# What words irritate you........



## brodiebabe (11 Nov 2008)

What words irritate you when you hear them being pronounced wrong.

For me, I hate when I hear people pronouncing the word "Dune" like "June" - why do people do this?

The other one that bothers me is saying "Alm-onds" rather then 
"Am-onds".....

Am I  being too pedantic?


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## Guest124 (12 Nov 2008)

Los Angelus - most but not all u.k. broadcasters insist on saying los an-gel-lees -drives me mad!


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## Caveat (12 Nov 2008)

brodiebabe said:


> I hate when I hear people pronouncing the word "Dune" like "June"


 
Like I do. 



BroadbandKen said:


> ...insist on saying los an-gel-lees -drives me mad!


 
That's me again I'm afraid.

I don't think you can be so certain that "June" is wrong Brodiebabe. 
"Doon" is a mainly American pronunciation AFAIK.

Los Angeles, pronounced correctly, is more likely to be Los Angel*EZ* I would guess since it's of Spanish origin.

Mine are "thigh" for _Thai _, *EK*cetera for etcetera, pacifically for specifically... for starters.


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## PM1234 (12 Nov 2008)

Can any pedantic people clear this one up for me? 

Is there a correct pronunciation for the word either? Is the 'e' silent or not? 
(I always pronounce the e).


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## mathepac (12 Nov 2008)

"Sarc-rifice" when they mean "Sac-rifice" (Cowen, Lenihan, Harney & Co, priests at Mass, RTE talking heads, in fact the whole bleedin' country, except me  )

North Americans and Brits (Eastern, Western and Northern) when saying words like "Donegal", "Gallagher", "Donaghy", "McGrath" and "Derry".



brodiebabe said:


> What words irritate you when you hear them being pronounced wrong. ... Am I  being too pedantic?


Another thing that drives me nuts is posters who complain about others' pronunciation without first taking the trouble to check their own basic grammar and punctuation. 

And while I'm at it maybe the thread title should read "Mispronunciations that irritate".

Which reminds me of a joke:

_A foreign gentleman went to London many years ago to study English.

Over the next two years he struggled with the niceties and vagaries of the language. He learned to pronounce "taught", "taut", "thought"; "threw", "through", "trough"; "though", "tough".

Just as he thought he was making progress, he noticed an advertising poster in the tube station on the way back to his digs one night. The poster said "West End production of My Fair Lady, Pronounced Success"; he caught the next flight home._


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## brodiebabe (12 Nov 2008)

Caveat said:


> I don't think you can be so certain that "June" is wrong Brodiebabe.
> "Doon" is a mainly American pronunciation AFAIK.


 
Perhaps I am wrong, can anyone clarify?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dune


It just grates on my nerves when I hear "June"!!!!!  Maybe I am just being silly - especially if the correct pronounciation is June!!!!


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## brodiebabe (12 Nov 2008)

PM1234 said:


> Can any pedantic people clear this one up for me?
> 
> Is there a correct pronunciation for the word either? Is the 'e' silent or not?
> (I always pronounce the e).


 
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/either

You can listen to how it is pronounced here.  They seem to think that "ee-ther" or "aye-ther" is OK.


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## ninsaga (12 Nov 2008)

When drawing is pronounced as draawring.

The work irritate also irritates me


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## themetunegal (12 Nov 2008)

The ones that get me are 'Chicago' pronounced as _'Chicargo'_ or 'spaghetti' pronounced as _'pis-getti'. _


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## demoivre (12 Nov 2008)

themetunegal said:


> The ones that get me are 'Chicago' pronounced as _'Chicargo'_



Have to give the benefit of the doubt but I could have sworn I heard Charlie Bird say Chicargo as he reported about the US elections recently.

Sandwich pronounced sangwitch.

Snooker commentators calling Ken Doherty Ken Dockerty and golf commentators unable to pronounce Padraig. Is Paw drig really that difficult to say ?


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## ney001 (12 Nov 2008)

specific pronounced as pacific (have heard the lovely Mrs Harney say this).  Hospital - Hostable


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## DeeFox (12 Nov 2008)

A lady on last nights TV3 property programme pronouncing the Celtic Tiger as the "Seltic" Tiger... just once you could forgive as a slip of the tongue but it was a number of times..


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## remey (12 Nov 2008)

December pronounced Deezember. Where did the 'z' come from???


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## mathepac (12 Nov 2008)

Australian male pronunciation of "Subaru" - "Su-baaaru" (sheep car?) or even more irritating is the Australian female version "Su-baaarooh" with the pitch rising at the end to make the very irritating antipodean interrogative.

