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51 Words You Should Know How To Pronounce [part 2] - Literature - Nairaland

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51 Words You Should Know How To Pronounce [part 2] by TRWConsult(m): 4:05pm On Sep 16, 2015
Fred Astaire drew laughs back in the 1930s with his song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" in which the lovers can't agree on the pronunciation of words like either, neither, and tomato.
Word of caution: This is written from an American perspective.

26. llinois—As with Arkansas, the final "s" in Illinois is not pronounced. Say /IL-I-NOY/ (and /Ar-kan-saw/, not /il-li-noiz/ or /ar-kan-sas/). NOTE: Some unknowledgeable folks may still be trying to pronounce Arkansas as if it had something to do with Kansas. The pronunciation /ar-kan-zuz/ is waaay off base.

27. interpret—The word has three syllables; don't add one. Say /IN-TER-PRET/, not /in-ter-pre-tate/.

28. incident—Something that happens is an "incident." Don't say "incidence" when you mean a specific event. There is a word "incidence," but it has a different meaning.

29. "irregardless"—See the real word, regardless.

30. jewelry—The word has three syllables. Say /JEW-EL-RY/, not /jew-el-er-y/. The pronunciation /jewl-ry/ is common but not correct, as it removes one syllable from the word.

31. library—Notice where the first r comes in the word. Say /LI-BRAR-Y/, not /li-ber-ry/.

32. medieval—The word has four syllables. The first e may be pronounced either short [med] or long [meed]. Say /MED-EE-EEVAL/ or /MEE-DEE-EEVAL/, not /meed-eval/.

33. miniature—The word has four syllables. Say /MIN-I-A-TURE/, not /min-a-ture/.

34. mischievous—This is the adjectival form of mischief whose meaning is "calamity" or "harm." Mischievous is now associated with harmless pranks, so that the expression "malicious mischief" has been coined as another term for vandalism. Mischievous has three syllables, with the accent on the first syllable: /MIS-CHI-VUS/. Don't say /mis-chee-vee-us/.

35. niche—Though many words of French origin have been anglicized in standard usage, this one cries out to retain a long "e" sound and a /SH/ sound for the che. Say /NEESH/, not /nitch/.

36. orient—This word has three syllables. As a verb it means to place something in its proper position in relation to something else. It comes from a word meaning "east" and originally meant positioning something in relation to the east. Now it is used with a more general meaning. Say /OR-I-ENT/, not /or-i-en-tate/.

37. old-fashioned—This adjective is formed from a past participle: "fashioned." Don't leave off the -ed. Say /OLD-FASHIOND/, not /old-fashion/.

38. picture—There's a k sound in picture. Don't confuse picture with pitcher. Say /PIK-TURE/, not /pitch-er/. Pitcher is a different word. A pitcher is a serving vessel with a handle, or a player who throws a baseball.

39. precipitation—This is a noun that refers to rain, sleet or snow or anything else that normally falls from the sky. As with prescription (below), the prefix is PRE-. Say /PRE-CIP-I-TA-TION/, not /per-cip-i-ta-tion/.

40. prescription—Note the prefix PRE- in this word. Say /PRE-SCRIP-TION/, not /per- scrip-tion/ or /pro-scrip-tion/.

41. preventive—The word has three syllables. A common fault is to add a syllable. Say PRE-VEN-TIVE/, not /pre-ven-ta-tive.

42. pronunciation—This word is a noun. It comes from the verb pronounce, but it is not pronounced like the verb. Say /PRO- NUN-CI-A-TION/, not /pro-nounce-i-a-tion/.

43. prostate—This word for a male gland is often mispronounced. There is an adjective prostrate which means to be stretched out face down on the ground. When speaking of the gland, however, say /PROS-TATE/, not /pros-trate/.

44. realtor—The word has three syllables. Say /RE-AL-TOR/, not /re-a-la-tor/. It refers to a member of the National Association of Realtors, not simply a real estate agent.

45. regardless—The word has three syllables. Please don't add an ir- to make it into the abomination "irregardless".

46. sherbet—The word has only one r in it. Say /SHER-BET/ not /sher-bert/.

47. spayed—This is a one-syllable word, the past participle form of the verb to spay, meaning to remove the ovaries from an animal. Like the verb drown (above) the verb spay does not have a d in its infinitive form. Don't add one to the past participle. Say /SPADE/, not /spay-ded/.

48. ticklish—The word has two syllables. Say /TIK-LISH/, not /tik-i-lish/.

49. tract—Religious evangelists often hand out long printed statements of belief called "tracts." That's one kind of "tract." Houses are built on "tracts." Then there's the word "track." Athletes run on "tracks." Animals leave "tracks." Don't say /TRAKT/ when you mean /TRAK/, and vice versa.

50. vehicle—Although there is an h in the word, to pronounce it is to sound hicky. Say /VEE-IKL/, not /vee-Hikl/.

51. wintry—Here's another weather word often mispronounced, even by meteorologists. The word has two syllables. Say /WIN-TRY/, not /win-ter-y/.

Got any to add to the list?

Credit: PR Daily

1 Like

Re: 51 Words You Should Know How To Pronounce [part 2] by samuel3818: 8:22pm On Sep 17, 2015
Thanks OP Numbers 1-25 nko?

1 Like

Re: 51 Words You Should Know How To Pronounce [part 2] by TRWConsult(m): 3:27pm On Sep 18, 2015
It is continuation.

Please look up the previous part on our timeline.

samuel3818:
Thanks OP
Numbers 1-25 nko?

(1) (Reply)

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