words that should be easy to pronounce but you can't pronounce

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Play that fongy music, white boy.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Who pronounces it Gluster? That's just weird. (also I think these are falling out of the realm of "easy to pronounce")

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I know someone who can't pronounce "drawer."

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:43 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought it was Glauwster.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

"OMGWTF"

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

pumpkin = punkin

― Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought it was Glauwster.

According to this thread (Strangely Pronounced Place Names), it's Gloster.

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 17:56 (twenty-one years ago)

i can say "saturday" just fine, but for some reason i trip over it if it's immediately followed by "night live".

fortunately this does not come up very often

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 18:47 (twenty-one years ago)

mirror (meer)
innards (in ahds)

― isadora (isadora), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 20:14 (twenty-one years ago)

My sister's idiot friend:

library (libarry)
picture (pitcher)
have (of) in conjugations

Come to think of it, many of the 'gluster' utterers are Yorkshiremen.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 20:31 (twenty-one years ago)

My friend says "sam-wij" for "sandwich." My aunt says "shtreet" for "street." Both make me want to punch walls.

― Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 20:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I actually had an ENGLISH PROFESSOR that said LahBarry instead of library. His degree? In "LahBarry Science."

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 21:03 (twenty-one years ago)

my grandmother had two problem words "Burgular" and "Cutle-ry" My only error is pronouncing the "w" in sword. It started as a joke when i was 5 or 6 and i can't shake it.

― Anthony (Plato Guy), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 21:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Subtly. Sut-lee? Sub-tilly? Supt-lee?

― The Dreaded Rear Admiral (Leee), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 21:32 (twenty-one years ago)

months, or anything else that ends in "nths"

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 21:52 (twenty-one years ago)

this kid i knew in high school had trouble with certain contractions--instead of "wouldn't" or "shouldn't" he said "wunt" and "shunt". he couldn't say "couldn't" right either...

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Tuesday, 3 August 2004 22:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't park the car properly. It's always pahk the cah.

New Englandish.

― jim wentworth (wench), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 02:50 (twenty-one years ago)

i cannot pronounce statutory no matter how hard i try. this is an important issue for me since i have to say it numerous times daily at work and i am also studying law. people think i'm even more ditsy than i actually am.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:12 (twenty-one years ago)

After years of work in coffee shops, I'd become actively annoyed when people would order 'expresso' rather than 'espresso.' I've got trouble saying 'Claude Debussy' - he always comes out "Clawedee Deebyousee," and Prokofiev always ends up 'Prokofovich.'

― x j e r e m y (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I used to similarly foul up and say "Profokiev."

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:21 (twenty-one years ago)

i also have trouble with archipelago. you don't have to say that out loud very often though so that's ok.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:22 (twenty-one years ago)

I keep pronouncing 'orchid' like 'orchard'. Shits me to tears.

― Which Describes How You're Feeling All the Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:23 (twenty-one years ago)

A transposition of sounds of two or more words, especially a ludicrous one, such as Let me sew you to your sheet for Let me show you to your seat. (dictonary.com)

On a very tangential note - I once worked for a guy named A1an R0se. I pointed out to him that his name was a spoonerism (anagram, transposition, what-have-you) for Anal Sore. He got really, really, disproportionately fucking mad.

― x j e r e m y (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 03:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe he was tormented as a kid by a group of intelligent bullies.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 05:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Nukeyoular

Abu grabbagabbagabba hey-you know that prison camp

― George W. Bush (AaronHz), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 06:39 (twenty-one years ago)

S'il vous plait.

I was actually better than most of the people in my class at pronunciation (not at other stuff though), but that one phrase just never felt right to me.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 07:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I get humiliated when trying to pronounce humiliated.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 07:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Fith and sicth. My mum does this too, though, so it's her fault.

― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 11:52 (twenty-one years ago)

my mother pronounces the word "parsley" "parz-lee" rather than "pass-lee" and for years I did too, until someone put me right on the matter.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:07 (twenty-one years ago)

duty to do.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I remember someone from the US (tho I don't remember who) reacting in horror when an English person said they were going to wipe the dew off their window.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Worry. I need to stop myself saying war-ry and say wuh-ry instead. But now as I'm typing it out I'm not sure either is right. I also say odditer instead of auditor because as a kid I first heard the word from a Glaswegian accountant. (I have a London accent.)

― beanz (beanz), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Gatport Airwick always trips me up.

― NickB (NickB), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Itinerary, sixth, paella, subtly and like Liz my workplace often gets very garbled on the phone - 'SusxLngwidjInstoot' kind of.

― Archel (Archel), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:32 (twenty-one years ago)

my mother pronounces the word "parsley" "parz-lee" rather than "pass-lee" and for years I did too, until someone put me right on the matter.

?!??!?!?

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

i learnt to say that word from Simon and Garfunkel and they say "PARRRRSLEY!"

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

and S&G are like my yardstick for measuring correct pronunciation.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:46 (twenty-one years ago)

But they are poxy Americans!

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:47 (twenty-one years ago)

but i like americans!

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:48 (twenty-one years ago)

i also say "possibilidees" rather than possibilities

e.g. while i look around for my possibilidees.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:51 (twenty-one years ago)

and chaainsahhhhhh rather than chainsoaw

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 12:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Iron.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 18:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Wennsday instead of Wedensday.

― Michael White (Hereward), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 18:35 (twenty-one years ago)

or even Wednesday.

