English. Do you speak it?
Everybody has pet peeves. There is no way around them.
These may include emojis having to be an even number in a text message, or someone chewing with their mouth open, but there is not a single thing in this galaxy that irritates me more than people mispronouncing words.
Some of these words include; gyro, caramel, for, the city Louisville, ask, and any word or name that begins with wash – for that matter.
First word that just annoys the dickens out of me is the food, gyro. People often want to pronounce it jyro, when in reality it is pronounced like the word euro. When this word is mispronounced, I cringe. It is simply not that hard to say, and people who mispronounce it should retake basic English classes.
Quill colleague Michael Bittner pointed out this next often mispronounced word. He pointed out the various pronunciations of the word caramel. He said he says it like care-uh-mel, and I soon learned I say it like car-mole. No matter your personal preference, this word is not near as cringe worthy as gyro. I could see both ends of the spectrum for caramel. Some people like to sound it out, others like to get straight to the point. All personal preference for this word.
Probably my least favorite mispronunciation is for the extremely simple word “for”. The mispronunciation that makes me sick is fir or fer. No. It is pronounced for. Sound. It. Out. Not that difficult. If you can not say this word properly, you should probably never be successful in your job and are the worst kind of person. Simply do better.
One of the more controversial words on my list is by far the city named Louisville. This word or name is pronounced a plethora of ways. My least favorite by far is the one that sounds like Lool-vuul. That sounds like you are choking or have food or a drink in your mouth. Makes me cringe every time. I personally say the word – Lou-eee-vill. Which is seemingly the most pleasant way of saying it. You are the worst kind of person if you say it like Louis-vill. Common English knowledge tells you that that is incorrect.
My favorite word to mispronounce on the list has to be the word wash. I have a lot of relatives from the country and that live in Kentucky whom pronounce the word like warsh. Which cracks me up every time. For example they will say: Hey, do you need your clothes warshed? Or another example: Hey, did you warsh the dishes? Which just tickles me pink. Another common mispronunciation is any last name beginning with wash. Such as, Washington. Some people will say Warshington. All in all, this word is often mispronounced, but I think it is not cringe worthy, and actually comedic.
The last word on the list that is often mispronounced is ask. People will often say it like axc. Which just befuddles me. The word is three letters… how hard can it be?? Apparently quite difficult for someĀ individuals.
After all, if you pronounce some of these words wrong you know who you are. Look yourself in the mirror after reading this and reevaluate yourself as a whole.
Miley Cyrus once said, "Nobody's Perfect." Then I looked in the mirror. Power Moves only. Live my life like a human victory cigar. My beak is rather dry....
Tom Sunderhaus • Nov 9, 2017 at 9:22 am
Although I agree with your sentiment that people should learn to properly pronounce words and phrases before using them, I feel that your incorrect grammar gives those who would argue against your article an easy way to insult you.