# Written words you mispronounced until hearing them **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395 "2016-11-01T19:46:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/41 "2016-11-01T22:09:45Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > awry = AW-ree This. Still trips me up, until I realize what word it is. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/42 "2016-11-01T22:15:31Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Not sure what you mean - it does have a long second a, both in US and UK. I’ve never heard any other variant that the ones on this page: > > [How to pronounce STACCATO in English](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/staccato) That’s not what is meant by a “long a”. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/43 "2016-11-01T22:18:07Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > [Why not?](https://macmillanmh.com/ccssreading/imagineit/grade2/ccslh_g2_fs_3_1a_l1.html) Some common pronunciations for a are (1) ə (as in away) (2) æ (as in cat) (3) eɪ (as in say) (4) ɑ: (as in father) I think I’d describe (1) and (2) as “short”, (3) and (4) as “long”, although obviously these are incomplete descriptions. Unless I’m messing up my US/UK vowel sounds (I do get confused sometimes, as I’m British living in the US), the correct pronunciation of the second a in staccato is ɑ:, the error made was eɪ. So I’d call those both long. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/44 "2016-11-01T22:19:14Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > Hyperbole: hyper-bowl > > Epitome: epp-ih-tome Brian Regan (the comedian, not the spy) has a special called The Epitome of Hyperbole, with its titular bit being about how an audience member once told him he mispronounced every word in his show, and he came back with, “Well, if that isn’t the epp-ih-tome of hyper-bowl!” (Somewhat forced, but it was the phrase driving the joke, not the other way 'round.) ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/45 "2016-11-01T22:20:42Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Ok, I get what you did now - but I wouldn’t call that error short vs long. “Long” vs “short” in at least American English phonics does not mean what it does in other linguistic contexts. “Short a” is what is represented by IPA as /æ/ and “long a” is what is represented by /eɪ/. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/46 "2016-11-01T22:22:04Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > That’s not what is meant by a “long a”. I wasn’t aware of that. Does it specifically only mean eɪ, even though ɑ: is just as “long” in the colloquial sense? ETA, ninja-answered, thanks ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/47 "2016-11-01T22:32:57Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I wasn’t aware of that. Does it specifically only mean eɪ, even though ɑ: is just as “long” in the colloquial sense? I’m not sure about varieties of English outside the US, but “long a” to any American speaker is colloquially /eɪ/. Anybody who thinks of it as /a:/ will have some sort of linguistic background or learned the “long” vs “short” distinction outside the US. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/48 "2016-11-01T22:39:08Z")
I _think_ the above hold trues in other varieties of English, but I’m not 100% sure. To give you the complete map: Short a: /ae/ Long a: /eɪ/ Short e: /ɛ/ Long e: /i:/ Short i: /ɪ/ Long i: /aɪ/ Short o: /ɒ/ Long o: /oʊ/ Short u: /ʌ/ Long u: /u:/ These will vary a bit among dialect. “Short e” might be /e/. Long o might be /əʊ/. And they may even vary within a dialect. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/49 "2016-11-01T22:49:57Z")
From the page linked above, the simplest way to remember long vowels vs shorts vowels: > [@](#): > > When a vowel has a long sound, it says its name. > Long A tape > Long E theme > Long I fine > Long O hope > Long U cute ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/50 "2016-11-01T22:57:09Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > From the page linked above, the simplest way to remember long vowels vs shorts vowels: Actually, that right. “Long u” should be /ju:/ in my IPA transcription above. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/51 "2016-11-01T23:23:41Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > I always assumed that this was pronounced exactly as it’s spelled. Concerned that I’ve been saying it the wrong way, I just [looked it up](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/waistcoat). > > It IS pronounced just like it’s spelled. Waist. Coat. How have you been pronouncing it? I just had to look it up for the same reason. Isn’t it just like waist and coat? ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/52 "2016-11-01T23:24:00Z")
