# Mispronounced Words **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 20, 1999, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919 "1999-10-20T14:36:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 1999, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/61 "1999-10-21T20:21:00Z")
LOL over Boris B’s word! Despite having lived in SC all my life, I didn’t find out what “pickaninny” actually meant until I was almost 30! The only context I ever it used was by my father, who used it (of all things) as sort of a term of endearment when he was talking to “little ones,” (my younger sister, puppies, etc.) “Oh, come here, little pickaninny.” ---
**Author:** ![labradorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@labradorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labradorian)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 1999, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/62 "1999-10-21T22:24:00Z")
When did m-e-a-s-u-r-e start getting pronounced as if it was spelled “mayzher” in the U.S.? CNN announcers are often talking about Congress adopting this mayzher or another. Is it a southernism or is it more widespread? ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 1999, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/63 "1999-10-21T22:35:00Z")
Saw a list of Ancient Greek names. Somebody said, “Only one name on that list is familiar: Phoebe.” I thought to myself: I don’t see no Feebee on that list, but I sure do see a weird one. Must be pronounced Fobe. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/64 "1999-10-22T02:47:00Z")
I remember having the impression once upon a time that `ornery' was the Southern version of the term and `onrey’ was the Northern version. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/65 "1999-10-22T18:13:00Z")
“Mayzher” is not a southernism that I have ever heard. Around here it’s pronounced “MEH zyur”. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/66 "1999-10-22T18:51:00Z")
In a radio commercial for a local jeweler, a voice of someone claiming to be the owner says something like, “You can trust us to create **joo-la-ree** for you that will last a lifetime.” And, why is the last name of Taliaferro pronounced “tolliver?” Even the bastardations caused by translation don’t explain that one. ---
**Author:** ![putrid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@putrid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/putrid)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 1999, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/67 "1999-10-23T13:29:00Z")
I learned truculent from books so never heard it for years. People laugh and laugh when I pronounce the c as an s instead of a k. My sisters and I all _think_ there is such a word as missiled that means the same thing as misled. We never use missiled out loud but always mispronounce misled in our minds. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 1999, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/68 "1999-10-23T21:37:00Z")
About a “short ‘e’” being pronounced like a “long ‘a,’” (“measure” pronounced like "mayzher), I’ve noticed it in only two people: Mike Wallace of “60 Minutes” fame and “Alfalfa,” a famous crooner of the late '30’s and early '40’s :). Mike Wallace was born in Brookline MA. Alfalfa was a farm boy from Paris IL. (It was joked that he had never owned a pair of shoes until he moved to CA.) I can’t imagine what those two could have possibly had in common in their early years. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 1999, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/69 "1999-10-23T21:55:00Z")
I have deliberately mispronounced the noun “Officer” as “Ossifer” so many times over the years, as a crude parody of a DWI suspect being questioned, that I seriously doubt that I will be able to pronounce it correctly should, God forbid, the need arise. I drive very carefully now. * * * Reality is for people who can’t handle drugs. -Tom Waits ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 1999, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/70 "1999-10-23T22:31:00Z")
Though I believe I have a fairly extensive vocabulary, when folks hear me speak they just have to laugh. I am afflicted with a Philly dialect. Creek becomes crick; radiator becomes rah-diator; gas becomes GAZ My words come out closer than Siamese twins “Did you go down to the shore yet?” becomes, “Ja gedownah shoryet?” I can write the most elequent prose, but when read aloud it comes out sounding like Rocky… after about 12 rounds. Another word I never get right: cache. Is it cake or cash or cashay? But folks who add a “T” onto the end of across drive me up the wall. ---
**Author:** ![omniscientnot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a5b964/32.png) [@omniscientnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omniscientnot)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 1999, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/71 "1999-10-24T01:49:00Z")
Powers: It’s ka-po-tee. Kaylasdad: AFAIK, Carter’s _always_ said “nucular”, before and after Three-Mile Island. Guess no one dared correct him on that point. AWB: Say what?! hair-ASS?? Believe it’s pronounced har-rass (the accent being on the first or second syllable depending on whether you’re American or not :)). Chief: it’s pronounced cash. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 1999, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/72 "1999-10-24T10:08:00Z")
