mispronunciations

I grew up saying chim-i-ney instead of chim-ney because that's how people in my area pronounced it.

People had great fun with my NY/NJ accent when I first moved to Los Angeles. I said ahr-ange not orr-ange, rah-diator not ray-diator, and so forth.

More than mispronunciations, I gnash my teeth at the increasingly common speech pattern: "me and her went to the store" or "him and me had ice cream for dessert." Aaaaccckkk!!!!
 

I'm from Massachusetts. I never thought Pres. Kennedy had an accent. So, when those foreigners from far off lands, like New Jersey, got lost, they were looking for Worcester, Mass. And did they butcher that name. Locals pronounce it "Wist-ah", Mass". The one town visitors just gave up even trying to pronounce was Leicester, Mass. "Lest-ah, Mass."
BTW, I have no idea why Massachusetts people do this, but you have to add, "Mass." to a city. It's not Boston, it's "Boston, Mass". Oxford, Mass. Springfield, Mass. etc

never heard it called HOW stun, that's nuts .... even here in the Uk people call it Hew stun.. or Who -stun...
There's a section of NYC-Houston. It is pronounced "House-ton". People living there will correct you, if you say "You-ston".
 
Houston revisited

@hollydolly @JaniceM and @fuzzybuddy y'all got me interested, enough to do a little Google research.

Turns out there are two somewhat different origins for the name Houston, with different pronunciations. HOW-stun street in New York was named for William Houstoun, Georgia's delegate to the Continental Congress and representative to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. William Houstoun was of Scottish origin.

Over time the spelling was changed to Houston, but apparently not the pronunciation.

Houston, Texas was named for Sam Houston. He was also of Scottish (and Irish) descent. Wikipedia says Houston is from Scotland's west coast and the Hebrides Islands.

One source says both Houstoun and Houston are derivatives of the medieval Scottish name Hugh. Meaning "the settlement belonging to Hugh". Hugh's town I guess.
 
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Houston revisited

@hollydolly @JaniceM and @fuzzybuddy y'all got me interested, enough to do a little Google research.

Turns out there are two somewhat different origins for the name Houston, with different pronunciations. HOW-stun street in New York was named for William Houstoun, Georgia's delegate to the Continental Congress and representative to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. William Houstoun was of Scottish origin.

Over time the spelling was changed to Houston, but apparently not the pronunciation.

Houston, Texas was named for Sam Houston. He was also of Scottish (and Irish) descent. Wikipedia says Houston is from Scotland's west coast and the Hebrides Islands.

One source says both Houstoun and Houston are derivatives of the medieval Scottish name Hugh. Meaning "the settlement belonging to Hugh"
..yep and as I'm Scottish from the West Coast.. I know....the proper pronunciation..:ROFLMAO:
 
Houston revisited

@hollydolly @JaniceM and @fuzzybuddy y'all got me interested, enough to do a little Google research.

Turns out there are two somewhat different origins for the name Houston, with different pronunciations. HOW-stun street in New York was named for William Houstoun, Georgia's delegate to the Continental Congress and representative to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. William Houstoun was of Scottish origin.

Over time the spelling was changed to Houston, but apparently not the pronunciation.

Houston, Texas was named for Sam Houston. He was also of Scottish (and Irish) descent. Wikipedia says Houston is from Scotland's west coast and the Hebrides Islands.

One source says both Houstoun and Houston are derivatives of the medieval Scottish name Hugh. Meaning "the settlement belonging to Hugh". Hugh's town I guess.
So that was the original pronunciation.. and maybe Texans changed it with their drawl to Heeeews-ton?
 
We immigrated from California to Canada in 1969, however DH was actually from New Mexico. We went straight to the Yukon, folks there found we all had pretty thick accents. They said the girls and I were OK, they wanted to pull the words from DH's mouth and I literally translate for our little boy.
New friends made fun of my accent. Warsh instead of wash.......My California cousins still say warsh. Then one day in a friend's vehicle I asked him if he would please open his "wind wing", He said "My WHAT", You know that little window in the corner of the car. He Called a "no draft" I said "YOUR WHAT????". Every one laughed and enjoyed the ride.
 
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More than mispronunciations, I gnash my teeth at the increasingly common speech pattern: "me and her went to the store" or "him and me had ice cream for dessert." Aaaaccckkk!!!!
I gnash my teeth over the misuse of I instead of me. "John took Mary and I to dinner" rather than "John took Mary and me to dinner." If Mary hadn't gone along, "John took I to dinner"?

Then there's applicable. It's said incorrectly so much that it must be acceptable now. It's not ap-PLICK-able.
 
