# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/61 "2012-04-12T13:02:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Ah, that’s one. I always pronounce “sherbet” as “sherbert.” I literally do not know a single person who doesn’t, and if I pronounced it without the second “r,” I’d expect most people to look at me funny. They’d look at you funny because you’d be pronouncing it wrong. Majority rules when it comes to pronunciation. And then sometimes there’s a coalition rule too. If enough people say it that way, it’s a proper pronunciation. I don’t want to get pegged as a Franco-sympathizer, but you can imagine what would happen to the French if they had to start pronouncing things the way they were spelled? ---
**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 12, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/62 "2012-04-12T13:10:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > They’d look at you funny because you’d be pronouncing it wrong. Majority rules when it comes to pronunciation. And then sometimes there’s a coalition rule too. If enough people say it that way, it’s a proper pronunciation. I don’t want to get pegged as a Franco-sympathizer, but you can imagine what would happen to the French if they had to start pronouncing things the way they were spelled? Sure. In my dialect “sherbert” is the correct pronunciation for “sherbet.” What I find interesting, though, is that on both [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) and Merriam-Webster, it’s not even listed as a possible correct pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/63 "2012-04-12T13:10:50Z")
I live in Chicago and yet sometimes I pronounce it saw-sedge instead of sah-sitch like it should be. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/64 "2012-04-12T13:34:35Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I always pronounced it “lie-nux” because it was named after Linus Torvalds, which most people would pronounce as “lie-nus.” > > However, most people (including Mr. Torvalds himself) pronounce it as “li-nux.” I assume that is because that is how his name is pronounced. > > Conceding that I am not infallible, I switched to “Li-nux,” and haven’t looked back. > > [Mr. Torvalds prouncing Linux in English and Swedish.](http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/SillySounds/) Indeed. In Swedish “i” is pronounced like the beginning of “idiot” if there are a couple of consonants after it and like “ee” if there is a single consonant (I believe this is a standard Germanic idea for long/short vowels). This also means that most English speaking people pronounce IKEA incorrectly, it is more accurately “ee-key-ah” than “aye-key-ah”. I’ve met several Swedes that have told me that the first time they heard it pronounced with an “aye” was when they saw it on “Friends” in the mid nineties. However, of course, Mr Torvalds is Finlandssvensk, so he mispronounces just about everything 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/65 "2012-04-12T13:45:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Sure. In my dialect “sherbert” is the correct pronunciation for “sherbet.” What I find interesting, though, is that on both [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) and Merriam-Webster, it’s not even listed as a possible correct pronunciation. That’s why you come to the Dope, to get it Straight! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/66 "2012-04-12T14:56:28Z")
RE: Epitome. I read that word more often\* than I say it. I _know_ how it’s pronounced, yet I used the word in conversation a few years ago, and pronounced it “epi-tome.” It wasn’t until the blank stares and laughter that I realized what I said. Stoopid word. “Off-ten” or “offin”? 😉 ---
**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 12, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/67 "2012-04-12T15:08:56Z")
America - Amerikay. dunno whether it’s from singing too many ballads although I’ve heard others say it. ---
**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 12, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/68 "2012-04-12T16:11:50Z")
Cat fud (rhymes with “Fudd”) - came from that old Far Side cartoon. Terlet paper - That’s the way Archie Bunker always pronounced it, and for some reason I thought it was funny so I still do it. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/69 "2012-04-12T16:38:05Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > [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. Yes, I hear “pro-vo-loan” all the time. The one that really gets me, though, is “mar-scar-pone”. That drives me crazy. (I pronounce them both pretty much correctly, though an Italian might not be too happy with the accent.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/70 "2012-04-12T17:42:01Z")