I pronounce cache: caish, but I’m probably wrong. And Rysdad: the correct spelling and pronunciation is ‘jewellery’ (JOO-la-ree). The one that gets me is here in Oz and NZ they pronounce ‘debut’ as ‘day-BOO’ which drives me fuckin bonkers!!! Even Americans pronounce it ‘DEB-yoo’ which is the right way!! _sigh_ * * * “Well, roll me in eggs and flour and bake me for forty minutes!” [The Legend Of PigeonMan](http://www.hotkey.net.au/~guanolad/pigeonman/) ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 1999, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/73 "1999-10-24T12:15:00Z")
I guess I should’ve said the commercial was run in the United States, so the chiefly British variant “jewellery” doesn’t apply. ---
**Author:** ![omniscientnot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a5b964/32.png) [@omniscientnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omniscientnot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 1999, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/74 "1999-10-25T05:25:00Z")
Guano: Merriam-Webster doesn’t give the pronunciation “Deh-byoo” (only DAY-byoo or day-BYOO). On the other hand, the Collins Dictionary (British) _does_ give “DAY-byoo” and “DEH-byoo”. As far as “jewel(le)ry” is concerned, Joo-la-ry could be an Australian pronunciation because neither Collins (DJU-well-ry) nor M-W (DJU-well-ry, DJUL-ry) make mention of it. FWIW, I usually say DAY-byou and DJU-well-ry. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 1999, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/75 "1999-10-24T19:34:00Z")
**Doctor Jackson:** > [@](#): > > “Mayzher” is not a southernism that I have ever heard. Around here it’s pronounced “MEH zyur”. I concur with the good doctor on this. I’ve never heard it pronounced MAY-zher in the South. However, I was on an interview panel recently where one guy, not from the South, would ask questions about metrics worded along the lines of “How do you MAY-zhur that?” Drove me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![ChristianaLP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c4cdca/32.png) [@ChristianaLP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChristianaLP)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 1999, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/76 "1999-10-25T08:09:00Z")
The only one I can think of that makes me crazy is Houston Street here in NYC. Its HOUSE-ton not hues-ton as in Houston, Texas. Tourists drive me nuts with that one… * * * ~ Christiana~ “No smoking in bars in California… And pretty soon, no drinking and no talking” ~ Eddie Izzard ---
**Author:** ![Lanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85e7bf/32.png) [@Lanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanna)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 1999, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/77 "1999-10-25T09:16:00Z")
I have quite a few, mostly attributed to the fact that I’ve only seen them, and never heard them said aloud. Probably the biggest is “mundane.” I know it’s “mun-dane” but whenever I read it, it’s always “MU-dane” in my head. I don’t think I’ve ever said it that way aloud… My mother listens for any pronunciation or grammatical errors and then has a field day. She’d make fun of me for a good year over this. -LannaRalphie ---
**Author:** ![labradorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@labradorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labradorian)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 1999, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/78 "1999-10-25T14:32:00Z")
I was speculating about mayzher being a southernism because I seem to hear it most on CNN. Another one that bugs me is the decline in stress differences between parts of speech in Murrica. Example: per-MIT (n.) as in parking per-MIT per-MIT (v.) To my ears, the noun should have the stress on the first syllable. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 1999, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/79 "1999-10-25T21:43:00Z")
It drives me bats when people pronounce it /Esperaaaaanto/ to rhyme with Monsanto. It’s /Esper-ahn-to/ to rhyme with Toronto. Geez. How difficult is that? I like to irritate Americans by pronouncing the French place names as French place names. /Mo’-pell-YAY/, /bwa-ZAY/, /de-TRHWAH/, /bato’-RUZH/. Incidentally, someone from Paris is not a /Pareezhan/. They are a /Parizhun/ (rhymes with “collision” ---
**Author:** ![omniscientnot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a5b964/32.png) [@omniscientnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omniscientnot)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 1999, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919/80 "1999-10-26T00:49:00Z")
Christiana: You’ll have to admit it’s a bit understandable, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronounced-words/9919.md?page=5)