# Pronunciacions that make you seethe with anger! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 27, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978 "2008-03-27T22:06:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/241 "2008-04-04T19:32:13Z")
Any mispronounciation of a brand name. Top offenders: -“Reese’s” pronounced to rhyme with “species” as opposed to the possesive form of “Reese.” It has an apostrophe in it! They’re the peanut butter cups of Mr. Reese! -“Swiffer” pronounced as “Swifter” -“Poland Spring” pluralizes as “Poland Springs” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/242 "2008-04-04T21:08:36Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] Any mispronounciation of a brand name. Top offenders: -“Reese’s” pronounced to rhyme with “species” [/QUOTE] Agh! Didn’t you read post No. 202? _Species_ has a “sh” in it! ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/243 "2008-04-04T21:28:24Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] More to the point: how do you pronounce “schism” or “schizoid,” which are derived from the same Greek root as “schedule” (_skhizein_, to split or divide)? [/QUOTE] This argument doesn’t work when you also include the verb ‘shed’ into the group from that root. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/244 "2008-04-04T22:47:45Z")
“Relator” bothers me, as do many of the other examples in the thread, but they don’t drive me over the edge like SELL-tick does. That cursed team in Boston is responsible for millions of people not knowing how to pronounce the word “Celtic.” [QUOTE=RedFury] FTR, it is true that I really _couldn’t_ care less about this whole RO. [/QUOTE] I’ve been seeing “RO” in thread titles, and now twice in this thread, and I can’t figure out from context what the heck it means. What is “RO”? [QUOTE=Sunspace] My dialect of English has tended to lose the Y-sound in words like ‘tune’ and ‘due’ [/QUOTE] The word “tune” has a Y sound in it? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/245 "2008-04-04T22:58:32Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] That cursed team in Boston is responsible for millions of people not knowing how to pronounce the word “Celtic.” [/QUOTE] Yet the Glasgow namesake (and soundalike) doesn’t prevent millions of Brits getting it right in all other situations. Maybe it’s not the team’s fault? [QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] The word “tune” has a Y sound in it? [/QUOTE] Yes - otherwise it would be spelt ‘toon’. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/246 "2008-04-04T23:10:18Z")
[QUOTE=Squeaker Snow] "I’ve got an “ideal” rather than “idea.” Grrrr… [/QUOTE] Don’t ever visit Bristol (UK), then. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/247 "2008-04-05T00:45:10Z")
Orientate. This word is wearing on my last nerve. You orient things, not orientate. After hearing her say it several times I finally corrected someone, very politely, and it felt wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/248 "2008-04-05T02:11:58Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] Agh! Didn’t you read post No. 202? _Species_ has a “sh” in it! [/QUOTE] Ah, you’re right re: pronounciation of “species.” Didn’t think about that. (I was going to use “feces,” but I thought that was too disgusting to use combined with a food product.) ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/249 "2008-04-05T03:34:12Z")
I apoligize fot reading the entire five-page thread, but I saw it and soemthing that’s been bugging me for a while … I’ve only met two people who do this, and they are both college professors. I don;t know if it’s some kind of damn accent … Words that start with “h” and pronouncing it like a “y”. “We are human beings” comes out sounding like “We are you-man beings.” It’s so slight, but it bugs the living hell outta me!! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/250 "2008-04-06T16:07:54Z")
[QUOTE=Pazu] “Sontimeters” (by English speakers in the US). For that matter, pretty much any time this pseudo-French modification occurs (for some reason, it’s very common in the medical community): _exenteration_ pronounced “exonteration”, for instance. [/QUOTE] Also ON-velope. There was an earlier thread about whether it was correct to say “from whence”. Although it appears that “from whence” is well established in the standard language, I still don’t like it. It’s like a badly written program that has unused variables. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/251 "2008-04-06T16:13:19Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Also ON-velope. [/QUOTE] Yeah, everybody knows it’s pronounced “onveloaf.” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/252 "2008-04-06T16:15:25Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] I’ve been seeing “RO” in thread titles, and now twice in this thread, and I can’t figure out from context what the heck it means. What is “RO”? [/QUOTE] “Recreational Outrage,” i.e., getting exercised about something that doesn’t actually affect you. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/253 "2008-04-09T03:01:55Z")
