# Words you know you're pronouncing wrong, but still do **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 11, 2012, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459 "2012-04-11T11:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/21 "2012-04-11T16:26:36Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > That’s a word I’m pronouncing wrong, and intend to keep doing so. After all, it is spelled wrong. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/22 "2012-04-11T17:46:34Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I pronounce “Java” (the programming language) “Ja-va” rather than “Jah-vuh”. The latter just sounds so pretentious. I’m having some trouble imagining the distinction, and how your pronunciation makes it sound less pretentious than pronouncing it as one would coffee, or (as a typical American speaker would pronounce) the country of Java. Can you elaborate? You say “ja-va”, which is like… what, “gaga”? ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/23 "2012-04-11T18:51:31Z")
I struggle to say gyros correctly. I grew up saying jye-rows. Everybody I knew called them jye-rows. I know intellectually that it’s supposed to be yee-rows, but it’s haaaard. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/24 "2012-04-11T20:00:16Z")
_Nuptials_. I don’t care if the whole rest of the world says “Nup-tu-alls.” There’s only one “U” in there, and dammit, it’s “NUP-tchulls.” Also, \*comfortable \*(I, like most of the rest of the world, say “comftable”), \*Wednesday \*(“Wensday,”) and \*February \*(“Febyooary.”) I also don’t like the fact that “vegan” is pronounced “veegan,” but I’ve learned to deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/25 "2012-04-11T20:16:53Z")
Asphalt For some reason in Canada, and England from watching UK Top Gear, it is pronounced Ash-fault. Now that I live in the States I have a hard time pronouncing it the way it is spelt. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/26 "2012-04-11T20:21:17Z")
Apropos of nothing, I always pronounce it as uh-PRO-poas. Fortunately, it’s not a word I use often. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/27 "2012-04-11T20:28:36Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I pronounce “Java” (the programming language) “Ja-va” rather than “Jah-vuh”. The latter just sounds so pretentious. I have no idea what this means. I pronounce “Java” like I do the word that is often used as a synonym for coffee, which, to me, seems like it should be “jah-vuh.” What’s pretentious about that? It’s what I would consider the “natural” English pronunciation of the word, with a schwa final syllable, instead of of an “ah,” which, to me, would sound pretentious, not the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/28 "2012-04-11T20:40:28Z")
“Feb-you-ary” for February. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/29 "2012-04-11T20:46:58Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Likewise, there’s “pho”, the Vietnamese noodle soup that’s become all the rage lately. I know it’s pronounced “fuh”, but I always end up calling it “foe”. I say it that way too and I had no idea it was wrong. > [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I pronounce February as “Feb-you-ary.” This used to drive my third grade teacher up the wall. That’s how I say February too. How is it supposed to be spoken? When reading Harry Potter before the movies came out, I always read Hermione as HERM-E-OWN. Also, from Cather in the Rye (I think). What was the girl’s name? I read that wrong too. Phoebe as FOE-BE. I say Moo for Mu instead of Mew. I also say META-MORE-FOE-SEES instead of META-MORE-FEH-SEES for Metamorphoses. But I say metamorphosis right. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/30 "2012-04-11T20:49:10Z")
[Provolone](http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?provol01.wav=provolone), but I have never heard anyone around here pronounce it correctly so I have conformed to the norm. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/31 "2012-04-11T20:52:37Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > When reading Harry Potter before the movies came out, I always read Hermione as HERM-E-OWN. It was the movie that set me straight, too. I’d seen it in print way back in 1993ish. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/32 "2012-04-11T20:53:25Z")
faskinating ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/33 "2012-04-11T21:02:25Z")
I do use many of the mispronunciations listed in this thread, knowing full well they are malaprops. One not listed is my inevitable use of the Ensign Pulver pronunciation of “buttocks”: BYOU-tocks. My dad always used that one, and passed it on to me. Granted, I don’t often get much call for the word, but now and again. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/34 "2012-04-11T21:10:23Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > I also say “lou-ten-ant” for Lieutenant - I’ve heard it pronounced “Lef-ten-ent” and can’t figure out where the “ff” sound comes from. “Lou” on “Rescue Me” was so nicknamed because he was the Lieutenant, which makes me think it’s a British/Canadian/American thing. It’s funny because in Canada it can go either way - it’s officially ‘lef’ but whenever I hear it outside an official context it’s ‘lou’. Also guilty of ‘Feb-yoo-ary’ and ‘Whens-day’. My God, in looking up pronunciations, I just realized I wasn’t saying a word wrong, I was using the wrong word! I now know depreciated != deprecated. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/35 "2012-04-11T21:48:20Z")
BARN-uh-clees. TEST-uh-clees. row-DODD-en-drawn. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/36 "2012-04-11T21:55:10Z")
I think “Wensday” is widespread enough that it’s generally accepted as how people pronounce the word. I myself pronounce it “Wedn’s Day” just to be contrary. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/37 "2012-04-11T22:06:30Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I think “Wensday” is widespread enough that it’s generally accepted as how people pronounce the word. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an American speaker pronounce the “d” in Wednesday. There are two pronunciations I hear, and one has “day” at the end, while the other has “dee” at the end. Looks like [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) doesn’t even give the “d” pronunciation, while Merriam -Webster lists it as “British also.” I think it’s safe to say that for a US English speaker, “wenzday/dee” is the accepted pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/38 "2012-04-11T22:09:48Z")
In the spirit of the OP, my son refers to his lego instructions as ‘constructions’ and I quite like that. When I come upon instructions for constructing something, I now refer to them as constructions. ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/39 "2012-04-12T01:17:09Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > In the spirit of the OP, my son refers to his lego instructions as ‘constructions’ and I quite like that. When I come upon instructions for constructing something, I now refer to them as constructions. And my son refers to construction as “destruction” – as in “look, Mama, destruction vehicles!!” It’s one of his few remaining mispronunciations at the age of four, and I’ll miss it when he says it correctly! (He used to call triangles “trianguggles.”) Speaking of which… mispronounciations is how the word really ought to be said/spelled, IMHO. ---
**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 12, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/40 "2012-04-12T01:24:05Z")
I refuse to use the “correct” pronunciations of _Nevada_, _Oregon_, and _iron_, because they just sound stupid to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459.md?page=3)