100 Most Often Mispronounced Words

100 Most Often Mispronounced Words

On the list:

I have never heard the word "mauve" pronounced correctly in the USA, not once in my long life, although Canadians have no trouble with it, thanks to the French component of their culture.

"Short-lived" - maybe I've heard this one pronounced correctly 2-3 times in my life.

I learned from the list that "spitting image" should be "spit and image," and that I have been mispronouncing "triathlon," so I guess old dogs can learn new tricks occasionally.

Not on the list:

"bestiality"

It has been years since I heard that word pronounced correctly, for reasons unclear to me, since it is pronounced exactly as it is spelled!

"ogle"

I don't remember this word having been mispronounced in the past, but lately I hear everyone pronounce it as if it rhymes with either "toggle" or "Google."

Some points of dispute with the list:

While people may say "card shark" when they mean "cardsharp," "card shark" and "cardsharp" are both proper English expressions, and are both found in good dictionaries, although they have two different meanings. Goldfinger was a cardsharp, an unscrupulous cheat. Omar Sharif is a card shark, a ruthless and skillful, but honest, player. Both will take advantage of a sucker, but only one will do so fairly.

While most sources now accept "FOR-tay" as an acceptable pronunciation for the word meaning "strong suit," it's not historically correct. It should have been pronounced "fort," having been derived from the French word meaning "strength" or "force." "FOR-tay," in theory, comes from the Italian word meaning "loudly," "strongly," or "forcefully." Languages, however, change over time, and if enough people adopt a pronunciation, it becomes correct, because a language (by definition) represents a culture's means of verbal and written communication. The same will probably soon happen to "BEAST-iality" and "mawv."

The source is not correct about "herb." "ERB" is not an error, but the correct American pronunciation, although "HERB" is right in the U.K. and elsewhere. The reverse can be said about "orient" and "orientate." While "orientate" is sinfully wrong in the USA, it has been a common British word for about two centuries, and is accepted by the OED.