# English words foreigners often get confused **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 16, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990 "2013-09-16T18:00:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sentrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@sentrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sentrix)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/21 "2013-09-17T07:11:15Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > . I once spent half the night teaching her how to pronounce the word “slut” properly. what happened in the second half of the night after she mastered pornouncing slut? ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/22 "2013-09-17T07:22:32Z")
She said she needed more living space then invaded her neighbor’s apartment. She was a fan of Pinky and the Brain. Ever hear the theme song to that show in German? It makes those mice sound a Hell of a lot more serious about their ambitions for conquest. [Pinky und Brain german intro - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd4_PIxfMmQ) ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/23 "2013-09-17T07:22:41Z")
To this day we still tease my (French, 'orrible accent but otherwise good at Englishing) mother about that one time she ordered white wine in an American restaurant, had to say it three or four times before the waiter understood what the hell she was saying… and promptly came back with a bottle of house red. R and W are difficult, OK ? I confess to being like Mordin Solus in Mass Effect : “Flammable ! Or inflammable, forget which. No matter !” : it always takes me a moment of shifting brain gears to remember they both mean the same thing, and this despite “inflammable” being the French word for same. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/24 "2013-09-17T08:25:45Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I confess to being like Mordin Solus in Mass Effect : “Flammable ! Or inflammable, forget which. No matter !” : it always takes me a moment of shifting brain gears to remember they both mean the same thing, and this despite “inflammable” being the French word for same. [“Inflammable means flammable? What a country!”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO3Wfenv4Mo) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/25 "2013-09-17T08:28:03Z")
My Tamil-first-language FIL pronounces “Harvard” like “Howard” when discussing American universities. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/26 "2013-09-17T08:48:06Z")
> [@sentrix](#): > > my asian friend asked me about the australian general erection ( election ) recently. And where, pray tell, is your “Asian friend” from? East Asians commonly have trouble pronouncing the “r” sound correctly (hence the old joke “flied lice”) but I’ve never met an Asian who mispronounce it the other way. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/27 "2013-09-17T09:37:30Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > And where, pray tell, is your “Asian friend” from? East Asians commonly have trouble pronouncing the “r” sound correctly (hence the old joke “flied lice”) but I’ve never met an Asian who mispronounce it the other way. I have, in writing at least. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/28 "2013-09-17T09:38:37Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > You probably mean [diphthongs.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphthong) Those, yeah. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/29 "2013-09-17T11:06:45Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > And all this time I thought we had 5 😕 Are you counting dyptongs as vowels? Your alphabet possibly has 5, but I thought Spanish used some accent marks. Your language will have several more. ---
**Author:** ![sentrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@sentrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sentrix)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/30 "2013-09-17T12:17:07Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > And where, pray tell, is your “Asian friend” from? East Asians commonly have trouble pronouncing the “r” sound correctly (hence the old joke “flied lice”) but I’ve never met an Asian who mispronounce it the other way. cantonese. common stereotype about the ‘l’, go to hk for further enlightenment. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/31 "2013-09-17T12:29:57Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Your alphabet possibly has 5, but I thought Spanish used some accent marks. Your language will have several more. The diacritics indicate either stress (´, either by being present or by being absent) or that an u which would normally be mute is pronounced (for example in _cigüeña_). _í_ represents the same phoneme as _i_; _u_, _ú_ and _ü_ represent the same phoneme. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/32 "2013-09-17T12:54:16Z")
Two English vowel sounds, /e/ or /eɪ/ as in ‘tames’, and /ɛ/ as in ‘Thames’ are conflated in both the other languages I am fluent in: Thai and (at least for some speakers) French. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/33 "2013-09-17T13:07:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yes, but that’s not really a source of confusion, since neither of those really has a meaning beyond being a name. English word-pairs where swapping T for D would mix them up are fairly rare. Sure, I was just giving a general example of how different English accents can be hard to follow. Another one would be “feudal” and “futile”, which sound the same to me in some American accents. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/34 "2013-09-17T13:08:29Z")
I have read that a former “First Lady” in France confused “happiness” with “a penis.” That was a problem when she was asked by an English speaking reporter what she wanted most in life. ---
**Author:** ![sentrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@sentrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sentrix)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/35 "2013-09-17T13:09:05Z")
dunno. a penis can bring happyness. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/36 "2013-09-17T13:25:48Z")
And who can forget the episode of Modern Family where Gloria orders “baby cheeses” for Jay? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/37 "2013-09-17T13:30:46Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > And all this time I thought we had 5 😕 Are you counting dyptongs as vowels? No, he’s counting vowel sounds in speech rather than vowel letters. The vowel in book for instance doesn’t have it’s own letter, but it’s not a diphthong. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/38 "2013-09-17T14:03:38Z")
At a London synagogue, I once heard an Israeli rabbi get some laughs when he pronounced “shout” as “shite.” (Perhaps he was trying to [class up his accent](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrOEq765yMQ)…) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/39 "2013-09-17T14:23:11Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > I have read that a former “First Lady” in France confused “happiness” with “a penis.” That was a problem when she was asked by an English speaking reporter what she wanted most in life. That was a joke on _King of the Hill_ several years ago. > [@Chronos](#): > > There are going to be a lot of examples that differ mostly or entirely in their vowels, since English has many more vowel sounds than most languages. And English-speakers don’t necessarily agree on their vowels. Watching the New Zealander couples on _House Hunters International_ is always entertaining, because inevitably when the realtor shows them a backyard with a deck, the wife comments, “Wonderful! I definitely want a big dick!” ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990/40 "2013-09-17T14:37:25Z")
Polyglot South American relatives of mine told me about seeing a war movie while traveling in France. The movie was in English with French subtitles. At one point a soldier sees a Panzer division and shouts “Tanks! Tanks!” The subtitle read, “Merci! Merci!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-foreigners-often-get-confused/668990.md?page=3)