasal manner. "Smawll" or "bawll" is an approximation of how it sounded until I worked on channeling my voice closer to the throat area.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

"I usually hear Canadians pronouncing "about" like "aboat." Some Americans in the northern parts of the U.S. use this same pronunciation."

We were travelling through the States once when I encountered a guy who thought I was from North Dakota. When I asked him why he said that I sounded like the characters from that movie Fargo. I later saw it and had to admit that they did sound like Canadians, specifically the use of the expression "eh?" to finish their sentences. No idea if real people from North Dakota talk that way.

There aren't as many regional accents here in Canada as the States, but rural Newfoundlanders and the Atlantic provinces definitely have distinct accents. I worked alongside a Newfy in the Navy... the first time he spoke to me I honestly didn't realize he was speaking English.

[–] AndyKing1967 (39867) 3 years ago

Skellington.

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 3 years ago

Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas?

[–] KinkyInk (1694) 3 years ago

The word 'forte'.

When used to describe someone's strong point, as in, "Pronunciation is not my forte," most people pronounce it as 'for-tay'.

But the actual technically correct pronunciation is 'fort'. The 'for-tay' pronunciation is supposed to be for when the word is used in music, meaning to 'play loud.'

But if you do pronounce forte as 'fort', most people are going to think you're an idiot.

And since the 'for-tay' usage is so common, some dictionaries have begun specifying that either pronunciation is correct.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Interesting. I've always pronounced it as 'for-tay' because someone 'corrected' me when I was younger. So it turns out, I had it right after all?

[–] R_Kane (15828) 3 years ago

No, you got “forte” right the first time. You’re right: most people won’t grasp its meaning in conversation. Who cares? I’d rather be educated than impress “most people.”

[–] KinkyInk (1694) 3 years ago

It seems I've been mispronouncing 'biopic' my whole life

I've always pronounced it 'bi-OP-ic', but I've recently heard, from various sources, that it's 'bio-pic'.

Turns out I, and others, have been pronouncing it wrong because we see the 'ic' at the end and assume it's a suffix, like with myopic, anemic, or atomic.

But the word is actually a shortening of 'biographical picture', or 'bio pic'.

[–] jriley555 (8552) 3 years ago

i don't care. bi OP ic sounds so much better.