I usually say nuclear like GWB. Can’t help it. I also can’t remember how to say eidetic. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/71 "2012-04-12T18:24:48Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Cat fud (rhymes with “Fudd”) - came from that old Far Side cartoon. HAHA - I do that for all my pets “fud.” I even write it that way on the shopping list!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/72 "2012-04-12T18:50:01Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I live in Chicago and yet sometimes I pronounce it saw-sedge instead of sah-sitch like it should be. To me, that’s six of one, half-dozen of the other. ---
**Author:** ![Jbone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@Jbone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jbone)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/73 "2012-04-12T19:02:52Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > After all, it is spelled wrong. I just looked it up in the dictionary, it is spelled wrong there as well. I went through a phase where I would see “Academy” and pronounce it “acka-deemy”. After saying it out loud, I would quickly correct myself and wonder, for the next 10 minutes, why I pronounced it like that. ---
**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 12, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/74 "2012-04-12T19:27:20Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > HAHA - I do that for all my pets “fud.” I even write it that way on the shopping list!😃 Yep, so do I. (I also write “terlet paper” on the list.) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/75 "2012-04-12T19:28:36Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > [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. While the “incorrect” pronunciation is not standard Italian, it’s more a matter of dialect than correct v. incorrect. See this [NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/nyregion/20italian.html) story. ---
**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 12, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/76 "2012-04-12T20:05:07Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I live in Chicago and yet sometimes I pronounce it saw-sedge instead of sah-sitch like it should be. Do you mean the latter is the “correct” one for the Chicago dialect, or the general American dialect (so far as there is one.) The first pronunciation you listed is closer to the “accepted” pronunciation than the latter. [See here for an audio example.](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sausage?s=t) Most of the US does not have the cot-caught merger, so they would pronounce it with an “aw” instead of an “ah.” Or, in IPA, a /ɔ/ instead of an /ɒ/. Or maybe you’re saying “sossitch” is the more accepted pronunciation for the Chicago dialect. That’s what I say when I’m trying to exaggerate the Chicago accent. Although there are different accents within Chicagoland. I come from a part of Chicago that says “shih-CAH-go.” Some insist that Chicagoans says “shih-CAW-go.” They say both. I’m not sure if the division is geographical or what exactly. ---
**Author:** ![BomTek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bomtek/32/21364_2.png) [@BomTek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BomTek)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/77 "2012-04-13T18:44:57Z")
I was going to say that mine is “potable,” but in looking it up, I see that the [correct pronunciation](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/potable) is apparently POH-tuh-buhl, which seems logical to me. Most people I hear use the word say POT-uh-buhl, however. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/78 "2012-04-13T19:41:11Z")
> [@rjk](#): > > Yes, I hear “pro-vo-loan” all the time. The one that really gets me, though, is “mar-scar-pone”. That drives me crazy. At an Italian restaurant this lunchtime, the waitress said that the soup of the day was minestroan. That’s a new one on me. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/79 "2012-04-13T20:38:46Z")
“Wa-CHO-via” instead of Wa-KO-via." Not too big of a deal since they’re not around any more. There is a Rio road in Charlottesville VA and everyone pronounces it as RYE-o, myself included. There aren’t many Rios on this side of the Rockies. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459/80 "2012-04-13T20:42:29Z")
> [@JohnM](#): > > While the “incorrect” pronunciation is not standard Italian, it’s more a matter of dialect than correct v. incorrect. See this [NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/nyregion/20italian.html) story. I’m half Italian. My grandparents were straight off the boat. I consider the “correct” pronunciation to be the middle of the road American way. My Italian family pronunced it the “incorrect” way as per the NYT article. To me and my Italian relatives the cheese is mozzarell. I hear most non-Italians say motzerella which is like nails on the blackboard to me. Same with pro-shoot (prosciutto), pasta fazool (pasta e fagioli), provaloan (provalone), managout (manicotti), scungeel (scungilli), galamad (calamari), rigawt (ricotta). As John said, its not wrong, its dialect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-know-youre-pronouncing-wrong-but-still-do/618459.md?page=5)