[QUOTE=Askance] I really don’t know. I think it might have been by unconscious analogy with other Spanish words that came my way, such as Los Alamos and Los Angeles - perhaps I extrapolated that Spanish words that ended in vowel-S are not plurals, even when rendered in English. In Australia we don’t come across Spanish words as routinely as USAns must. [/QUOTE] Oh dear. Any word preceded by the word “Los” or “Las” is plural. Los Angeles means “The Angels.” Unfortunately, I can’t remember what Alamos means off the top of my head. Singular words are preceded by “El” or “La” except in the case of meaning _of the_ which is “del” instead when the noun is masculine (de+el= del.; de + la = de la) An example of singular vs plural: El Nino - The Boy Los Ninos - The Boys or The Children (any mixed gendered group takes the masculine form, even if there’s 1 boy and 1000 girls) ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/254 "2008-04-09T10:31:35Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Oh dear. Any word preceded by the word “Los” or “Las” is plural. Los Angeles means “The Angels.” Unfortunately, I can’t remember what Alamos means off the top of my head. [/QUOTE] Elms. > [@](#): > > An example of singular vs plural: > El Nino - The Boy > Los Ninos - The Boys or The Children (any mixed gendered group takes the masculine form, even if there’s 1 boy and 1000 girls) Which is why you get literal translations like “I have four sons: two females and two males”. (_tengo cuatro hijos: dos hembras y dos varones_). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/255 "2008-04-09T13:59:48Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Oh dear. Any word preceded by the word “Los” or “Las” is plural. Los Angeles means “The Angels.” Unfortunately, I can’t remember what Alamos means off the top of my head. Singular words are preceded by “El” or “La” except in the case of meaning _of the_ which is “del” instead when the noun is masculine (de+el= del.; de + la = de la) An example of singular vs plural: El Nino - The Boy Los Ninos - The Boys or The Children (any mixed gendered group takes the masculine form, even if there’s 1 boy and 1000 girls) [/QUOTE] Yep, I pointed this out in post 222. I don’t know if **Askance** missed it, or if he’s still too occupied with :smack: ing himself that he hasn’t had time to reply yet. 😛 -FrL- ---
**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:** [April 9, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/256 "2008-04-09T14:39:37Z")
People who pronounce “Why” as “How come” ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/257 "2008-04-09T21:26:37Z")
This relates to the “Annoying Local Newscast” threads. One local anchor drives me nuts with such gems as “West-consin” and February minus the middle R. There’s also a weekend/vacation relief anchorwoman who slurs her words, stammers, and can’t even compensate by looking somewhat attractive. Someone’s girlfriend?wife?ex-wife demanding less alimony for the opportunity to be on TV? Affirmative action hire? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/258 "2008-04-09T21:29:36Z")
minor one: chipotle chi-pot-le not chi-pol-te but i know that’s a hard combination of letters and nahautl words are notoriously hard to replicate from an english standpoint. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/259 "2008-04-09T22:14:44Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Singular words are preceded by “El”… [/QUOTE] I’ve never been able to believe that the Steely Dan brianiacs could come up with a line that says, “I detect **the El Supremo** from the room at the top of the stairs.” (From _Showbiz Kids_) Don! Walt! Off to the Department of Redundancy Department with the both of you! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978/260 "2008-04-09T22:22:45Z")
[QUOTE=Starving Artist] I’ve never been able to believe that the Steely Dan brianiacs could come up with a line that says, “I detect **the El Supremo** from the room at the top of the stairs.” (From _Showbiz Kids_) Don! Walt! Off to the Department of Redundancy Department with the both of you! [/QUOTE] I usually shrug off grammatically quesionable Dan lyrics by saying they’re just in character. OTOH if the singer in the song’s supposed to be well-educated and isn’t clearly making a joke, that’s another story… (haven’t heard the song in question, though.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciacions-that-make-you-seethe-with-anger/442978.md?page=14)