words with weird spelling that we pronounce incorrectly. I came across this on my FB page as something I would be interested in watching and I was. There is one word specifically that I thought was or has been used or spelled incorrectly in commercials and advertisements, can you figure out which one it is? https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=519211795587457
At ~2:00, doesn't she say "shire" is pronounced as shur, when used alone, as in a region in England? I thought it was shai·ur, like in tire. My uncle could never say aluminum. It was always "alumium."
l only had trouble with two of them - acai and worcestershire . While we're at it, I wish the word irregardless would not be used. It should be irrespective (since regardless and irregardless mean the same thing) Also, I see a lot people use the words their, they're and there incorrectly, not to mention its and it's. But irregardless of my post, some will still misuse them
The only one I mispronounce is Worcestershire. I can't make my tongue say "Shur". It persists in saying "Sheer". Woo-ster-sheer
We always called Worcestershire sauce “Hot sauce” it was never called anything else in our home @Shirley Martin
While watching the above video "Rachel's English" , I fail to understand her remark. She said "how is it that Americans mispronounce words in their own language". She was in reference to the native speaker pronouncing the word "echelon". Don't the native Americans have their own language and dialect. Also, the Americas are made up of immigrants coming from different cultures/countries who have their own language/mother tongues. English then happens to be their second language. So it is vernacular to them. All in all, it is good to improve our public speaking abilities, but making a general comment as she did, is not justified.
Our language is a mish-mosh of so many others. And those immigrants you speak of tend to settle in specific regions with their own regional dialects...at least, that's been our history. I doubt that any language on the face of the planet has just one "correct" pronunciation for every single word. I will say that hearing "jew-luh-ree" and "ree-la-tor" sets my teeth on edge. I mean...really????
She made that statement as a general observation given her area of expertise in the English language. With that said, she often refers to the use of the dictionary's explanation on how certain words are mispronounced. A source that 'we' often disregard and feel comfortable speaking phonetically. As diverse as native born Americans are and even immigrants the use of the English language is just as diverse with the pronunciation of words. Not every American is going to carry around a dictionary to make sure they are pronouncing a word correctly or even think that they are going to be corrected if not.
There is so much of intermingling, intertwining and interaction with the "Queens/American English " speaking versus" Vernacular" speaking and those same immigrants taking the podium. So no, they are not settled in one specific region. The dictionary created by mankind has set rules for pronunciation...so in someway, yes, there are rules. But not everyone is capable of following them. That's where public speaking comes to the fore.
Public speaking is not exempt from mispronouncing words in some of the clips as she noted in her video.
@Von Jones Given her area of expertise, that general statement she made, imo, is an error on her part. Then again, I am not the better judge, and with no offense intended, it was simply my observation.
I had to learn a whole new language when we moved from Idaho to Alabama, there are so many words that are pronounced and spelled differently here, and different words to express a common phrase. For example, every place I have ever lived, we used a “shopping cart”, when we went to the grocery store. Down here, people use a “buggy”. Similar word meaning, but entirely different usage of it. Dogs are kept in a “pin”, instead of a “pen”, and the name of a nearby town is called A-rab, as a mispronunciation of Arab. In Idaho, you could ask for a can of pop, and here they just stare at you funny, unless you say you want a soda (often pronounced as Sodie , instead). Because America has such a diversity of people, we have a lot of words that we do not even realize have been corrupted from some word in another language, and often misspelled as well as mispronounced.
I am in no way offended, Susan. We are all entitled to our perspective and you just shared yours. I appreciate it.