Comments on: Misspoken or Mispronounced Words and Phrases

By: GrammarBook.com

GrammarBook.com — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 15:45:23 +0000

In reply to Jim Frane. Our table of misspoken or mispronounced words and phrases serves mainly to inform of the original formal treatments that have not yet fully receded from view. Whether to apply each treatment is a matter of preference and desire to observe certain details.

By: Baiba Finlayson

Baiba Finlayson — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 03:23:03 +0000

Regarding misspoken phrases: I often read or hear people say “I should of done whatever” instead of ”I should have done whatever.” Have these folks never read a book?

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 01:24:02 +0000

Many people seem to have trouble pronouncing “anonymity”: I often hear “a-muh-ny-mi-dee” or some such.

By: Jim Frane

Jim Frane — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 15:38:04 +0000

Your statements about the words niche and forte disagree with Webster. See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forte to see the following:
forte
1 of 3
noun (1)
Synonyms of forte
1
ˈfȯr-ˌtā also fȯr-ˈtā, or ˈfȯrt or ˈfȯr-tē : one’s strong point
2
ˈfȯrt : the part of a sword or foil blade that is between the middle and the hilt and that is the strongest part of the blade
How do you pronounce forte?: Usage Guide
In forte we have a word derived from French that in its “strong point” sense has no entirely satisfactory pronunciation. Usage writers have denigrated \ˈfȯr-ˌtā\ and \ˈfȯr-tē\ because they reflect the influence of the Italian-derived forte entry 2. Their recommended pronunciation \ˈfȯrt\, however, does not exactly reflect French either: the French would write the word le fort and would pronounce it more similar to English for. So you can take your choice, knowing that someone somewhere will dislike whichever variant you choose. All are standard, however. In British English \ˈfȯ-ˌtā\ and \ˈfȯt\ predominate; \ˈfȯr-ˌtā\ and \fȯr-ˈtā\ are probably the most frequent pronunciations in American English.

See also https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/niche for the following:

niche
1 of 2
noun
ˈnich also ˈnēsh or ˈnish

By: GrammarBook.com

GrammarBook.com — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 19:55:40 +0000

In reply to Tim Sammon. We agree that when it comes to some words, their pronunciations can be open to debate, especially as they are made more colloquial in our daily speech. We are sure that many people will continue to use pronunciations such as "neesh" and "fortay." Our table of misspoken or mispronounced words and phrases serves mainly to inform of the original formal treatments that have not yet fully receded from view. Whether to apply each treatment is a matter of preference and desire to observe certain details.

By: Tim Sammon

Tim Sammon — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 18:34:59 +0000

It is “neesh.” Dictionary pronunciations are subjective, as you point out: “Depending on the dictionary you consult, you will be able to find that [any] pronunciation is acceptable.” No one (present company excepted) says “fort.” Even we who know better will say “fortay” in some circles so as to not sound like weirdos.

Words adopted from other languages should honor the mother tongue: Oregano, Karaoke, Jalapeño. Place names should follow the local pronunciation: Edinburgh, São Paulo, New Orleans, Derby, Brisbane, Beijing, Cuba, Quebec. Names of persons should be pronounced as the person does: Ivan, Kamala, Andrea, Jacques, Clara, Genevieve; Hugh Grant, Amy Poehler, Carolina Herrera, Cesar Chavez, W.E.B. Du Bois. Latin words should be pronounced consistently: data, stadium, status. Of course, who dares to do so? Like the metric system, there are many words that we Americans insist on mispronouncing and really need to stop: aluminum, bruschetta, solder, February, chaise longue. And what is going on with Ts? Bottle, liberty, button….

We could continue to list mispronounced words but we would never complete the list. Word origins reveal correct pronunciations and it falls upon our shoulders to protect them. That is my opinion.

Aesthetic, news, milk, primer, lingerie, envelope, tournament, en route, geisha, Inuit, dachshund, gyro, smorgasbord, ye, Van Gough, Nguyen, Manuel ….
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By: Lynn DeWolf

Lynn DeWolf — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 02:59:37 +0000

In reply to Nancy.

OMG! I love that one–hahaha! After I had my bilateral mastectomy many people (including my family) commented how brave I was to have a masECtomy!

Others I love: “My rotator cup is torn.”
“The dr. wants to take some of my limp glands.”

My God, haven’t these people ever seen or read these words in print?

By: Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 22:39:27 +0000

One of my biggest peeves is hearing “mastectomy” pronounced “massectomy.”

By: Mike W.

Mike W. — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 18:01:58 +0000

I love your newsletter! Here are two others for possible future inclusion: caramel is often mispronounced as “car-mel,” dropping the middle a “May I help who’s next?” is often said to people in lines, rather than “May I help whoever’s next?” Nails on the chalkboard to my ears!

By: GrammarBook.com

GrammarBook.com — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 23:55:12 +0000

In reply to Shiv A.. We assume you are referring to the Persian pronunciations ear-rahn and ear-rahk. We also recommend i-rahn and i-rahk over eye-ran and eye-rack.