Nigerians are a ‘clever’ bunch when it comes to the use of English words. A lot of us, possibly out of negligence, do not spell English words out right. As an avid reader, and a troller of Nairaland, I feel ridiculed when I see adulteratedly- written words. It makes me just break up!
Common words, simple words that come out of our mouths all the time, we are clever at misspelling them. Naija, I hail thee! But I know we are smart people. Hmnnnnn.
Here, I compile some of the top 10 words that are commonly misspelled among not just ordinary Nigerians but also among the ‘elites’.
1. PRONOUNCIATION: Lo, there is no such word as PRONOUNCIATION! It is ‘PRO-NUN-CIA-TION. Say /pro-NON-siay-shen/. Obviously, the verb form is ‘pronounce’.
2. DEFINATELY: Behold, this poo word does not exist! It is actually ‘DEFINITELY’. A lot of us are also guilty of mispronouncing it.
3. CONVENANT: My friend, rid your head of this poo word. It is ‘COVENANT’. Say/ KUHVUNANT/ or you want to sound very ‘educated’, then say/kuhvnuhnt/, discreetly and subtly. You know, the other night, I was chatting with a recently- graduated cousin of mine over whatsapp. And these conversations ensued between us:
Me: congrats, bro. u look so cool and macho in that NYSC gear. Can’t wait to get out of UI too.
Cousin: oh Raji. Wassup wif u. ows skool?
Me: m gud bro. so, which school you got out of coz I dnt remember.
Cousin: Convenant University, my man.
Me: what? Wat is that? (I wasn’t actually playing him or being derisive)
Cousin: convenant na!
Me: (pauses.Pulling the little tuft of hair in my chin) half a minute later, “oh, ok. Oyedepo’s COVENANT?
Cousin: what?! I dint no that o. na wa for me o. I spent a lill more than 4 years there and I cant even spell the skool right, shekkenah.
Lol.lol.lol.lol. now, look at that real life scenario. I am pretty sure he was ok it was with me and not with a potential employer or somebody.
4. OKRO: This word hardly exists in Merriem-Webster’s. Not even Oxford Dic. It is actually ‘OKRA. Say/OHKRA/
5. ALUMINIUM: Nah! It is ‘ALUMINUM’.
6. SEPERATE: Wrong! It is actually ‘SEPARATE’.
7. ARGUEMENT : This one is arguably so misused that one who usually spells it right starts to get confused about its actual spelling! Hey, dnt reformat a already- formatted brain, abeg! Well, it is ‘ARGUMENT’ Say/ ARGYUMENT/. In a rapid speech, like Americans and Brits often incorporate, you may well say/orgyimint/. It must be fast but subtle. U get?
8. HARRASSMENT: Not, ever! It is HARASSMENT, which is not at all synonymous to EMBARRASSMENT.
9. DINNING: Naija youths and teens are especially guilty of this bastardized word. It is correctly, ‘DINING’. The noun form, which is dinner, has a dual ‘n’
10. MISCHEVIOUS: Yay! Ki le le yi? It is ‘MISCHEVOUS’. Say/MISCHEVUS/ not ‘VIORS’.
Hey, my hands. Oya, come and add yours coz this list is endless. Make I siddon, observe and learn.

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@ mods. pls move ds to FP. folks ought to c it. fenks

Most of us also lack the knowledge of some verbs that are regular in form:
E.g (1) CASTED- this word is regular no matter the time of usage ie whether
Present or past tense. So the correct use is CAST CAST CAST and not CASTED.
Others are BURST not BURSTED, PUT not PUTED etc.

OP u r gud but no be our fault o cause a British cannot speak my mother tongue. Lol