― Michael White (Hereward), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 18:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Does anyone pronounce it some other way besides "Wennsday"? Not around my parts they don't.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 18:36 (twenty-one years ago)

seven months pass...

why can't anyone pronounce "nuptials" right? nup - shulls. not nup - shoe - ulls.

― jbr (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:09 (twenty-one years ago)

hmmm, i hear it with a "ch" rather than an "sh"...

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Me too.

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:31 (twenty-one years ago)

aubade

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:35 (twenty-one years ago)

what about 'nupe choo ulls'?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 4 March 2005 00:35 (twenty-one years ago)

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Puyallup, Washington

You pronounce it 'pwee-AWL-up'. But this is non-obvious. Humptulips is much easier.

― Aimless, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:14 (thirteen years ago)

pull a yup?

― the late great, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:19 (thirteen years ago)

until recently i had no idea people were saying "segue" when i heard "seg-way".

― sleepingsignal, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:28 (thirteen years ago)

i always thought it was c'est guaix

― Aimless, Sunday, 28 April 2013 19:30 (thirteen years ago)

Speaking of the Northwest, I'm glad I don't live in Oregon because I can't say it. Always comes out "organ" or "or-gon."

― Josefa, Sunday, 28 April 2013 20:29 (thirteen years ago)

i can't say "water" normally i can only say it with a gross long island /new jersey accent, "wuh-dda". (shudders) i've tried to correct it.

― Pat Finn, Sunday, 28 April 2013 21:14 (thirteen years ago)

maybe it's more like "whugh-der" but still, it's wrong

― Pat Finn, Sunday, 28 April 2013 21:14 (thirteen years ago)

I panic inwardly a little when I have to say "schedule" because I can never remember if sked- or shed- is the British pronunciation. I pick at random and worry people will jump to conclusions about my class and/or education from my choice. This is bad with other words with an older/French pronunciation vs a less pedantic pronunciation as neither option seems 100% safe, but I guess that's off-topic-ish.

For some reason "duplicate" I end up saying as doo-plicate so as not to say jew-plicate, even though I can successfully say dyu- without angst in other du- words.

When I say "thanks" the th- sound sometimes gets rushed and I feel like I just said "nanks" instead.

I have a very slow mouth, I think. I trip over lots of words, though usually not consistently, and just crash on and hope nobody noticed.

― susuwatari teenage riot (a passing spacecadet), Sunday, 28 April 2013 21:29 (thirteen years ago)

the hardest word of all is PATHS. there is way too much going on there. any word beginning with a P is difficult, especially a P and then certain vowel sounds-- pussy is really hard to say too!-- and anything ending in THS. how do you know how long to say the th and the s?? i feel like i go on forever. paathhhhssssszzz. having to do readings during mass in grade school and the microphone just blowing up in your face on the plosives-- a reading from the aPOSTle PAUL's letter to the philiPPPPPPians or whatever has probably caused some deep anxiety forever.

― ehkarl, Sunday, 28 April 2013 22:00 (thirteen years ago)

Oh yeah re "ths", "tenths" is bad. "Tense". "Tennuths". "Tenthuhs-uh". For some reason "months" is easier. We should all go back to saying "tithes" iirc

― susuwatari teenage riot (a passing spacecadet), Sunday, 28 April 2013 22:13 (thirteen years ago)

four years pass...

something

― infinity (∞), Wednesday, 31 January 2018 17:40 (eight years ago)

two years pass...

How to pronounce “midwifery”? Is there a US/UK split?

― Time Will Show Leo Weiser (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 1 August 2020 18:00 (five years ago)

Mid WHIFF ur ee in U.S.

I can't say "google." Most people say GOO-gle. But I segment the word weirdly, and catch on the second hard g, and so it comes out GOOG-ull. When I try to say 'googling' it comes out GOOG-ling.

― america's favorite (remy bean), Saturday, 1 August 2020 18:11 (five years ago)

I hear differing opinions from yours, remy,

― Time Will Show Leo Weiser (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 1 August 2020 21:28 (five years ago)

Rural :'(

― Scampidocio (Le Bateau Ivre), Sunday, 2 August 2020 08:46 (five years ago)

When I was a child I always had problems with the 'unvoiced th' /θ/ sound - and that is a problem for an English speaker! And it carried over into adulthood so I sometimes found myself having to think about pronouncing words before I said them - I'm OK now though, sorry, though.

― Sonny Shamrock (Tom D.), Sunday, 2 August 2020 09:34 (five years ago)

I was tongueties as a kid so although it was operated on when I was 6ish I strugged to articulate some words and still have mental blocks on. I tend to refactor sentences around them if I can so "you should" becomes "you ought to", "just because" becomes "mainly because" anything involving the dishwasher avoids the name of the machine itself, I pronounce "schedule" the american way with a hard "k" sound. Lots of other examples I'm no longer even conscious of. ( there's another one... "conscious" becomes "cognisant"!)

― thomasintrouble, Sunday, 2 August 2020 09:49 (five years ago)

https://64.media.tumblr.com/b6b527f27309ea3678704ef206425f26/tumblr_o856abYMZl1u2if3uo1_400.png

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Sunday, 2 August 2020 10:51 (five years ago)

My pronunciation of "Minneapolis" often gets an extra syllable like "Indianapolis"

― Vinnie, Sunday, 2 August 2020 11:02 (five years ago)

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