"Impreza" - "Imprezza" or "Impreezza". All together now, say "Impretzah".


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## Guest122 (12 Nov 2008)

RTE Weather announcer saying Saherday instead of Saturday


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## Sherman (12 Nov 2008)

Expresso rather than espresso.


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## TarfHead (12 Nov 2008)

mathepac said:


> Australian male pronunciation of "Subaru" - "Su-baaaru" (sheep car?) or even more irritating is the Australian female version "Su-baaarooh" with the pitch rising at the end to make the very irritating antipodean interrogative.
> 
> "Impreza" - "Imprezza" or "Impreezza". All together now, say "Impretzah".


 
Are these 'words' or just a brain f@rt of some marketing dope  ?


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## Pique318 (12 Nov 2008)

'otel instead of Hotel. And before I'm told it is actually 'otel...then why is 'ospital wrong ?

I was watching a piece on the news about the Rememberance Day 'celebrations' and the RTE reporter in Ypres pronounced it 'Eepers', which made me cringe. Apparently some of the troops who were there pronounced it 'Wipers' back in the day.

In fairness, most Irish people can't be bothered to pronounce any non-english placename/item correctly, but just use the phonetic method....sheer laziness !


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## JJ1982 (12 Nov 2008)

Follow- folly
January- Jangerry


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## Conan (12 Nov 2008)

How about those who pronounce "remuneration" as "renumeration". Really bugs me.
I remember a certain Minister on radio recently referring to "PricewaterCooperhouse"

Conan


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## csirl (12 Nov 2008)

The way the Gardai say "vehicle". 

Do they teach them this in Templemore? Nobody else pronounces it the way they do.


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## PM1234 (12 Nov 2008)

csirl said:


> The way the Gardai say "vehicle".
> 
> Do they teach them this in Templemore? Nobody else pronounces it the way they do.



You've never used Bus Eireann then. 'Stand clear. Vehickle doors operrrraaaating'.


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## BillK (12 Nov 2008)

I  always thought that it needed a double z in Italian to get the t sound e.g. terrazzo pronounced "terratzo".

I'd be grateful for clarification from italian speakers.


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## themetunegal (12 Nov 2008)

The way Anne Doyle (news reader) pronounces issue - '_isssss-u'_. It always sounds weird to me. 

Audit pronounced as _'oddit'_

A new phenomenon that also irritates me is the use of words like 'incentivise' - i've yet to confirm that this is actually a word!


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## gabsdot (12 Nov 2008)

My MIL says 'irregardless' all the time. Hello, the word is Regardless

It's not a mispronunciation but It annoys me anyway

Also the RTE way of saying 'OR' TE.


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## PM1234 (12 Nov 2008)

The usual suspects - pronouncing 'Dort' instead of Dart etc


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## Brouhahaha (12 Nov 2008)

Secretary grates with me, it is almost always pronounced sec-et-ry on RTÉ news rather than sec-re-tary.

Also kilometer as kil-ohm-eter rather than kilo-meter as in centimeter and kilogram. Apparently it's acceptable pronunciation according to the dictionary but I'm not having that.


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## cole (12 Nov 2008)

Advert-iss-ment
Comm-itt-ee
Doon Laora


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## mathepac (12 Nov 2008)

gabsdot said:


> My MIL says 'irregardless' all the time. Hello, the word is Regardless ...


In support of MILs (who, me?) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irregardless


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## mathepac (12 Nov 2008)

gabsdot said:


> ... *Hello*, the word is Regardless ...



Mid-Atlanticisms are acceptable except when the mammy-in-law uses them.

Goodbye, you are the weakest linguist.


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## Niallman (13 Nov 2008)

The use of eXpresso instead of espresso.


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## Pique318 (13 Nov 2008)

mathepac said:


> Mid-Atlanticisms are acceptable except when the mammy-in-law uses them.
> 
> Goodbye, you are the weakest linguist.



How cunning


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## deedee80 (13 Nov 2008)

all of the above mentioned and:
tings (and generally not pronouncing the th)
ather
sangwich
thrun
wor-um instead of worm
calling lidl - lie-dil (it might be right but it sounds wrong to me)
I always call spaghetti bisketti and it drives the other half mad


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## Betsy Og (13 Nov 2008)

themetunegal said:


> The way Anne Doyle (news reader) pronounces issue - '_isssss-u'_. It always sounds weird to me.


 
She's also famed for how she pronounces "sexual" - sex-u-al, most people don't break it us as much.

If you ever hear that auld, I mean revered presenter Gaybo, ocassionally on Ray D'Arcy, he's always doing his nut about this stuff. Comes across as a bit of a ponce.


