Words People Mispronounce That Drive You Nuts...

[lesliec]

I have a friend whose daughter has a severe speech impediment (she is 12). I don't have a problem with it, nor do I even notice it most of the time (I used to teach special ed, so am totally used to it), but it drives me nuts when she tries to correct my 4 year old son's speech. He's only 4!!!!!!!

 

[lesliec]

I know there are lots of differences based on regions, but there is one lady on one of the PC training videos who has horrible speaking grammar. REALLY!?!?!?!

 

[chefheidi2003]

My husband works with a lady next to his cubicle who, instead of saying "Can I AX you a question" will say "Can I AST you a question"...It drives him CRAZY.

Sometimes, just to goad him if he is getting on my nerves, I say to him "I'm gonna ast you a question, so hang on..." LOL Or, "don't get upset, I was just ASTIN'"...LOL

I am confused by that because both are wrong.

 

[wadesgirl]

Another thing that drives me completely crazy is my NAME! Even though I have it on nametags, etc., people (even my own recruit) calls me "Jan"! How in the WORLD do they see "JANE" and pronounce it "JAN"?

Could be worse, my last name is a 5 letter word that you learn in first grade (not going to say it on here)! It's horrible to hear people totally distroy it or forget a syllabel!

 

[chefsteph07]

I am confused by that because both are wrong.

Yes, I know, but the more common "incorrect" wording of this is AX. Instead of saying it incorrectly in the manner, she says AST.

 

[chefheidi2003]

Yes, I know, but the more common "incorrect" wording of this is AX. Instead of saying it incorrectly in the manner, she says AST.

OK..I see..just made me laugh..because earlier in this thread..I said that I hate when people say AKS..instead of ASK..LOL.

 

[pampered1224]

My favorite mispronunciations are any words ending in "ing" and pronounced endin, speakin, talkin, it is "ING" not "IN"!! Drives me up a freaking wall! I sat next to a lady who would answer the phone by saying "Tracy speakin". UGH!! Seriously? Just how professional is that??!!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Well, as long as you mention it, John, one of the most rude things I hear on the telephone all the time are people who are too lazy to say, "Could you hold for a moment while I look that up?" and they say, "Hang on a sec' and I'll check it." Hang on? Um, no thanks.Rae, Martha feels sophisticated after spending a vacation at Spa Prezone in the Iryn-Barr Resort.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I don't think I'm ENTITLED to post the whole TITLED thing again ...

But it bugs me when people "axe" their "aunt" (rhymes with haunt and not ant)

And I LOVE Ruby but laugh when she says she was so "humidified" or has been to "helicopter and back" and says she's not very "hacky." Makes me want to give that woman a hacky sack.

 

[Jean DeVries]

This is probably a whole separate thread, but I also find myself greatly peeved by customer service reps who ask me, "What was your name again?"

I always want to answer, "Well, my name WAS Viveca Chumberger, but just this very second I decided to change it."

And my second is drive-through windows where they tell me, "Your total is gonna be...." Really? Gonna be? When? When I drive the 6 feet to the window? How about "Your total IS."

Glad I've cut out drive through windows. Much less life frustration.

Don't get me started on this.....I'm a grammar snob.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Well, as long as you mention it, John, one of the most rude things I hear on the telephone all the time are people who are too lazy to say, "Could you hold for a moment while I look that up?" and they say, "Hang on a sec' and I'll check it."

That's so Palin!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

That's so Palin!

This was a nice non-inflammatory thread....

 

[akrebecca]

Mine is when people pronounce libRARY as liBERRY.

 

[pamperedlinda]

I almost forgot about this one....makes me cringe!!!! I hear this all the time here in the south. When you say goodbye to someone they will say "have a goot one!" I can't even spell the pronuncuation...guut/goot/gute.....ick, drives me nuts!!!!

 

[Pedey]

Another one ...wou-choo (would you)
cou-choo (could you)
di-joo (did you)
don-cha (don't you)Stuff like that. Separate the words, would-choo!? LOL

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Commin' ah-choo! (Gesundtheit!)So, koo koo ka choo to you, too!