My hubby will ask for “sall-mon” and “pot sticklers” for dinner sometimes. I only knew what hors d’oeuvres were because my mom called them horse ovaries. I laughed at a friend who said “cry-miny” all the time in college. I thought it was “Crimm-inny” and insisted she was the one who was wrong. Anyway, who says that? It took me 20 years to ever hear it pronounced. Something that’s not really necessary is “super-FLEW-us.” An early episode of The Simpsons taught me not to say “BE-hem-oth.” ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/53 "2016-11-01T23:32:37Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > Instead of Staccato, I pronounced it Stacaytto. Long A. You say potahto and I say potato I say staccato and you say stacayto Potahto potato staccato stacayto Let’s call the whole thing off I figure if I have this stuck in my head, everyone else should as well. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/54 "2016-11-01T23:39:11Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > I always assumed that this was pronounced exactly as it’s spelled. Concerned that I’ve been saying it the wrong way, I just [looked it up](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/waistcoat). > > It IS pronounced just like it’s spelled. Waist. Coat. How have you been pronouncing it? > [@Pai325](#): > > I just had to look it up for the same reason. Isn’t it just like waist and coat? Apparently weskit is an alternative spelling and pronunciation. > **[Definition of WESKIT](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weskit)** > > vest… See the full definition > **[Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/weskit)** > > The world's leading online dictionary: English definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more. A trusted authority for 25+ years! > **[weskit](https://www.thefreedictionary.com/weskit)** > > Definition, Synonyms, Translations of weskit by The Free Dictionary ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/55 "2016-11-01T23:45:20Z")
One that I got wrong was dour. I always thought it rhymed with sour. (It actually rhymes with bluer.) Apparently enough people also thought this that it’s now often listed as an alternative pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/56 "2016-11-01T23:59:18Z")
Charlie Brown’s friend was a big fan of Beeth-oven. Bagel was baggle, like a combination between bag and boggle. I knew that some people pronounced it “Bay-gull” but I figured it was a regional variant or something. Penelope was pronounced just like it’s spelled - Pen-elope. I thought that the name I’d heard was “Penelopey”, and was a diminutive version. Similarly, the name “Zoe” should rhyme with “doe”, not with “doughy”. If it were meant to rhyme with “doughy” then it would be spelled “Zoey”, like David Bowie’s son. A double whammy - I knew from reading that a gross (rhymes with dross) was 144 of something - I saw no connection with the word “grose” that meant “disgusting”. ---
**Author:** ![HeXen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/57 "2016-11-02T00:14:01Z")
Faux: Fax. Would never guess in my wildest dreams you pronounce that as Fo. I actually didn’t even find that out until this year. There was a couple of old Nintendo games I totally mispronounced for years. Ninja Gai-den (ninja gayden) and Faxanadu which is actually pronounced as Xanadu ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/58 "2016-11-02T00:30:28Z")
On my first day of kindergarten at my new school, the vice-principal announced to the teachers to “please prepare for dismissal”. I freaked out, thinking that a missile was going to fall from the sky and kill us all. Jesus, I have no idea how a five-year-old American boy even knows what a missile IS. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/59 "2016-11-02T00:42:02Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One that I got wrong was dour. I always thought it rhymed with sour. (It actually rhymes with bluer.) Interesting. I had never heard it pronounced any way other than to rhyme with “sour.” But, you’re right, the /dur/ pronunciation is listed first in the dictionaries I checked. I’m still gonna pronounce it to rhyme with “sour,” though, as I don’t think anyone would understand me otherwise. At least not around here. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395/60 "2016-11-02T00:51:25Z")
I said Omnipotent as if it were two words: Omni and Potent for a long time. I remember saying it wrong in a conversation multiple times and the woman I was speaking to corrected me each time I said it wrong but I didn’t recognize that’s what she was doing and had no idea what she was saying to me. I thought for a really long time Adele’s name was pronounced Add-Uh-Lay. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/written-words-you-mispronounced-until-hearing-them/770395.md?page=4)