mispronunciations of the written word

[wynjara]

I remember pronouncing corps and colonel exactly as they're spelled the first time I saw them in print (and getting mocked by the teacher for it, grrr). For the longest time I pronounced segue as 'seg-you' rather than 'seg-way'.
I still mispronounce things intentionally to myself when spelling. Like saying the second C in Connecticut so I don't miss it.

[XCashier]

It's sometimes can be embarrassing to say a word you've never heard pronounced. You've read it, you know what it means, but you've never actually HEARD it.

I have that problem. I believe the term is "reader's vocabulary".

[Green_Fairy]

so on halloween The Boy and i went to a party and one of his friends was rather drunk. he was speaking fine but for the life of him, he could not say stethoscope. he tried for a good 15 minutes, but the closest he could get was something like "thes-eh-scoo." sooo funny!

there's a chinese takeout place down the street from me and the lady that takes the orders there is super sweet. she was born and raised in china and has been living here for only a few years. so she has a really thick accent. i love the way she says "combination." it's something like "combinassion." it's so adorable. she's so awesome. The Boy and i walk in, and she knows what we're going to order. it's great ^_^

[Chazzie]

I've heard someone call a latte "a late". I've also heard someone call a coolatta a "cool-latte".

[KellyHabersham]

This post reminds me a bit of a phone call I dealt with in the church office recently - we'd apparently had a false alarm issue the previous night, so a phone rep from the alarm company we use had called to verify/update information. I couldn't figure out what this woman was talking about at first, because I'd not been aware of the incident, and she badly mangled the fellow staff member's name who'd been involved. (as an example, say the employee's name was Mrs. Parker, the phone rep pronounced it as "Mrs. Porker)

[joe hx]

I had to place an order or something (can't quite remember) and the person on the line had to confirm my school's address.

The street my school is on is "Colonel Glenn." They guy when confirming said address said:

"Col- Colo? Col-"

and then someone in the background yelled:

"It's COL-O-NEL!"

[Ironclad Alibi]

A former co-worker never could properly pronounce trilogy. He would say tri'-ol-o-gy.

Regarding "aluminum", The English spell it "aluminium". This web site explains the differences.

[Lusorius]

At my work, I often hear people mispronouncing the color names of toner.

cyan becomes cayenne
and magenta becomes mag-neta

[EricKei]

For some fun with pronunciation I recommend this poem:
The Chaos
Read it aloud and try not to sprain your tongue.

I am going to print that out and hang it in a place of honor on my wall

It's just that awesome ^_^

[Kullervo]

the two that come to mind for me that I used to have problems with as a kid.
Melee I actually pronounced pretty much as written (me lee)
Leviathan I pronounced all wacky (levy uh tan).
I still need to think before i speak on Leviathan. I like saying it though. Just really cool.
From a game I used to play Imperium Galactica.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Back in my pre-teens I always thought rendezvous was pronounced "ron-de-vor-us." I had only seen it in print and had never been exposed to the French language. I was in my teens before I head it spoken and realized my error.

[Beckduer]

Recently, in conversation with my brother, I used the word "apropos". Despite having used it many times in the past and having always pronounced it correctly, this time I said "uh-PROH-pos". My brother looked at me very confused as he silently repeated "Uh-PROH-pos. Uh-PROH-pos?"
I knew I'd said it wrong, but, for the life of me I couldn't recall how to say it correctly. Finally, a light dawned and my brother said, "You mean "ap-ruh-POH"?" Yes, that is what I meant!

[Jay 2K Winger]

I used to have words in my reader's vocabulary like that, but I picked up on the correct pronunciation so long ago that I don't remember which words they were anymore.

I do correct friends and family whom I hear mis pronouncing words. Like "detritus" (de-try-tus), which my mother and ex-girlfriend always pronounce "det-trih-tus."

One thing I'm always correcting my mom on isn't so much a mispronunciation as a completely wrong term. She always calls aluminum foil "tin foil," and I correct her every time I hear her say it.

[Shalom]

One thing I'm always correcting my mom on isn't so much a mispronunciation as a completely wrong term. She always calls aluminum foil "tin foil," and I correct her every time I hear her say it.

I grew up with that also; I still call it tinfoil even though I know it's made of aluminum. (Did they ever make it out of tin?)

My grandma used to call it "silver foil", which is even less correct, unless she's referring to the color.

Leviathan I pronounced all wacky (levy uh tan).

That's actually not too far off from the correct pronunciation of לִוְיָתָן, which is the original Hebrew word. Biblical names tend to get mangled when transliterated from Hebrew -> Aramaic -> Greek -> Latin -> Middle English -> English.

[joe hx]

(Did they ever make it out of tin?)

pre wwii yes. stuff looks the same though