Mark Pennington, in a comment on my post “Pronunciation Frustration” left a link to a page that lists the “Top 40 Pronunciation Pet-Peeves.” It was so helpful, I thought I’d give it its own post. Reading it was a real eye opener for me, because it turns out there are a few words even I pronounce wrong. I’d like to add another to the list:
Plenty: many people pronounce it “plenny” forgetting it has a t.
I’ve also often wondered about the words “button” and “written.” Everyone (except me, apparently) usually swallows the two “t’s” in the middle. Same question for the word “potency.” Does anyone have any thoughts on the matter? I’d love to hear them!
Hans said,
September 12, 2009 at 8:09 am
Edge Studio has a guide on the mistakes made in voiceover – with a nice section on Pronunciation Mistakes. It’s at http://www.edgestudio.com/Voice-Over-Mistake-Chart.htm.
Having taught English to untold numbers of Hungarians the frustrations of English pronunciation are not lost on me. The concept of a Spelling Bee is something they don’t get. Hungarian is pronounced exactly the way its written, so the biggest challenge for them in learning English is to NOT read what they see. Sometimes that’s our challenge, too.
Darrell said,
September 18, 2009 at 5:40 pm
This, for me, is one of those “humorous” topics. (Unlike comedy which is “funny stuff to make you laugh”, humor is “laughing at stuff that ain’t funny” (yes, I said “ain’t” – poetic license). On my “top 40″ list of slaughtered words is the mispronunciation of “Countenance” by many Baha’is who, while reading a prayer containing that word, seem content to say “Continence” of God. While it’s nice to acknowledge that God would have bladder control, I hardly imagine that attribute was pertinent to the prayer. Hahahaha!
Leanne said,
September 18, 2009 at 6:03 pm
That’s hysterical! I’d never noticed that, but you can be sure I’ll listen for it in the future!