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In a previous article I shared my Top 40 Pronunciation Pet Peeves. As I am currently hard at work writing a comprehensive 4-8th grade spelling program, I have been constantly reminded about how inaccurate pronunciation contributes to inaccurate spelling. In the spirit of full disclosure, I now am admitting my own embarrassing pronunciation gaffes. See if you have mangled a “sill-ab-bull” or two, as George Bush used to say, on the ones that I have mispronounced. This list of 20 Embarrassing Mispronunciations is sure to bring snooty literary folks like me down to size.

1. Barbiturate is pronounced “bar-bich-ur-it,” not “bar-bit-u-et.” [When did they sneak that r in?]
2. Barbed wire is pronounced “barbd wire,” not “bob wire.” [I thought Bob must have been a fencer.]
3. Hierarchy is pronounced “hi-er-ark-ee,” not “hi-ark-ee.” [I'm used to the ie as one sound, I guess.]
4. Jewelry is pronounced “jewl-ree,” not “jew-ler-ee.” [Obviously, my wife buys her own.]
5. Liable is pronounced “lie-uh-bul,” not “lie-bul.” [One is liable for libel, however.]
6. Nuptial is pronounced “nup-shul,” not “nup-chew-ul.” [I've never heard this pronounced correctly.]
7. Ophthalmology is pronounced “off-thuh-maw-lah-ge,” not “op-tho-maw-lo-ge.” [Better clean your eyeglasses on this one.]
8. Orient is pronounced “or-e-ent,” not “or-e-en-tate.” [No, it’s not interpretate either.]
9. Ostensibly is pronounced “os-ten-si-blee,” not “ob-ten-sive-lee.” [I bet I've looked this one up 20 times.]
10. Potable is pronounced “po-tuh-bul,” not “pot-uh-bul.” [And I am an avid backpacker with my own water filter]
11. Prerogative is pronounced “pre-rog-uh-tive,” not “per-rog-uh-tiv.” [If you ask me to pronounce this one tomorrow, I might get it wrong.]
12. Prescription is pronounced “pre-scrip-shun,” not “per-scrip-shun.” [Both would make sense in the Latin, I think.]
13. Peremptory is pronounced “puh-rem-tor-ee,” not “pre-emt-or-ee.” [You don't believe this one, do you? Bet you'll look it up.]
14. Prostate is pronounced “prah-state,” not “pros-strate.” [Unless you meaning lying down-guess you know my age now...]
15. Realtor® is pronounced “reel-tor,” not “reel-uh-tor.” [It sounds horrible the right way.]
16. Recur is pronounced “re-cur,” not “re-o-cur.” [Means to run again, not happen again]
17. Supremacist is pronounced “su-prem-uh-sist,” not “su-prem-ist.” [Guess I just don't want to give these folks another syllable]
18. Verbiage is pronounced “ver-be-ij,” not “ver-bij.” [We never changed this one from our British cousins.]
19. Voluptuous is pronounced “vo-lup-chew-us,” not “vo-lump-chew-us.” [The lump just sounds more full-figured.]
20. Zoology is pronounced “zo-ah-lo-ge,” not “zoo-ah-lo-ge.” [Think I'll just go on mispronouncing this one because it just makes better sense]

Many of the pronunciation errors described above are made by people with poor decoding or syllabication skills. Mark Pennington’s comprehensive curricula: Teaching Reading Strategiesand Teaching Spelling and Vocabulary are wonderful resources to teach reading, spelling, vocabulary, and proper pronunciation.

Reading, Spelling/Vocabulary decoding, English pronunciation, malaprop, mispronunciation, phonics, pronounce words, pronunciation, pronunciation pet peeves, spelling, syllabication, syllabication rules, syllabication techniques, syllable rules, word pronunciation

President George Bush, well known for his pronunciation gaffes, once said, “I have been known to mangle a syllable or two myself.” Despite laughing at the plethora of Bushisms over the last eight years, even the best American wordsmiths do mispronounce their fair share of words.

Americans are somewhat tolerant regarding pronunciation errors when the mistakes involve infrequently used foreign phrases, place names, technical terms, dialectical differences, or idiomatic expressions. However, for various reasons, we do demand uniform pronunciation of some words. Following are our Top 40 Pronunciation Pet Peeves in no particular order. Also, make sure to check out the Top 40 Grammar Pet Peeves and the Top 40 Vocabulary Pet Peeves. Find out all of your grammatical mistakes and the words you misuse before “You-Know-Who” points them out to you.

