Swiroset.com

President George Bush, known for his mispronunciations, once said, “I have been known to spoil a syllable or two myself.” Despite laughing at the plethora of Bushisms over the past eight years, even the best American word writers mispronounce their fair share of words.

Americans are somewhat tolerant of pronunciation errors when the errors involve foreign phrases, place names, technical terms, dialectical differences, or infrequently used idioms. However, for various reasons, we require uniform pronunciation of some words. Below are our top 40 reasons for pronunciation pets, in no particular order.

1. Library says “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 said “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. The prostate is said “shrimp state”, not “shrimp rectum”. [Unless you are lying down]

6. Height is pronounced “hite”, not “hite with a ‘th”. [That “e-i” or “width” must confuse us]

7. It probably says “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. The 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. The strategy is said “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. Etcetera (etc.) is said “et-set-er-ah”, not “ek-set-er-ah”. [Not “ek-spe-shul-lee” either]

14. Supposedly pronounced “suh-po-zed-lee”, not “su-pose-ub-lee”. [Or “su-pose-eh-blee”]

15. The difference is said “difference”, not “difference”. [Often misspelled due to this error]

16. Naughty is pronounced “mis-chuh-vus”, not “mis-chee-vee-us”. [You’ll look this one up]

17. Mayonnaise is called “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. Defined it says “de-fuh-nit”, not “def-ah-nut”. [For define, it’s “di-fine” not “dah-fine”]

20. It is often pronounced “off-ten”, not “off-on”. [Probably just sloppy pronunciation]

21. Internet is said “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 said “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. Losing is said “luze”, not “loose”. [Think “choose,” not “moose”]

26. The temperature is pronounced “tem-per-ah-ture”, not “tem-prah-chur”. [Cute when kids say it]

27. The jewelry is said “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. Real estate agent says “real-tor”, not “real-ah-tor”. [Similarly, it’s “di-late,” not “di-ah-late”]

30. The asterisk is pronounced “ass-tur-risk”, not “ass-trik”. [It’s not called astar, by the way]

31. Federal says “fed-ur-ul”, not “fed-rul”. [Use all syllables to ensure all federal holidays]

32. The candidate is pronounced “can-di-date”, not “can-uh-date”. [It’s not “can-nuh-date” or “can-di-dit”]

33. The hierarchy is said “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 said “sher-bet”, not “sher-bert”. [I’m sure, Burt]

36. The prescription is pronounced “pre-script-tion”, not “per-script-tion”. [andprerogative, not “per”]

37. Arctic is said “ark-tik”, not “ar-tik”. [Not “ant-ar-tik-ah either]

38. The cabinet is pronounced “cab-uh-net”, not “cab-net”. [Likewise, it’s “cor-uh-net,” not “cor-net”]

39. Triathlon is called “tri-ath-lon”, not “tri-ath-uh-lon”. [Not “bi-ath-uh-lon” either]

40. Forte is pronounced “strong”, 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 it’s definitely not “bru-shet-tah”. And it’s “headphone row”, not “gear row” or “hee-roh.”

Many of the pronunciation errors described above are made by people with poor decoding and syllabification skills.