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One wrong word (4) Friday, Jul 30, 2010 9:26 am

I've noticed that most people have a tendency to regularly pronounce at least one word completely wrong.  And not because they have an accent or a speech impediment or a lack of education, but simply because something went wrong in their speech development to cause them to fumble over just that one simple word.  For example, I have a friend who pronounces the word "awkward" as "ock-ward," except with a huge emphasis on the "ock" part.  One might say he pronounces it "awkwardly."  The pastor of my church, besides using the annoying yet dictionary-approved pronunciation of "mature" as "ma-tyoor" (I say "ma-choor," and what I say is always right), pronounces the word "ordinary" as "awww-dinary," which comes out in sentences like, "The love of man is awww-dinary, while the love of God is extra-awww-dinary."  One might say his unusual pronunciation is a little out of the "ordinary."  I knew a girl in high school who pronounced "frustrated" without the first R, making it "fustrated."  One might say it was a little "frustrating" to hear.  Finally, my aunt says "goff" instead of "golf," which is something I absolutely can't figure out how to include in a pun. 

Rus Friday, Jul 30, 2010 9:58 am

You axt like you're the pronunciation king.    How offen do you go to the libarry to look up the words to be sure you're right?

Dave Friday, Jul 30, 2010 10:11 am

Not very offen (although the dictionary says it can be pronounced with or without the T).  I use the innernet.  I'm an Amerrrican.

Jen Buehler Sunday, Aug 1, 2010 6:48 pm

Oh, and also why add the letter s to the word anyway? Ugh!

Dave Monday, Aug 2, 2010 8:23 am

Agreed.  Same with somewheres.

And another one I forgot initially:  Bob Garfield, host of NPR's On the Media, says "fedral" instead of "federal."  And like any wrong word, he says it all the time.

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