# Words that you CANNOT pronounce **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 17, 2001, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793 "2001-08-17T19:28:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ss138](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@ss138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ss138)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/41 "2001-08-18T09:20:59Z")
hordvours, maybe its not hard to say but why should english speaking people even have to look at that word much less eat one. ---
**Author:** ![ageless6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@ageless6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ageless6)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/42 "2001-08-18T10:45:08Z")
Wow, you guys all sound like a drunch of bunks. ---
**Author:** ![Darqangelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Darqangelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darqangelle)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/43 "2001-08-18T10:50:27Z")
another vote. The only way I can say it is by quoting the Bugs Bunny Cartoon: “Worshesticistichishicshchser Sauce” Most of the time I can’t even make it that and I just sort of trail off after the first two syllables: “Can you pass the worschestis- the brown gunk. No, NOT the A1!” And **Frustrated** , for some reason, I seem to emphasize that first ‘r’ too much. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/44 "2001-08-18T13:02:01Z")
The pacific word I cannot pronounce is specific. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/45 "2001-08-18T13:18:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by poohpah chalupa \* > nuclear “Nyookyooler, Marge. _Nyookyooler_.” ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/46 "2001-08-18T13:33:11Z")
C’est _hors d’oeuvres_, monsieur (ou mademoiselle). 😉 Me? Well, Bugs Bunny has forever ruined my ability to say the word “rhinoceroses”. I keep thinking “rhinoceceroses”. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/47 "2001-08-18T13:38:30Z")
The Simpsons has made it impossible for me to ever say “tuba” or “oboe” again. Well, not without saying “obomoboe” or “tubamaba”. ---
**Author:** ![katie1341](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/48 "2001-08-18T21:25:49Z")
In the circuit where I practice law, the attorneys have to administer the oath to their witnesses. EVRY TIME, I stumble over the phrase “and nothing but the truth”. I put a couple too many "th"s in it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/49 "2001-08-18T22:08:20Z")
Antietam, which comes out Aunty Em. Any river or mountain in New England that’s an Anglicized version of an Indian name. Aluminum used to cause me no end of trouble when I was a kid, but I got over it. I have a friend who can’t pronounce the letter “i” He says pellow, melk, pen instead of pin. It’s not an accent, either, because we grew up together, and I have no such problems. Also, once I start spelling banananana, I can’t stop. ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/50 "2001-08-18T22:24:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nerv \* > \*\*If you have trouble with the American pronunciation of the first word, try the British one: “woostasha” (stress on the first syllable) \*\* You mean we’re supposed to pronounce it differently here in the States? 😃 (oh, wait – British pronunciation as in dropping the Rs, right? Never mind.) I can’t say “specific” to save my life… **tomndebb** , when I was in the Netherlands last summer, our tour guide insisted we pronounce “Van Gogh” in the proper Dutch fashion. When I tell this story to people, they invariably laugh and say “Say that again!” ---
**Author:** ![Shawn\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@Shawn\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn_K)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/51 "2001-08-18T22:25:27Z")
“Wrong” See, I spent some time in Eastern Asia, and have several Asian friends with the family name of “Wong”. “Uhm, no…you’re wong. Err, wrong. WRONG.” Also anyone know that song “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”? I can never say that. It always comes out as “Wake Me Up Before You Godoh.” Pfft, I’m an idiot, though. What do I care. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/52 "2001-08-19T00:13:17Z")
Monsieur. It always comes out “messure”. ---
**Author:** ![LadyAnubis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47774/32.png) [@LadyAnubis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LadyAnubis)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/53 "2001-08-19T01:07:00Z")
I can correctly pronounce “emigrant” and can certainly say “gap.” But when I string the two together, what comes out is “Emigant Grap” … _every_ time. Good thing I’m not a TV news reporter: [Emigrant Gap Fire](http://www.sacbee.com/news/news/local02_20010815.html) My ex pronounced “windowsill” as “windowseal” and “console” as “counsel,” despite my efforts at correction. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/54 "2001-08-19T01:25:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DooWahDiddy \* > \*\*You know what word sucks? Rural. I can’t pronounce that for the life of me. \*\* You’re right! Another bad one. Even worse than _Worcestershire_. You know there are many languages in the world that refuse to start words with the letter _r_? You’re not alone. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/55 "2001-08-19T02:08:19Z")
I’ve known people who couldn’t say “jewelry” (JEW-lurr-ree), “realtor” (REE-la-tur), or “spaghetti sauce” (pasketty sauce). ---
**Author:** ![g8rguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@g8rguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/g8rguy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/56 "2001-08-19T04:21:09Z")
Loathes. I have no problem with loathe, no problem with loafs, no problem with sixths, even, but I can’t for the life of me get loathes to come out right. Very odd. Fortunately, this word doesn’t come up in conversation very often… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/57 "2001-08-19T04:31:02Z")
I knew a kid in grade school who COULD NOT say “ask.” (No, he wasn’t black.) Ax. Ax ax ax ax ax. The teacher made him say assssss-k, and he could say that. Then she told him to say, “ask,” and he’d say “ax.” (And we’d all giggle - what punks.) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/58 "2001-08-19T20:09:35Z")
Saying _ask_ as “ax” is not just Ebonic, nor is it modern. It has been a feature of certain dialects in England for many centuries and can be traced all the way back to Anglo-Saxon regional dialects. ---
**Author:** ![Jeannie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@Jeannie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeannie)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/59 "2001-08-19T20:30:01Z")
“Worcestershire” gets another vote from me. I always say it “wor-se-chi-ster-sher” (or something to that effect). It’s really very sad. I finally learned to say “linoleum” after many years of practice. I still have to say it very slowly or I screw it up. My husband says “rural” as “roo-ul” and my pronunciation isn’t much better. Also, I can never decide if it’s “cue-pon” or “coo-pon.” My boss always leaves the “h” sound off the front of “human,” so that it sounds like “yu-man.” We pointed this out to him one day, and now he says it as “hoo-man,” which it even worse. ---
**Author:** ![IceQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/34f0e0/32.png) [@IceQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQueen)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793/60 "2001-08-19T22:53:03Z")
I roll my "r"s since i’m not a native English speaker (verrrry, rrrreally, rrrurrrral, etc.), I used to say “determined” as “de-ter-MINE-d” for the longest time. I say “me-di-oom” instead of “me-di-yum.” I have difficulties saying “th” and “t,” especially in multisyllabic words that have “s,” “th,” and “t” all bunched up (I have no problem saying “that’s,” but will spend an hour trying to pronounce “something”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cannot-pronounce/76793.md?page=4)