1. Library is pronounced “lie-brair-ee,” not “lie-bear-ee.” [No, it’s not libarian either]
2. Nuclear is pronounced “nook-lee-er,” not “nUke-U-ler.” [Ode to Bush]
3. February is pronounced “Feb-roo-air-ee,” not “Feb-U-aire-ee.” [Frequently misspelled, as well]
4. Orange is pronounced “or-anj,” not “are-anj.” [Orange you glad you know this?]
5. Prostate is pronounced “praw-state,” not “praw-straight.” [Unless you are lying down]
6. Height is pronounced “hite,” not “hite with a ‘th’.” [That “e-i” or “width” must confuse us]
7. Probably is pronounced “praw-bab-lee,” not “prob-lee.” [Or some say “praw-lee”]
8. Ask is pronounced “ask,” not ” ax.” [Please tell me before you ax me.]
9. Pronunciation is pronounced “pro-nun-see-a-tion,” not ” pro-noun-see-a-tion.” [But pronounce]
10. Athlete is pronounced “ath-lete,” not “ath-ah-leet.” [Despite the ath-ah-leets foot commercials]
11. Strategy is pronounced “strat-uh-gee,” not “stra-ji-dee.” [Though we never say “stra-ji-jick”]
12. Aluminum is pronounced “uh-loo-mi-num,” not “al-U-min-um.” [Brits have their own version]
13. Et cetera (etc.) is pronounced “et-set-er-ah,” not “ek- set-er-ah.” [Not “ek-spe-shul-lee” either]
14. Supposedly is pronounced “suh-po-zed-lee,” not “su-pose-ub-lee.” [Or "su-pose-eh-blee”]
15. Difference is pronounced “di-fer-ence,” not “dif-rence.” [Often misspelled due to this error]
16. Mischievous is pronounced “mis-chuh-vus,” not “mis-chee-vee-us.” [You’ll look this one up]
17. Mayonnaise is pronounced “may-un-naze,” not “man-aise.” [“Ketchup-catsup” is another matter]
18. Miniature is pronounced “mi-ne-uh-ture,” not “min-ah-ture.” [Who drives an Austin “min-uh”?]
19. Definite is pronounced “de-fuh-nit,” not ” def-ah-nut.” [For define, it’s “di-fine” not “dah-fine”]
20. Often is pronounced “off-ten,” not “off-en.” [Probably just sloppy pronunciation]
21. Internet is pronounced “In-ter-net,” not “In-nur-net.” [Not “in-ner-rest-ing either]
22. Groceries is pronounced “grow-sir-ees,” not “grow-sure-ees.” [It’s not “grow-sure” either]
23. Similar is pronounced “sim-ah-ler,” not “sim-U-lar.” [But Websters says “sim-ler” is fine]
24. Escape is pronounced “es-cape,” not “ex-cape.” [It’s not “ex-pres-so” either]
25. Lose is pronounced “luze,” not “loose.” [Think “choose,” not “moose”]
26. Temperature is pronounced “tem-per-ah-ture,” not “tem-prah-chur.” [Cute when kids say it]
27. Jewelry is pronounced “jewl-ree” or “jew-ul-ree,” not “jew-ler-ree.” [More syllables won’t get you more carats]
28. Sandwich is pronounced “sand-which,” not “sam-which.” [Or “sam-mitch” either]
29. Realtor is pronounced “real-tor,” not “real-ah-tor.” [Similarly, it’s “di-late,” not “di-ah-late”]
30. Asterisk is pronounced “ass-tur-risk,” not “ass-trik.” [It’s not called a star, by the way]
31. Federal is pronounced “fed-ur-ul,” not “fed-rul.” [Use all syllables to ensure all federal holidays]
32. Candidate is pronounced “can-di-date,” not “can-uh-date.” [It’s not “can-nuh-date” or "can-di-dit"]
33. Hierarchy is pronounced “hi-ur-ar-kee,” not “hi-ar-kee.” [It’s not “arch-type”; it’s “ar-ki-type”]
34. Niche is pronounced “nich” or “neesh,” not “neech.” [This one drives some people crazy]
35. Sherbet is pronounced “sher-bet,” not “sher-bert.” [I’m sure, Burt]
36. Prescription is pronounced “pre-scrip-tion,” not “per-scrip-tion.” [and prerogative, not “per”]
37. Arctic is pronounced “ark-tik,” not “ar-tik.” [Not “ant-ar-tik-ah either]
38. Cabinet is pronounced “cab-uh-net,” not “cab-net.” [Likewise, it’s “cor-uh-net,” not “cor-net”]
39. Triathlon is pronounced “tri-ath-lon,” not “tri-ath-uh-lon.” [Not “bi-ath-uh-lon” either]
40. Forte is pronounced “fort,” not “for-tay.” [But Porsche does have a slight “uh” at the end]

And for the culinary snobs among us… It’s “bru-chet-tah” or “bru-sket-tah,” but definitely not “bru-shet-tah.” And it’s “hear-row,” not “gear-row” or “ji-roh.” If you’re eager for more of the same, check out the 20 Embarrassing Mispronunciations that I have been guilty of over the years.

Many of the pronunciation errors described above are made by people with poor decoding or syllabication skills. Mark Pennington’s comprehensive curricula: Teaching Reading Strategies and Teaching Spelling and Vocabulary are wonderful resources to teach reading, spelling, vocabulary, and proper pronunciation.

Reading, Spelling/Vocabulary alliteration, enunciation, pet peeves, pronunciation, pronunciation pet peeves, reading fluency, speech techniques, syllable rules, syllables