That’s Not How You Say It! So. Utah’s Commonly Mispronounced Words
"Hold on, I'm headed to Saint Garge, via LaVerakin, where I'm going to meet a reluhter and ask if we still have nukular fallout out here. While there, I might grab some Sherbert and take my bae to get some jewlerry."
Translated into English, that is, "Hold on, I'm headed to Saint George, via LaVerkin, where I'm going to meet a realtor and ask if we still have nuclear fallout out here. While there, I might grab some sherbet and take my bae to get some jewelry."
I've learned through the years that if someone wants to say their own name differently (is it Eel-ison or Elll-ison?) or even the way they pronounce their hometown (ex. -- In Northern Utah, Mantua is pronounced Man-away, but in New Jersey it's pronounced Man-chewa), that is their own prerogative.
But there are certain words that people just constantly say WRONG.
Nuclear is new-clee-ar, not nuk-u-lar. Realtor is real-tor, not re-luh-ter. Recognize is reck-ugh-nize, not reck-uh-nize.
Here are a few others:
- Mischievous: Mis-CHIV-us (not mis-CHEEV-ee-us)
- February: FEB-roo-air-ee (not Feb-yoo-air-ee)
- Espresso: Es-PRES-oh (not eXPRES-oh)
- Et cetera: Et-SET-er-ah (not ex-SET-er-ah)
- Hyperbole: HAH-per-bowl-ee (not HAH-pur-bowl)
- Epitome: Eh-PIT-uh-mee (not ih-PI-toe-m)
- Colonel: KERN-el (not co-lo-nel)
- Library: LI-brair-ee (not LI-berry)
- Zoology: Zoe-OLL-oh-gee (not zoo-OLL-oh-gee)
- Cache: Cash (not cash-ay)
- Colonel: Kern-el (not col-o-nel)
Some people will tell me to take a chill pill, or that it really doesn't matter, and perhaps they are right.
But there is a certain cognitive dissonance in my brain when I hear someone say a word incorrectly.
According to Merriam-Webster, "One result of the confusing and often counterintuitive nature of English spelling is that it affects pronunciation: when a word’s spelling doesn’t relate in an obvious way to the way it’s pronounced, the word is apt to be pronounced incorrectly (ex. victuals is actually pronounced vittles)."
The list is seemingly endless of words that look one way, but are pronounced another (awry is uh-rye, and cupboard is cubbard).
Perhaps we'll never get them all right.