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## Caveat (13 Nov 2008)

Betsy Og said:


> If you ever hear that auld, I mean revered presenter Gaybo, ocassionally on Ray D'Arcy, he's always doing his nut about this stuff. Comes across as a bit of a ponce.


 
Yeah, "the dreaded soft Irish 'T' " is one of his pet hates it seems.


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## Simeon (13 Nov 2008)

Betsy Og said:


> She's also famed for how she pronounces "sexual" - sex-u-al, most people don't break it us as much.
> 
> If you ever hear that auld, I mean revered presenter Gaybo, ocassionally on Ray D'Arcy, he's always doing his nut about this stuff. Comes across as a bit of a ponce.


Hey Betsy Og! How could you imply that this revered, living legend has any relation to the following ...... 

Pig's stomach is filled with a spicy meat-and-yam mixture and steamed to produce an oversized sausage called a stuffed ponce.
www.alleasyrecipes.com/glossary/cooking/P.asp
Or are you privvy to some otherwise unreleased footage.


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## ninsaga (13 Nov 2008)

Words that irritate me..........pretty much anything that Pat Kenny says.....


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## becky (13 Nov 2008)

Everything Rachel says especially YAM instead of yum.


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## Cahir (13 Nov 2008)

When Cork people say leave instead of let.

Example: "Leave him go to the concert" instead of "Let him go to the concert"


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## bamboozle (13 Nov 2008)

the word get...

also had the misfortune of working with a girl who said 'inanyways' all the time


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## gipimann (13 Nov 2008)

My pet hates - "modren" for "modern" or "pattren" for "pattern"?


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## MandaC (13 Nov 2008)

Furneral for Funeral
Also, the National Antrim


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## cole (13 Nov 2008)

Also when people say "what he said". More a phrase than a word I know.


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## PM1234 (13 Nov 2008)

The way Michael McMullan the sports presenter on Today FM pronounces his name - "Moichael McMullan". (I know its his name to pronounce how he likes but it drives me crazy).


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## RMCF (13 Nov 2008)

Main one has got to be:

Medium being pronounced as 'medjum'.


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## Smashbox (13 Nov 2008)

gipimann said:


> My pet hates - "modren" for "modern" or "pattren" for "pattern"?


 
Poccorn for Popcorn

Crips for Crisps

Medjum for Medium

(I work in a cinema)


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## WaterSprite (13 Nov 2008)

Courtesy being mispronounced (COURT-esy, rather than CURT-esy).

Laos (the country) being called "Lao" - the name of the country *in English* is LAOS!  And, while I'm on countries, people who pronounce Chile (when speaking in English) as "Chil-ay" (as in the Spanish pronunciation) or, more importantly, people who insist on correcting my pronunciation of "Chile" (which I call "Chilly") even though I (a) can speak Spanish and (b) have feckin' been there!  Oh yeah, and pronouncing the "TH" in "Thailand" bugs me too.

Then again, I used to think "gorgeous" was pronounced "george-ous" for the longest time.  And when George Clooney came along, there didn't seem to be much point in changing my view as the two became synonymous...

Have no problem with "Sah-urday" or "Dunkey" or "Lurry" at all - reckon it's part of our heritage.

Matt Cooper was on today calling pronouncing "atrium" with a short "a", which I've never heard before.  He seems to be in his own world as far as pronunciation is concerned mind you.


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## MandaC (13 Nov 2008)

Bearify for verify.


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## MandaC (13 Nov 2008)

For me the two most irritating words of all are RACHEL ALLEN

I would rather have an inalways inanyways accent than that.


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## Sarah W (13 Nov 2008)

Duncan ??? banging on about "safe-heft-ty" used to drive me nuts. Even before he fell off the ladder!


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## micheller (14 Nov 2008)

People who say millens instead of mill-ee-ons - gaahhhh


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## Thrifty (14 Nov 2008)

coat instead of quote


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## deedee80 (14 Nov 2008)

Oh god, just remembered my biggest pet hate, people who say "d'ya know what I mean" after every sentence.  Drives me demented.  So if I hear it always say, "no i don't know what you mean, please explain it again".  Most of the time they don't even realise they have said "d'yaknowwhatImean" (it usually said as all one word)!

D'ya know what I mean?!


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## TarfHead (14 Nov 2008)

deedee80 said:


> Oh god, just remembered my biggest pet hate, people who say "d'ya know what I mean" after every sentence. Drives me demented. So if I hear it always say, "no i don't know what you mean, please explain it again". Most of the time they don't even realise they have said "d'yaknowwhatImean" (it usually said as all one word)!
> 
> D'ya know what I mean?!


