I'm on the line between "word snob" and "oh who cares." In some ways I think proper grammar, spelling, and pronunciation of words are extremely important. I strive to incorporate these things in my oral and written communication. But I am also willing to overlook mistakes others make in these areas without lecturing them or thinking I am better than them.
I've always thought I did I pretty good job with the English language. But I was forced to reevaluate my performance as I looked over a
list I found of the 100 most mispronounced words. I was shocked to find that I have been mispronouncing several of these words. It's kind of embarrassing.
But I'm not too snobby to admit my mistakes. Here are a few I have been guilty of mispronouncing (wrong way is in black, right way is in blue):
perogative | prerogative | Even in dialects where [r] does not always trade places with the preceding vowel (as the Texan pronunciations "differnce," "vetern," etc.), the [r] in this prefix often gets switched. |
spitting image | spit and image | The very spit of someone is an exact likeness. "The spit and image" or "spit image" emphasizes the exactness. |
supremist
| supremacist | This word is derived from "supremacy," not "supreme." A supremist would be someone who considers himself supreme. You know there is no one like that.
|
Tiajuana | Tijuana | Why make Spanish words more difficult than they already are? Just three syllables here, thank you.
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and the one I am most embarrassed about:
nucular
| nuclear | The British and Australians find the American repetition of the [u] between the [k] and [l] quaintly amusing. Good reason to get it right. |
Let me say, however, that I DO know it is supposed to be nuclear even though I sometimes slip up and say it the wrong way.
2 comments:
If our former president can say "nucular" so can you, right?
I can really relate to this post. Especially to the part about wavering between "word snob" and "who cares?" Couldn't have said it better. And I have my own pronunciation problems too...not all of your words specifically (although some), but some others for sure. One I have on my blog today.
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