# Words You’ve Never Heard Pronounced **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774 "2022-05-01T22:23:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/241 "2022-05-18T06:17:00Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > minutiae. > > I heard Garak in Deep Space Nine pronounce it as min-you-sha and I thought, so that’s how you say it. > > However, I just heard a character in another TV show pronounce it my-newt-ee-eye. Apparently I’ve been mispronouncing this for about 45 years. And so has everyone else I’ve heard use it in that time. I’ve never heard it pronounced with four syllables. Too late for me to change now. > [@Senegoid](#): > > And if you’ve never heard “synecdoche” pronounced Crap, there’s another one. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it spoken, but in my head the “ch” is like church. At least I had the four syllables correct. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/242 "2022-05-18T06:19:55Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > And if you’ve never heard “synecdoche” pronounced (or if you’ve never even seen the word), don’t even think to try it. OTOH, I guess people in certain parts of New York will get it right immediately. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/243 "2022-05-18T08:33:56Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > OTOH, I guess people in certain parts of New York will get it right immediately. Ha! I was just about to say that my family was from the Capital District of NY, so I knew how to say this from an early age. “Skinny atlas,” too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/244 "2022-05-18T14:33:25Z")
That’s another one where the right pronunciation feels weird to me. To me the last bit is doe-(as in a deer, a female deer)-sh. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2022, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/245 "2022-05-19T01:46:28Z")
Ah! The pizza thread just reminded me of one. I don’t think I’ve ever heard this word pronounced, and it seems I always have to look it up to remind myself of the actually pronunciation: geoduck. Every time I come across it, I say “geo-duck.” ---
**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:** [May 19, 2022, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/246 "2022-05-19T12:38:25Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > A teenaged family member was looking at a map of the park and stated “I really liked riding chouse.” IIf you mean with the “ch” pronounced as /k/ as it usually is in the word, that’s very close to how it’s pronounced in German. And when I hear the word in German, I usually think of cows, because that’s how “cows” is sometimes pronounced by a German speaking English with a strong accent. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/247 "2022-05-19T13:01:27Z")
Duden Online agrees with you (i.e., “ɔ” instead of “o”), but a generic English speaker will probably not try to use a German accent; another random vowel will be substituted, just like with the first vowel “a” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/248 "2022-05-19T13:34:16Z")
I usually hear it mispronounced with the “ch” as in “church”. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/249 "2022-05-19T13:55:50Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > And when I hear the word in German, I usually think of cows, because that’s how “cows” is sometimes pronounced by a German speaking English with a strong accent. Ha! I posted on this on the Dope a couple years ago. I lived in Mexico, and people (in Spanish) started taking about cows. Eventually I figured out they were saying “chaos.” That’s how it sounds in proper Spanish (spelled “caos”) — identical except English voices the final sibilant of “cows.” Somehow, this could be a Far Side cartoon. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/250 "2022-05-19T17:02:49Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Duden Online agrees with you (i.e., “ɔ” instead of “o”), but a generic English speaker will probably not try to use a German accent; another random vowel will be substituted, just like with the first vowel “a” I think there’s been a misunderstanding; I should have been more clear, since I now notice some ambiguity in how I phrased it. I meant, a native speaker of German who speaks English, but still has a strong accent. I also should have acknowledged that the pronunciation of English _cows_ and German _Chaos_ obviously isn’t exactly the same, but they are fairly close, despite the diphthongs being somewhat different, and only English voicing the terminal sibilant. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/251 "2022-05-19T17:08:16Z")
One word I’ve been pronouncing wrong is Magellan, as in Ferdinand Magellan. It’s got a soft ‘g’. At least I was pronouncing the names of the Magellanic Clouds correctly, as I’d probably heard Patrick Moore waffle on about them back in the day. (Also a soft ‘g’). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/252 "2022-05-19T17:36:59Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > One word I’ve been pronouncing wrong is Magellan, as in Ferdinand Magellan. It’s got a soft ‘g’. Actually, [it seems tha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Magellan)t both pronunciations are acceptable. And note that it is an Anglicised version of his original name _Fernão de Magalhães_ so really they are both inaccurate. As far as I can make out, it was pronounced approximately Mag-al-yies with a hard g. According to [this IPA reader](http://ipa-reader.xyz/) on the Portugese setting. My school history teacher taught it with a hard g. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/253 "2022-05-19T19:45:53Z")
Interesting. So how about the Magellanic Clouds? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/254 "2022-05-19T20:01:21Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Magellanic Clouds I’ve never heard the adjective with a hard g. I think I would say the noun with a hard g and the adjective with a soft g, and I don’t see any problem with that. Proper adjectives often vary from their associated nouns in pronunciation or even spelling. Christ - Christian Moscow - Muscovite The Netherlands - Dutch (!) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/255 "2022-05-19T20:03:17Z")
The Master Speaks: > **[Why are there so many names for Germany, AKA Deutschland, Allemagne, etc.?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341621/why-are-there-so-many-names-for-germany-aka-deutschland-allemagne-etc)** ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/256 "2022-05-19T23:26:32Z")
That guy is always problematic because of the different forms of his name in different languages, but Wikipedia has both the Portuguese and Spanish versions pronounced with a “ɣ”. The OED has “Magellan” and “Magellanic” with a hard “g”, but it can and does go the other way in other dictionaries. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/257 "2022-05-20T18:47:33Z")
I always thought the country on the east coast of Africa was pronounced _er RIT ria_ but I just heard it said on tv as erri TRAY a. When I look it up on Wiki it sounds like errtra, with only two syllables. I’m so confused. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/258 "2022-06-04T15:29:19Z")
Just heard panache said on the French Open telecast. If offered a wager I would have confidently bet the farm on it being “pa-KNOCK.” Said it that way in my head all my life. Nope. The announcer said “pa-NOSH.” That is so much worse, sounds like something to do with food. The hard consonant there would do the word a world of good esp. given its meaning , but I am just a mad voice in the wilderness. [We of course have the Doper **÷panache45**. Sorry for saying your handle wrong all these years.] ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/259 "2022-06-04T16:14:00Z")
On Jeopardy!, Ryan pronounced Agincourt differently than I would have. Not sure I’ve ever heard anyone say this word so have read several times. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/260 "2022-06-04T19:37:27Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Just heard panache said on the French Open telecast. If offered a wager I would have confidently bet the farm on it being “pa-KNOCK.” Said it that way in my head all my life. > > Nope. The announcer said “pa-NOSH.” Actually, it’s closer to pa-nash, with the emphasis on the second syllable. It’s French, and literally means plume, the type of big white feather worn by D’Artagnon and Cyrano de Bergerac. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774.md?page=14)