Tell me words you can't pronounce correctly.

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Replies

  • MrsG31
    MrsG31 Posts: 364 Member
    I live in the south and there is always a debate on whether it is PeCAHN pie or PeCAN pie.....I am sad to admit I have used both b/c I am not sure which one it is supposed to be.

    My former supervisor's name is Lara. I have worked here for over 6 years and I STILL have to make an effort to say her name correctly. She used to laugh at me all the time. It's LAR-uh...not Laura, not LAIR-uh.....I get tongue-tied just typing this out!
    There's no debate in the south. It's "puh-CAWN". "Pee-Can" is what those damn yankees have, and they can keep it!

    Puh-Cahn? Haven't heard that one yet! And I just asked all the girls at work...and they all said it is Pee-Can for the South and Pee-CAHN (or Pee-CON, if that makes more sense) is for the North. Bahahahaha! See.....it is just too dang confusing!

    Well, that's how we say it in Texas, anyway, and pecan is our state tree, so there. :tongue: Hehe.

    My husband is from Texas, but I can't remember how he says it. I'll have to ask him later today, fun dinner conversation!
  • sportyredhead01
    sportyredhead01 Posts: 482 Member
    Cracker Barrel.
    Comes out Crack-el Barrel...every time.
  • FaithfulJewel
    FaithfulJewel Posts: 177 Member
    Grosvenor and Edinburgh also wind me up slightly.

    I know it's Grow-vner and Edin-borough but I can't get my head right with them.
    I didn't know the first one; thank you! How else would you say the second one? "Eden" like the Garden of Eden and "burg" like "iceberg"?

    Yeah, my default was Gros-Venor and Edin-Berg. Neither of which are right XD
  • Zomoniac
    Zomoniac Posts: 1,169 Member
    Entendre, as in 'double entendre'. I struggle so hard with it! Where is the emphasis and inflection?!

    It's sort of On-Tond-r. Or Awn-Tawn-dr. It's French (well, the phrase is an English re-wording of a French phrase), so it makes more sense if you say it with the accent. And the "double" is more "doooble" than "dubble" in the context too.
  • MrsG31
    MrsG31 Posts: 364 Member
    Wash....I have no discernable accent, but as soon as I say this word Texas Hillbilly comes out and it's pronounced WARSH. Sigh. :embarassed:

    Texas Hillbilly's say Warsh? I never knew that! My husband's side of the family all hail from Ohio and they say Warsh...even after they have lived in FL for years, longer than they lived in Ohio!
  • MiloBloom83
    MiloBloom83 Posts: 2,724 Member
    nuclear
    rural, especially if i say it over and over


    And the never not funny "cashew"
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Entendre, as in 'double entendre'. I struggle so hard with it! Where is the emphasis and inflection?!

    It's sort of On-Tond-r. Or Awn-Tawn-dr. It's French (well, the phrase is an English re-wording of a French phrase), so it makes more sense if you say it with the accent. And the "double" is more "doooble" than "dubble" in the context too.
    Interesting. I've never thought of "double" as being French in this context. Just "entendre". Double gets to be a good old English word that comes along for the ride.

    Most non-French speakers can't do the rolling r at the back of the tongue, let alone do it at the end of a word, so I think it's fairest to them if they're just allowed to say it "on-TOND".
  • MrsG31
    MrsG31 Posts: 364 Member
    This thread is very entertaining and educational! Thanks OP for giving me something to do at work to pass the time!:drinker:
  • derrickyoung
    derrickyoung Posts: 136 Member
    I can't seem to pronounce "no" to my wife. When I attempt it, I usually reagain consciousness later with a big frying pan sized welt on my forehead.

    Me too but usually starts out as no end ends up as yes dear.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Wash....I have no discernable accent, but as soon as I say this word Texas Hillbilly comes out and it's pronounced WARSH. Sigh. :embarassed:

    Texas Hillbilly's say Warsh? I never knew that! My husband's side of the family all hail from Ohio and they say Warsh...even after they have lived in FL for years, longer than they lived in Ohio!
    I think it might just be generic American hick speak.

    I agree, I love this thread too. If anybody ever wants me to stop being a butthead in the forums, distract me with a shiny language thread. :wink:
  • knitapeace
    knitapeace Posts: 1,013 Member
    Grosvenor and Edinburgh also wind me up slightly.

    I know it's Grow-vner and Edin-borough but I can't get my head right with them.
    I didn't know the first one; thank you! How else would you say the second one? "Eden" like the Garden of Eden and "burg" like "iceberg"?

    Yeah, my default was Gros-Venor and Edin-Berg. Neither of which are right XD

    When we visited London, I loved hearing the announcement of the stop for "Batsy (Battersea) Bridge" on the bus.

    I'm from the southern US and to me, the words "marry," "merry," and "Mary" all sound identical. According to my Bronx-born husband, I'm completely incorrect. :P
  • Dozrzz
    Dozrzz Posts: 245
    worcestershire sauce

    To this day, I am still not quite sure what the correct way to say this word is..............obviously I mean "Worcestershire" and not "sauce". Lol I can pronounce "sauce"

    I dont think there actually IS a correct way to pronounce it...LOL

    Ha! I agree!
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    And the never not funny "cashew"
    Salud! :wink:
  • Zomoniac
    Zomoniac Posts: 1,169 Member
    Entendre, as in 'double entendre'. I struggle so hard with it! Where is the emphasis and inflection?!

    It's sort of On-Tond-r. Or Awn-Tawn-dr. It's French (well, the phrase is an English re-wording of a French phrase), so it makes more sense if you say it with the accent. And the "double" is more "doooble" than "dubble" in the context too.
    Interesting. I've never thought of "double" as being French in this context. Just "entendre". Double gets to be a good old English word that comes along for the ride.

