As you flip through the pages of your Merriam-Webster dictionary, you’ll find a plethora of words pronounced exactly how they’re written (according to standard English pronunciation rules). But you’ll occasionally happen upon an outlier whose pronunciation isn’t so obvious. In these cases, two distinct groups tend to form — people who say the word correctly, and people who think they say the word correctly, even though they’re slightly off.
We all learn words in different ways, and there’s no shame in discovering you’ve been mispronouncing a word you’ve been using for years. Maybe it’s a tricky loanword, or it’s a term you’ve only read in print and never actually heard aloud. Let’s examine 10 thorny words that frequently trip up folks trying to pronounce them.
The word “antennae” is the plural form of “antenna,” referring to the long sensory organs atop a bug’s head or any metallic rods that receive radio waves. People frequently pronounce this as either “an-TEN-uh” or “an-TEN-eye,” but neither is right. The proper way to pronounce this word is “an-TEN-ee,” with an elongated “e” sound at the end. It’s similar to how you’d pronounce the word “algae.” This logic applies to the word “larvae” as well, which should be pronounced “LAR-vee.”
The term “forte” is defined as “one’s strong point,” and American English speakers commonly pronounce it as the two syllable “FOR-tay.” However, according to Merriam-Webster, many experts recommend an alternate pronunciation that’s just one syllable long: “FORT.” Of course, “forte” has another meaning as a musical direction instructing the player to be loud. In that case, it should be pronounced “FOR-tay,” as it accurately reflects the musical term’s Italian origins.
There are two types of primers — one defined as “a short informative piece of writing” and the other as “material used in priming a surface.” When it comes to the former, the word is actually pronounced “PRIMM-er” and not “PRI-mer.” In other words, the first syllable should rhyme with “him” when describing an educational bit of writing. If you’re talking about a coat of paint, the first syllable should rhyme with “eye.”
If you’ve ever dined at a Vietnamese restaurant, you might have indulged in a delicious bowl of pho. Many English speakers pronounce this popular noodle soup as if it rhymes with “foe,” but that’s incorrect. This mispronunciation dates to around 1935, when the English word “pho” first appeared in print. But the original Vietnamese word is actually phở, pronounced “FUH.” The accent marks were dropped when it was anglicized, which is why so many English speakers mix up the pronunciation today.
Not only do many folks pronounce this word as “mis-CHEE-vee-us,” but they also write it down as “mischievious,” adding an “i” between the “v” and “o.” But according to Merriam-Webster, both that pronunciation and that spelling are considered nonstandard. The adjective should be pronounced “MIS-chuh-vuhs,” putting an emphasis on the first of three syllables.
“Boatswain” refers to a petty officer on a merchant ship or a naval warrant office in charge of the equipment. In either case, several of the letters are silent; this word should be pronounced “BOW-sun.” Similar logic applies to the word “coxswain,” which is the captain of a rowing team. That word is pronounced “COX-sun.”
Did you know that “renumeration” — pronounced “reh-noom-er-AY-shun” — isn’t really a word? It’s an oft-repeated misspelling of the real word “remuneration,” where the “m” comes before the “n.” For whatever reason, people often jumble the “m” and “n,” leading to mistaken pronunciations. Just remember that putting “m” and “n” in alphabetical order will give you the proper pronunciation: “reh-myoo-ner-AY-shun.”
An açai bowl is a trendy lunchtime option that incorporates the açai berry — a small, purple fruit native to Central and South America. But the word “açai” is often erroneously pronounced as “ah-KAI.” It should be pronounced “ah-sah-EE,” adding one additional syllable and putting the stress at the end. The cedilla (“ç”) accent changes the hard “k” sound to a softer “s” sound.
A prelude is an introductory performance or action, occurring before a main event. While “PRAY-lude” has become a common and acceptable pronunciation, the word was meant to be pronounced differently. The correct pronunciation is “PRELL-yude,” meaning the first syllable should rhyme with “spell” or “tell.”
The words “triathlon” and “biathlon” are often pronounced with an extra “a” shoehorned in before the “-lon” suffix. But it’s not entirely clear why people make that mistake so often, because the words aren’t spelled that way. The actual pronunciation is “tri-ATH-lon” or “bi-ATH-lon,” depending on how many events are competed in.
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