 

[pampchefrhondab]

idear instead of idea

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Using the word "feel" to describe what you THINK. Feel is something you do with your hands. Thinking is what you do with your mind.Off to change my siggy to include "word nerd."

 

[susanr613]

Axe...no you may not chop me up!
Myself....so misused!
stragedy...i thought the person who said it was joking but she was serious!

 

[pampered1224]

HELLER!!!! Madea needs to be slapped! I HATE THAT WORD!!! And what is with POPO?

 

[AJPratt]

Expresso instead of espresso.

As the former owner of a cafe, I can tell you, that rates up high on my list. I would always correct people. I even saw a (gasp!) cafe with "expresso" in its title. I would tell applicants, "if you can't pronounce it, you can't work here."

I know accents and slang can vary from region to region, but when people don't sound out ALL of the letters or add letters to a word, it drives me nuts!

Little did I suspect how this thread would grow after a call with my MIL!:chef:

 

[lockhartkitchen]

Oregon. It is not OR-EE-gone

It is OR-e-gun

 

[mrshamel3808]

Oo, I forgot one! My uncle's mother (he's married to my mom's sister) says "Westren" instead of "Western".

The only people I've heard say "axe/aks" instead of "ask" are of African-American descent so that I think is definitely a cultural thing.

Susan, I used to say "stragedy", but it was more of a speech impediment thing than thinking that was teh actual word. It still takes a concious effort on my part when I'm saying it to make sure I don't revert back. I also said "certicifate" instead of "certificate" and me and all my siblings said "breafticks" instead of "breakfast" when we were little.

I typically don't mind if people are just taking the "short cut" for words "dontcha", "wouldya", it's when they're getting a word totally wrong. As long as the people know that you would write it "don't you?" or "would you?" then I'm find if in casual settings they are more lax with it. Oh, one that always gets me is the use of "ain't". Technically it's an abbreviation for "have not", but people usually use it as an abbreviation for "are not" or "am not" (I ain't going there, they ain't going).

And speaking of abbreviations; I work with a guy who likes to "abbrev" everything. So "awkward" is "awk", "issue" is "iss" (pronounced "ish"), Facebook is "f-book". Those are the regulars, but basically almost any word with multiple syllables he'll try to "abbrev" if he can. SOOOOO freaking annoying!!!! And he's a youth leader so all his small group boys that think he's super cool have started to do it too.

 

[Kelly8]

What about spelling? DON'T SPELL YOUR ACCENT! I live in Michigan where the residents will tell you we don't have accents. Yes, we do! We leave the endings off of words and now a lot of them spell like that. For instance, could of! What? How about "could have?" Oh that drives me nuts!!!

 

[Kelly8]

Axe...no you may not chop me up!
Myself....so misused!
stragedy...i thought the person who said it was joking but she was serious!

Ohmigosh! Totally agree with the overuse of myself! Whatever happend to "me?" English minor here and when I correct people they try to tell me I'm wrong. So then I say, "Really?" Would you say, "Bring the remote to myself?" or "..to me?" Drives me nuts! And what drives me more nuts is that teachers (yes, teachers!) do it all the time! And while I'm on the ranting wagon (heehee) what about apostrophes? They are not used to show plurals!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

What about spelling? DON'T SPELL YOUR ACCENT! I live in Michigan where the residents will tell you we don't have accents. Yes, we do! We leave the endings off of words and now a lot of them spell like that. For instance, could of! What? How about "could have?" Oh that drives me nuts!!!

I've seen people actually abbreviate it as could've.!

LOL - how about "lookit"? Short for Look at that! People say it all the time, and it drives me crazy - but I think it's a Michigan thing.

 

[NooraK]

I've seen people actually abbreviate it as could've.!

Actually, that is the proper contraction for "could have" as you're putting the two words together. Or am I completely mistaken?

I have a gal here at work who says "Anything else I can help you?" Drives me nuts!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Actually, that is the proper contraction for "could have" as you're putting the two words together. Or am I completely mistaken?