    Most non-French speakers can't do the rolling r at the back of the tongue, let alone do it at the end of a word, so I think it's fairest to them if they're just allowed to say it "on-TOND".

    I just think of it as a phrase. I can't think of a context I'd say "entendre" without the "double" prefix, so in my head it all comes as one and I pronounce it all in French.

    True, I'll forgive anyone the omission of a rolling r. I'd far rather people drop the trailing r completely than use the "dray" ending I've heard used by far too many people :)
  • Karabobarra
    Karabobarra Posts: 782 Member
    Cinnamon, always comes out synonym

    And animal....always comes out aminal

    Huh,....this post just made me realize I'm switching the m's and n's around....that only took 46 years for me to realize. *smacks self in head*
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Wash....I have no discernable accent, but as soon as I say this word Texas Hillbilly comes out and it's pronounced WARSH. Sigh. :embarassed:

    Texas Hillbilly's say Warsh? I never knew that! My husband's side of the family all hail from Ohio and they say Warsh...even after they have lived in FL for years, longer than they lived in Ohio!
    I think it might just be generic American hick speak.

    I agree, I love this thread too. If anybody ever wants me to stop being a butthead in the forums, distract me with a shiny language thread. :wink:

    yes, my old folk relatives in Oklahoma say warsh. They also say things like "tard" instead of "tired". It sounds like "I'm tard from warshin' clothes all day."
  • Dozrzz
    Dozrzz Posts: 245
    Around here, it's "wist-uh-shur". Like "wistful", the "uh" you say when you're collecting your thoughts, and "sure" as in "certain."

    That is the one I hear most often around my area...
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    I'm from the southern US and to me, the words "marry," "merry," and "Mary" all sound identical. According to my Bronx-born husband, I'm completely incorrect. :P
    We talked about that in my linguistics class too, and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how in the world they would sound different!

    I suppose if I said them really carefully and pompously, "marry" would have a short a, like in "cat", "merry" is a short e, like in "meh", and "Mary"? I don't know. Maybe like in "air"? "M-air-y", rhymes with "fairy"?

    Hey, here's a curiosity. Ask your husband if "ferry" and "fairy" sound different. 'Cuz they don't, unless I exaggerate it to make them sound different on purpose, and then I sound like a hoity-toity *kitten*. :laugh:
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Anything with an m and n next to each other like:

    columnar

    autumnal
  • 1Cor1510
    1Cor1510 Posts: 413 Member
    "Acrylic." I have also been told that "Don" and "Dawn" aren't pronounced the same, but I pronounce them the same – I think that's a CA vs. LA accent thing, though.

    Nothing personal, but my name is Dawn, and I intensely dislike when people call me by a man's name. It never occured to me that the person speaking it may not be able to pronounce it correctly. I usually have to get all Boston on them. I will keep this bit of info in mind for the future, though, so thanks for sharing :flowerforyou:
  • silver_arrow3
    silver_arrow3 Posts: 1,373 Member
    This thread is making me paranoid that I am not saying some of these words correctly and just never knew it.

    There are a lot of things I CAN say correctly, I just get lazy with them. For instance, the days of the week - if my mom and I are having a conversation and a day comes up, "-day" comes out "-dee". Mon-dee, Tues-dee, etc.

    I'm also not quite sure how the word "oil" is pronounced. My mom says "oi-ull", my dad says "oll".
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    I just think of it as a phrase. I can't think of a context I'd say "entendre" without the "double" prefix, so in my head it all comes as one and I pronounce it all in French.
    Are you from England? This might be a pond thing. I think in general, British English speakers are more facile with French than are American English speakers.
  • Pipsg1rl
    Pipsg1rl Posts: 1,414 Member
    damn were-shesh-ter sauce.

    I've had it wrong for YEARS.
  • Seeds45
    Seeds45 Posts: 90
    Statistics… I always seem to add a couple of extra "S's". Don't ask me why, because I don't know.
    My Auntie says baterrey, instead of battery. MIL says alman, not almond and orenge, instead of orange. I think it is a New York thing. Mother, from the deep south has so many funny ways of saying words that my ribs hurt from laughing. Don't tell her.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    My English teacher mother is convinced that I say the word "poor" incorrectly. I think "pour" and "poor" sound the same, and she doesn't. She says "poor" almost like "poo-er."

    Oh, and the word "tournament." I say it like "turn-ament" and she says it like "too-er-nament." I guess like the word "tour."
  • BeLightYear
    BeLightYear Posts: 1,450 Member
    "Rear wheel drive" I am so glad I have a front wheel drive car:tongue:
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    "Acrylic." I have also been told that "Don" and "Dawn" aren't pronounced the same, but I pronounce them the same – I think that's a CA vs. LA accent thing, though.

    Nothing personal, but my name is Dawn, and I intensely dislike when people call me by a man's name. It never occured to me that the person speaking it may not be able to pronounce it correctly. I usually have to get all Boston on them. I will keep this bit of info in mind for the future, though, so thanks for sharing :flowerforyou:

    So how do you say your name? I don't know any other way to say "Dawn."
  • iPlatano
    iPlatano Posts: 487 Member
    hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

    That's scary to pronounce.

    kEUKr5x.gif
  • asciident
    asciident Posts: 166 Member
    http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html

    "How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk
    What does the way you speak say about where you’re from? Answer all the questions below to see your personal dialect map."
  • chani8
    chani8 Posts: 946 Member
    daw0518
    QUINOA.

    I don't care what you say, I still pronounce it 'KEY-NO'.

    I'd never heard it pronounced in my life, so for the past two years since I discovered it in the market, I've called it like it's spelled..."quin-oh-ah". Then I recently served it to an american guest and was shocked when he pronouced it "keen-wa". Wth???

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