# Words you pronounced wrong because you only read them **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 22, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607 "2011-03-22T14:33:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/161 "2011-03-25T07:58:21Z")
> [@A.Gwilliam](#): > > Sort-of related to the topic of this thread are how I pronounce two words: “valet” (in the sense of a Jeeves), and “lichen”; “vallit” and, well, litchen. Both are acknowledged as alternative pronunciations, but dammit I insist that they are the **correct** pronunciations! In the case of valet, my understanding is that you’re correct: that’s how Jeeves and his young employer would have pronounced it. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/162 "2011-03-25T13:57:43Z")
I once saw a music video for a Paula Abdul song named Vibeology. I saw the name of the song at the beginning and was surprised to hear her sing “vibe ology” instead of “vibby ology” which is clearly the right way to pronounce that “word”. Okay, so she made it up, but I contend that she also spelled it wrong! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/163 "2011-03-25T15:38:49Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > viola That reminds me of the voila/walla thing. > [@](#): > > For some reason I’m surprised that Quay is “key.” I shouldn’t be considering how quahog is pronounced, but I still am. I’ve seen it spelled Cohog. And this from a rabid Family Guy fan, where the name is seen in print in nearly every episode. ---
**Author:** ![Animastryfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Animastryfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animastryfe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/164 "2011-03-25T16:00:05Z")
Many, but the latest one is ‘respite’. I thought it was pronounced RE-spite. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/165 "2011-03-25T16:11:53Z")
> [@Animastryfe](#): > > I thought it was pronounced RE-spite. Only if you’ve already spote. Hence the old saying: “Once spitten, twice shy”. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/166 "2011-03-25T16:59:16Z")
This truly has to be a phenomena more likely among introverts that don’t engage in a wide variety of conversation with other people or exclusively chat on-line and not in real life. How could a normal adult not have heard most of these words in conversation or even in movies for that matter and only in the written form? ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/167 "2011-03-25T17:08:52Z")
Wait, “dour” is supposed to rhyme with “sewer?” I’ve spent my whole life rhyming it with “sour” and no one has corrected me. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/168 "2011-03-25T17:24:00Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > This truly has to be a phenomena more likely among introverts that don’t engage in a wide variety of conversation with other people or exclusively chat on-line and not in real life. How could a normal adult not have heard most of these words in conversation or even in movies for that matter and only in the written form? I read a lot when I was a kid, so by the time I heard a word spoken, I’d probably already encountered it written. Sometimes I made the connection, sometimes not. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/169 "2011-03-25T17:40:24Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > Wait, “dour” is supposed to rhyme with “sewer?” I’ve spent my whole life rhyming it with “sour” and no one has corrected me. [Yup.](http://www.merriam-webster.com/audio.php?file=dour0001&word=dour&text=%5C%3Cspan%20class%3D%22unicode%22%3E%CB%88%3C%2Fspan%3Ed%3Cspan%20class%3D%22unicode%22%3Eu%CC%87%3C%2Fspan%3Er%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22unicode%22%3E%CB%88%3C%2Fspan%3Eda%3Cspan%20class%3D%22unicode%22%3Eu%CC%87%3C%2Fspan%3E(-%C9%99)r%5C) (Although apparently enough people have been pronouncing it like sour that that’s become an “alternative” pronunciation.) ---
**Author:** ![born\_too\_late](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba9def/32.png) [@born\_too\_late](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/born_too_late)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/170 "2011-03-25T19:22:24Z")
cacophony (I was pronouncing it ‘KACK-o-foh-nee’) - This one I was only corrected on recently. segue (I was pronouncing it ‘seeg’) In high school I was asked to read something and I pronounced ‘fetish’ as feet-ish. Chuckles abounded. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/171 "2011-03-25T20:08:12Z")