I have a gal here at work who says "Anything else I can help you?" Drives me nuts!

No, you're not mistaken. It's correct. (that was my humor - sorry) I think the problem lies in the fact that the Michigan pronunciation makes it sound like could of, instead of could've.

 

[Kelly8]

That is exactly the problem-we tend to spell with our accent and it drives me nuts! I see it on Facebook all the time! And maybe "look it" is a Michigan thing. I say it all the time!

 

[chefheidi2003]

I live in PA Dutch area.

I live in a town called Lebanon..IT IS NOT PRONOUNCED LIKE THE COUNTRY. We pronounce it Lebnin

And south of us is Lancaster..not sounded out around here..not like it is pronounced in England..we pronounce it Lankister.

Sorry they were not easy to spell out how we say them..LOL.

Anyway..when new people move to the area and the pronounce it the other way..it drives me nuts..especially where we work..we are 911 dispatchers..we got a new guy from Indiana..and when we correct him he says that is not how we say it..I said..but that is how we say it..and you are here now. He has changed it pretty much.

 

[esavvymom]

I live in PA Dutch area.I live in a town called Lebanon..IT IS NOT PRONOUNCED LIKE THE COUNTRY. We pronounce it LebninAnd south of us is Lancaster..not sounded out around here..not like it is pronounced in England..we pronounce it Lankister.Sorry they were not easy to spell out how we say them..LOL.Anyway..when new people move to the area and the pronounce it the other way..it drives me nuts..especially where we work..we are 911 dispatchers..we got a new guy from Indiana..and when we correct him he says that is not how we say it..I said..but that is how we say it..and you are here now. He has changed it pretty much.

So who's REALLY mispronouncing them?? Why would they include letters not used in the spelling??

 

[chefheidi2003]

So who's REALLY mispronouncing them?? Why would they include letters not used in the spelling??

We are..BUT..like has been mentioned many times in this thread..somethings depend on the region..and when you have people calling 911..and they are old dutch people..and you pronounce a word differently than anyone else in the area..they might have issue. Trust me..you don't want to mess with the old PA Dutch people..LOL..THEY DON'T LIKE CHANGE.

 

[esavvymom]

We are..BUT..like has been mentioned many times in this thread..somethings depend on the region..and when you have people calling 911..and they are old dutch people..and you pronounce a word differently than anyone else in the area..they might have issue. Trust me..you don't want to mess with the old PA Dutch people..LOL..THEY DON'T LIKE CHANGE.

lol. I am sure!

 

[babywings76]

You know what REALLY bugs me? The expression, "What can I do you for?" instead of "What can I do for you?"

I live in PA Dutch area.I live in a town called Lebanon..IT IS NOT PRONOUNCED LIKE THE COUNTRY. We pronounce it LebninAnd south of us is Lancaster..not sounded out around here..not like it is pronounced in England..we pronounce it Lankister.Sorry they were not easy to spell out how we say them..LOL.Anyway..when new people move to the area and the pronounce it the other way..it drives me nuts..especially where we work..we are 911 dispatchers..we got a new guy from Indiana..and when we correct him he says that is not how we say it..I said..but that is how we say it..and you are here now. He has changed it pretty much.

We are..BUT..like has been mentioned many times in this thread..somethings depend on the region..and when you have people calling 911..and they are old dutch people..and you pronounce a word differently than anyone else in the area..they might have issue. Trust me..you don't want to mess with the old PA Dutch people..LOL..THEY DON'T LIKE CHANGE.

Hey Heidi--I'm in Leola. How about how people say "a while" after everything? I'm trying to think of an example. Can you help me? Also, it's so hard to write it out, but you know how people put the inflection on the wrong word in their questions out here? They raise their voice on the word in the middle of their sentence and end their question on a flat note, like it was a statement. Okay, I am so bad at explaining that one to make sense. Oh, and there's a store out here called Stauffer's of Kissel Hill. My parents always pronounce it Stouffer's--like Lean Cuisine. It's so funny. I cringe when they keep saying it and hope that they don't ever name that store when they speak to natives here. When we first moved here, we didn't know about the pronunciation of Lancaster. When I went to get my driver's license and had to ask them what the county name was, I asked if it was Lan-caster. They rolled their eyes and gave me attitude and said with such emphasis "No, it's Lenkisster." So I learned very quickly how to say it right.

