Twenty Commonly Mispronounced Words in English

Today’s English
September 19th, 2017

1.Word : asthma
Wrong pronunciation: asthmaa
Correct pronunciation: asma  /ˈæsmə/

2.Word : pizza
Wrong pronunciation: pee-zaa
Correct pronunciation: peet-sa /ˈpiːtsə/

3.Word : Wednesday
Wrong pronunciation: wed-nes-day
Correct pronunciation: wenzdei (first d, second e silent) /ˈwenzdeɪ/

4.Word : question
Wrong pronunciation: kwestin
Correct pronunciation: kwesshun /ˈkwestʃən/

5.Word : maths
Wrong pronunciation: maks
Correct pronunciation: maths /mæθs/

6.Word : eleven
Wrong pronunciation: levun
Correct pronunciation: ilevn (first e should be pronounced and last e is silent) /i'levn/

7.Word : park
Wrong pronunciation: paark
Correct pronunciation: paak /pɑːk/

8.Word : clerk
Wrong pronunciation: klerk, klaark
Correct pronunciation: klaak (pronounced as the word clock) /klɑːk/

9.Word : heart
Wrong pronunciation: haart
Correct pronunciation: haat (r silent) /hɑːt/

10.Word : read (past tense)
Wrong pronunciation: read
Correct pronunciation: red  /red/

11.Word : breakfast
Wrong pronunciation: braykfaast
Correct pronunciation: brekfust /ˈbrekfəst/

12.Word : police
Wrong pronunciation: polis, polees
Correct pronunciation: palees /pəˈliːs/

13.Word : discretion
Wrong pronunciation: diskreeshun
Correct pronunciation: diskreshun. /dɪˈskreʃn/

14.Word : dengue
Wrong pronunciation: dengu, denguoo
Correct pronunciation: de-ing-gi /ˈdeŋɡi/

15.Word : bury
Wrong pronunciation: buri
Correct pronunciation: beri /ˈberi/

16.Word : receipt
Wrong pronunciation: risipt
Correct pronunciation: riseet /rɪˈsiːt/

17.Word : entrepreneur
Wrong pronunciation: entreprenyoor
Correct pronunciation: aantrapranar /ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜː(r)/

18.Word : alumni
Wrong pronunciation: alumni
Correct pronunciation: alamnai /əˈlʌmnaɪ/

19.Word : vehicle
Wrong pronunciation: vehikil
Correct pronunciation: veeakl /ˈviːəkl/

20.Word : deer
Wrong pronunciation: deer
Correct pronunciation: dear (pronounced as the word dear) /dɪə(r)/

“Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.”
-Gerard Nolst Trenité, “Drop your Foreign Accent”