I just thought of another one. Recently, I was tripped up by a science article which was referring to “unionized ammonia.” Took me a couple of do-overs of that sentence to realize they were talking about “un-ionized” ammonia and not “union-ized” ammonia. ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/172 "2011-03-25T20:52:01Z")
I always thought ‘vaudeville’ was a two-syllable word until I heard Tony Randall on \*The Tonight Show \*point out to Johnny Carson that it is pronounced vaud-e-ville. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/173 "2011-03-25T21:21:19Z")
> [@Obeseus](#): > > I always thought ‘vaudeville’ was a two-syllable word until I heard Tony Randall on \*The Tonight Show \*point out to Johnny Carson that it is pronounced vaud-e-ville. I only see [two-syllable](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vaudeville) pronunciations of the word here. ETA: That should be two of the three pronunciations. The last one given is the three-syllable one. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/174 "2011-03-25T21:47:47Z")
Have we had “chimera” yet? I thought it was such a mellifluous name, perfect for a strange mythical beast: “SHIM-mer-ah”. I was so disappointed to learn the real pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Hazel\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Ms.Hazel\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Hazel_Ice)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/175 "2011-03-25T21:50:19Z")
Whenever I am preparing lessons, I always need to take a good look at the vocab that I’m covering for a week in case there are any words that I forget how to pronounce for this reason. Words that have been issues: NONPAREIL (for some reason, I always want to say non-pah-REEL, so I have to make a post-it note for myself and try to think, although it’s stupid, "Cair Paravel, nun-puh-rel) APPLIQUE (I accidentally said “app-LEEKS” when talking to my mother about fixing a coat…again, I never say the word, I just read it) Flubs from my students: ANTIGONE: anti-gone CREON: cray-on (Is it that hard to say CREE-on?) PENELOPE: peh-neh-lope CRUCIBLE: cruck-i-ble, cruss-i-ble ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/176 "2011-03-25T22:19:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Recently, I was tripped up by a science article which was referring to “unionized ammonia.” Can you blame ammonia? For too long, ammonia has been forced to work in janitorial services with no pay or benefits. It’s about time ammonia got organized for better treatment. And don’t try to pretend there’s not a racial issue here. Ammonia would never have been treated this way if it was an oxide. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/177 "2011-03-25T22:39:11Z")
Another prefix problem word (at least for Alton Brown) is astaxanthin- the red pigment in lobsters. The “x” is pronounced as a “z” since asta- is a prefix. ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/178 "2011-03-25T23:50:21Z")
_Israeli_. My first day of classes for my Master’s Degree in Journalism, and I had to read a newspaper article out loud to the rest of the class. I’d seen the word a million times but had never had to say it out loud. I stumbled and then sputtered out “Iz-ray-ELL-ee.” Just the other day at work I had to read aloud the word _incongruous_. I put the emphasis on the 3rd syllable and blushed madly. And I’m a professional writer. It was awful, and I was teased mercilessly. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/179 "2011-03-26T00:50:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I just thought of another one. Recently, I was tripped up by a science article which was referring to “unionized ammonia.” Took me a couple of do-overs of that sentence to realize they were talking about “un-ionized” ammonia and not “union-ized” ammonia. This just burned me. I read your second sentence, didn’t understand it, and then read it a few more times. WTF is “union-ized ammonia?” I kept asking myself. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607/180 "2011-03-26T01:48:04Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Actually, the Latin alphabet was introduced to Vietnamese as a phonetic replacement for their character-based systems, so it should be pronounced the way it looks. Westerners just have trouble saying NG at the beginning of a word. > > I think na-goo-yen is closer than nwin, though nwin might be what some Vietnamese who’ve given up hope of ever hearing their name pronounced right accept as a compromise. Try “ngween” though. That would be closer. To get that “ng” sound at the beginning of a syllable, it’s good to practice saying the word “singing,” whittling it down to just the “-nging” part. “Singing, inging, nging, nging, ngi-.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-pronounced-wrong-because-you-only-read-them/575607.md?page=10)