 
.. or _you know ?_.


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## TarfHead (14 Nov 2008)

WaterSprite said:


> Laos (the country) being called "Lao" - the name of the country *in English* is LAOS! And, while I'm on countries, people who pronounce Chile (when speaking in English) as "Chil-ay" (as in the Spanish pronunciation) or, more importantly, people who insist on correcting my pronunciation of "Chile" (which I call "Chilly") even though I (a) can speak Spanish and (b) have feckin' been there! Oh yeah, and pronouncing the "TH" in "Thailand" bugs me too.


 
Yeah, but .. how to pronounce the capital of France. _Paris_, or _Paree_ ?
I disagree that non-natives should use the same pronounciation as natives.

There is a Scottish (Barcelona-based) football journalist, regularly on Newstalk, who pronounces the FC Barcelona stadium as _Camp Now_, when the rest of the English-speaking world pronounce it as _Noo Camp._


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## RMCF (14 Nov 2008)

TarfHead said:


> Yeah, but .. how to pronounce the capital of France. _Paris_, or _Paree_ ?
> I disagree that non-natives should use the same pronounciation as natives.
> 
> There is a Scottish (Barcelona-based) football journalist, regularly on Newstalk, who pronounces the FC Barcelona stadium as _Camp Now_, when the rest of the English-speaking world pronounce it as _Noo Camp._



Thats Graham Hunter, and you probably have to give him a bit of leeway considering he spends most of his time living in Spain and speaking Spanish, and pronounces the words the same as the natives. Would be hard to switch back to the rubbish pronounciation that the UK/Irish people use.

I was in Barcelona a few times and the 1st time I asked for directions to the "New Camp" they didn't understand me with my rubbish pronounciation. Honestly. One eventually said "ah Camp Now". So you can see where Graham's coming from.

Same goes for the Real Madrid stadium, the Bernabeu. We pronounce it Bern-a-bow, but its really Bern-a-bay-ou, and you get the same type of strange looks in Madrid when you pronounce it our way.


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## csirl (14 Nov 2008)

> I was in Barcelona a few times and the 1st time I asked for directions to the "New Camp" they didn't understand me with my rubbish pronounciation. Honestly. One eventually said "ah Camp Now". So you can see where Graham's coming from.
> 
> Same goes for the Real Madrid stadium, the Bernabeu. We pronounce it Bern-a-bow, but its really Bern-a-bay-ou, and you get the same type of strange looks in Madrid when you pronounce it our way.


 
Reminds me of the way Americans visitors sometimes promounce Irish place names e.g.

Thurles: rhyming with curls rather than Thur-Les.

Tallaght: Tawl-Act.

Ballina: Bal-Eye-Na

Dun Laoghaire: Done-Lake-eye-re

Youghal: Yoge-Hall

Clondalkin: Clon-Dalke-in


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## Blossy (14 Nov 2008)

there are alot, bai in cork instead of boy, but if you pronouonced it boy then it just doesnt have the same effect! 

ya instead of you has to be the worst!


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## Pique318 (14 Nov 2008)

Pronounciations of foreign places doesn't really bother me much.People say Par-ee and Milano and sound pretentious imo.

I was speaking to a guy from Derry who spent the weekend in Athy (pronounced Athee) so I asked him if he went to Naas (rhymed with pass).

He didn't know different so no harm to him.


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## Sarah W (14 Nov 2008)

I've just heard another one that drives me nuts; 'erbs, what are 'erbs??? It's Herbs you bloody idiot!!


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## mathepac (14 Nov 2008)

RMCF said:


> ... Would be hard to switch back to the rubbish pronounciation that the UK/Irish people use...



Hopefully you write (and spell) for yourself as a UK person here.


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## mathepac (14 Nov 2008)

csirl said:


> Reminds me of the way Americans visitors sometimes promounce Irish place names e.g.
> 
> ...



Oola in Co. Limerick becomes "Zero zero L.A."


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## Smashbox (15 Nov 2008)

*Scone*

Scon / Scooonnne !


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## ninsaga (15 Nov 2008)

Panini  - 'oh they have great panini's there'........ its just a glorified friggin sandwich!


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## Simeon (15 Nov 2008)

Sarah W said:


> I've just heard another one that drives me nuts; 'erbs, what are 'erbs??? It's Herbs you bloody idiot!!


Hey relax - It's Saturday! They could be talking about Karl Erb - one of Germany's finest tenors. As in "Erb's voice didn't weaken with age".


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## AgathaC (21 Nov 2008)

Worst of all to me is someone speaking with a put-on accent and mangling words in order to sound 'posh'!


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