I'm from Massachusetts. I never thought Pres. Kennedy had an accent. So, when those foreigners from far off lands, like New Jersey, got lost, they were looking for Worcester, Mass. And did they butcher that name. Locals pronounce it "Wist-ah", Mass". The one town visitors just gave up even trying to pronounce was Leicester, Mass. "Lest-ah, Mass."
BTW, I have no idea why Massachusetts people do this, but you have to add, "Mass." to a city. It's not Boston, it's "Boston, Mass". Oxford, Mass. Springfield, Mass. etc
One other Massachusetts thing is not using car directional signals. Apparently, it is akin to some religious tradition, which is scrupulously followed.
Australian place names are designed to trip up foreigners.

Try pronouncing Woolloomooloo, a Sydney harbourside suburb, and Panania where I live.
Then there are country towns like Wagga Wagga and Goonoo Goonoo.


See below for the actual pronunciations




Woolloomooloo = Wool-uh-muh-loo

Panania = Puh-nay-nee-yuh

Wagga Wagga = Wogg-uh-wogg-uh
(Actually we just call Wogg-uh)

Goonoo Goonoo = Gunn-uh G'noo
(We never call it Gunn-uh)
 
Australian place names are designed to trip up foreigners.

Try pronouncing Woolloomooloo, a Sydney harbourside suburb, and Panania where I live.
Then there are country towns like Wagga Wagga and Goonoo Goonoo.


See below for the actual pronunciations




Woolloomooloo = Wool-uh-muh-loo

Panania = Puh-nay-nee-yuh

Wagga Wagga = Wogg-uh-wogg-uh
(Actually we just call Wogg-uh)

Goonoo Goonoo = Gunn-uh G'noo
(We never call it Gunn-uh)
Pronouncing words from indigenous and other unfamiliar languages can be tricky, that's for sure.

In high school I learned German, but no Spanish. Deeply regretted that decision after moving to Los Angeles in my late teens because California's everyday language is heavily peppered with Spanish words, names, town names, street names, etc. Eventually the rhythm of Spanish pronunciations and many meanings became second nature to me, but it was tough sledding in the beginning.
 
We immigrated from California to Canada in 1969, however DH was actually from New Mexico. We went straight to the Yukon, folks there found we all had pretty thick accents. They said the girls and I were OK, they wanted to pull the words from DH's mouth and I literally translate for our little boy.
New friends made fun of my accent. Warsh instead of wash.......My California cousins still say warsh. Then one day in a friend's vehicle I asked him if he would please open his "wind wing", He said "My WHAT", You know that little window in the corner of the car. He Called a "no draft" I said "YOUR WHAT????". Every one laughed and enjoyed the ride.
wish cars still had wing windows... good to get air without getting wind-blown!
 
It wasn’t too long ago that I realized I might be saying the name Graham wrong. Not sure. I’ve said Gray-ham. Then I heard graEM.

Or for aunt, ant vs awnt. This one I think is more about where you live.


Me either. Phew. LOL.
Yes. The pronunciation of aunt is ANT. NOT AWNT. Every time I hear AWNT, is really pisses me off.
 
I grew up saying chim-i-ney instead of chim-ney because that's how people in my area pronounced it.

People had great fun with my NY/NJ accent when I first moved to Los Angeles. I said ahr-ange not orr-ange, rah-diator not ray-diator, and so forth.

More than mispronunciations, I gnash my teeth at the increasingly common speech pattern: "me and her went to the store" or "him and me had ice cream for dessert." Aaaaccckkk!!!!
Indeed. A nearly total lack of education.

I recall that a 5th grade teacher jumped all over me when I used the word lay instead of lie. She said only birds can lay.
 
Pronouncing words from indigenous and other unfamiliar languages can be tricky, that's for sure.

In high school I learned German, but no Spanish. Deeply regretted that decision after moving to Los Angeles in my late teens because California's everyday language is heavily peppered with Spanish words, names, town names, street names, etc. Eventually the rhythm of Spanish pronunciations and many meanings became second nature to me, but it was tough sledding in the beginning.
you've probably learned Spanish pretty much by default, living where you do, Star...
 
We immigrated from California to Canada in 1969, however DH was actually from New Mexico. We went straight to the Yukon, folks there found we all had pretty thick accents. They said the girls and I were OK, they wanted to pull the words from DH's mouth and I literally translate for our little boy.
New friends made fun of my accent. Warsh instead of wash.......My California cousins still say warsh. Then one day in a friend's vehicle I asked him if he would please open his "wind wing", He said "My WHAT", You know that little window in the corner of the car. He Called a "no draft" I said "YOUR WHAT????". Every one laughed and enjoyed the ride.
OMG Warsh.. this has been puzzling me for the longest time. There's a lady I watch on Youtube, who lives in N Carolina, but is from West Virginia, born and raised.. and I just presumed it must be a Virginian word.. it's very strange to listen to someone saying Warsh... :D
 
see, not here... it's neither pronounced ANT.. nor is it pronounced AWNT.. the latter I've noticed far more in the Ethnic community ...in British English it's pronounced
I am unable to hear well. Unfortunately, there are no subtitles available for that video.
How do the Brits pronounce aunt in the UK ?
 


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