 

[mrshamel3808]

I visited Lancaster, PA once and it totally threw me because we have Lancaster, CA and it's pronounced like it's spelled.

 

[mrshamel3808]

YouTube - Translate Kesha Tick Tock Lyrics .... GloZell

Omg, this youtube video is FULL of misprounounced words! I had JUST commented on this thread, went over to Facebook and my friend had posted this. I had to share it with you guys "akyhall" instead of "alcohol"?! REALLY?

 

[peortega]

Thanks, I needed a good laugh!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I visited Lancaster, PA once and it totally threw me because we have Lancaster, CA and it's pronounced like it's spelled.

That's like Charlotte Mi, and Charlotte, NC.

In Michigan, it's pronounced Char-LOT

In NC, it's pronounced CHAR-lit

 

[chefheidi2003]

You know what REALLY bugs me? The expression, "What can I do you for?" instead of "What can I do for you?"







Hey Heidi--I'm in Leola. How about how people say "a while" after everything? I'm trying to think of an example. Can you help me? Also, it's so hard to write it out, but you know how people put the inflection on the wrong word in their questions out here? They raise their voice on the word in the middle of their sentence and end their question on a flat note, like it was a statement. Okay, I am so bad at explaining that one to make sense.

Oh, and there's a store out here called Stauffer's of Kissel Hill. My parents always pronounce it Stouffer's--like Lean Cuisine. It's so funny. I cringe when they keep saying it and hope that they don't ever name that store when they speak to natives here.

When we first moved here, we didn't know about the pronunciation of Lancaster. When I went to get my driver's license and had to ask them what the county name was, I asked if it was Lan-caster. They rolled their eyes and gave me attitude and said with such emphasis "No, it's Lenkisster." So I learned very quickly how to say it right.

Also..let's not forget Roots..LOL..it is not pronounced like everyone would think. And I laugh when people do pronounce it that way.

And I think when you say about "a while" you mean.

I am going out for a while..rather than I am going out for a little bit.

Also we don't end sentences.

The food is all.......ALL WHAT? Instead of The food is all gone.

 

[babywings76]

Also..let's not forget Roots..LOL..it is not pronounced like everyone would think. And I laugh when people do pronounce it that way.

And I think when you say about "a while" you mean.

I am going out for a while..rather than I am going out for a little bit.

Also we don't end sentences.

The food is all.......ALL WHAT? Instead of The food is all gone.

Not quite. It's more like "Hi, my name is Amanda and I'll be your server today. Here's your menu. You can look at that awhile." or "Hi, welcome to Dr. Lee's office. Here's your paperwork awhile. I'll make a copy of your insurance cards." or something kind of like that. I wish I could think of better examples.

 

[babywings76]

My husband will say "put it up" instead of put it away. And he calls it a window seal, instead of sill. And pin instead of pen. And sir-up instead of sear-up. (But that might just be me coming from Jersey. ) I say it's har-ible and he says whore-able (horrible). I say are-inge and he says or-inge. I got teased all the time when I went to college out in Utah. People would come up to me w/ a friend and say, "hey, you've got to hear the way she says this! Go ahead, say it Amanda!" Then I'd proceed with saying "dawg" "dawter", "woater" (trying to figure out how to spell that phonetically) Out there, they say it "dog", just like hog with a d, but the ah sound is very dramatic. Dotter for daughter, and wadder for water. It took me a while to get used to their accent. Now I'm a mutt. I've lived so many places my accent is such a mix.

 

[chefheidi2003]

Amanda..you just made me think of one that I keep telling my boyfriend drives me nuts..he says it correctly..but there are a lot of people who do not

I hate when people say

Doorter instead of daughter..there is only 1 R..and that is at the end.

This thread is hard for somethings..trying to spell it the way that it sounds..LOL

 

[kam]

Also we don't end sentences.

The food is all.......ALL WHAT? Instead of The food is all gone.

Yes, when I first moved to PA, this really confused me!

When someone would say "the food is all", I would wait for the end of the sentence! I would look at my husband and say "all what?" and he would shrug (he's not from PA either). It took us awhile to "get it".

And I never heard AST or AXE/AKS until I moved to PA - so I thought it was a PA thing! I guess it is everywhere and just laziness.

On a side note:
Earlier in this thread, "irregardless" was mentioned. I noticed that Ugly Betty last week had a little blurb about "irregardless" not being a word...it just seemed funny since I just watched it last night and I had been reading this thread.

 

[raebates]

"Hi, my name is Amanda and I'll be your server today. Here's your menu. You can look at that awhile."

The only thing really wrong with the offending sentence is that it's missing a word. It should be, "You can look at that for a while." A while is a little bit of time.

Sorry, the word geek in me couldn't let that go. I tried. I really did try.

As evidence of my word geekdom I'll let you know that one thing people in my neck of the woods do is incorrectly end sentences with prepositions. It's not always wrong. For instance, it is fine to say, "Where are you from?" It is wrong to say, "Where are you staying at?"

 

[Dotty]

When we first moved here, we didn't know about the pronunciation of Lancaster. When I went to get my driver's license and had to ask them what the county name was, I asked if it was Lan-caster. They rolled their eyes and gave me attitude and said with such emphasis "No, it's Lenkisster." So I learned very quickly how to say it right.

Sigh, this thread brings back memories. I lived in Lebanon till I was 5. I remember that they used prounounce my name "Dahrthy".

 

[babywings76]

"Hi, my name is Amanda and I'll be your server today. Here's your menu. You can look at that awhile."The only thing really wrong with the offending sentence is that it's missing a word. It should be, "You can look at that for a while." A while is a little bit of time.

Sorry, the word geek in me couldn't let that go. I tried. I really did try.As evidence of my word geekdom I'll let you know that one thing people in my neck of the woods do is incorrectly end sentences with prepositions. It's not always wrong. For instance, it is fine to say, "Where are you from?" It is wrong to say, "Where are you staying at?"

Shoot, that was a bad example. Hmm, you know what? I can't even say it right--I just can't bring myself to think it like they do here--yet. DH can't even tell that he's doing it now! Ah, here's one, "Would you like me to get that for you awhile?" It's not a while. It's awhile, it's own specific word. It's so funny, though, because the inflection people would use on their words in that question would be all wrong. Shoot, this is impossible to write out. Okay, so if I get to come to Conference, I'll just have to say it in person. ETA: awhile: means now, right away. Unlike "a while" which means in a few minutes or something.

 

[chefheidi2003]

Sigh, this thread brings back memories. I lived in Lebanon till I was 5. I remember that they used prounounce my name "Dahrthy".

REALLY!?!? WOW..Small world..I still live in Lebanon..I have my whole life..except for the 4 years that I was in the Air Force.

 

[debbie mc]

someone mentioned Aunt; rhyming with haunt, instead of being pronounced as "ant". I for one, say "Aunt" as in haunt. DH & family have insisted for years that it is not aunt, it is "ant". My reasoning was always this: one says "haunt" and "August", not "hant" or "agust".....so I looked it up to end this little family dispute that was taking place everytime I said Aunt. I was sure "ant" was not the correct way, but it turns out, both are correct Dang!

 

[raebates]

Yeah, Debbie, that's one of those words that can be pronounced either way. Though, depending on where you live the way you pronounce it could lead others to believe you're putting on airs.

 

[pampchefsarah]

I say 'Ant,' but my sister brow-beat, I mean encouraged my kids to pronounce it like it rhymes with haunt, because she's not a small bug. Funny thing is, she didn't seem to mind when WE were growing up! haha