A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W x Y Z TOP
Do say: ask [æsk] 問
Don't say: aks [æks]
Comment: This mispronunciation has been around for so long (over 1,000 years). Most of us would give the axe to "aks."
Do say: athlete [‘æθlit] 運動員
Don't say: athelete [‘æθəlit]
Comment: Two syllables are enough for "athlete."
Do say: business [‘bɪz‘nɪs] 商業
Don't say: bidness [‘bɪd‘nɪs]
Comment: The change of [s] to [d] before [n] is spreading throughout the US and when the unaccented [i] drops from this word the [s].
Do say: a blessing in disguise [ə blɛsiŋ ɪn dɪs’gaɪz ] 塞翁失馬 焉知非福
Don't say: a blessing in the skies [ə blɛsiŋ ɪn ðə skaɪ]
Comment: This phrase is no blessing if it comes from the skies. (Pronounce it correctly and help maintain the disguise.)
Do say: candidate [ ‘kændədet] 候選人
Don't say: cannidate [ ‘kænədet]
Comment: You aren't being canny to drop the [d] in this word. Remember, it is the same as "candy date." (This should help guys remember how to prepare for dates, too.)
Do say: clothes [kloθz] 衣服
Don't say: close [kloz]
Comment: The [th] is a very soft sound likely to be overlooked. Show your linguistic sensitivity and always pronounce it.
Do say: dilate [dɪ’let] 擴大
Don't say: dialate [daɪ’let]
Comment: The [i] in this word is so long there is time for another vowel but don't succumb to the temptation.
Do say: drown [draʊn] 淹沒
Don't say: drownd [draʊnd]
Comment: You add the [d] only to the past tense and past participle.
Do say: escape [ə’skep] 逃脫
Don't say: excape[ək’skep]
Comment: The good news is, if you say "excape," you've mastered the prefix ex- because its meaning does fit this word. The bad news is, you don't use this prefix on "escape."
Do say: espresso [ɛs’prɛso] 濃咖啡
Don't say: expresso [ɛks’prɛso]
Comment: This word was borrowed from Italian well after the Latin prefix ex- had developed into es-. Be sure not to mispreonounce it.
F
Do say: February [‘fɛbrʊ͵ɛrɪ] 二月
Don't say: Febyuary [‘fɛbrju͵ɛrɪ]
Comment: We don't like two syllables in succession with an [r] so some of us dump the first one in this word. Most dictionaries now accept the single [r] pronunciation but, if you have an agile tongue, you may want to shoot for the original.
Do say: film [fɪlm] 軟片
Don't say: fillum [fɪlum]
Comment: We also do not like the combination [l] + [m]. One solution is to pronounce the [l] as [w] ("film" [fiwm}, "palm" [pawm]) but some prefer adding a vowel in this word.
G
Do say: grateful [‘gretfəl] 感謝的
Don't say: greatful [‘grɛtfəl]
Comment: You should be grateful to know that keeping "great" out of "grateful" is great.
Do say: gauge[‘gedʒ] 標準尺寸
Don't say: gouge[‘gaudʒ]
Comment: You must learn to gauge the positioning of the [a] and [u] in this word. Remember, they are in alphabetical order (though not the [e]).
Do say: hierarchy [‘haɪə͵ rɑrkɪ] 等級制度
Don't say: hi-archy [haɪ ɑrkɪ]
Comment: Remember, hierarchies go higher than you might think. This one is pronounced "higher archy" and not "high archy."
Do say: interpret [ɪn’tɝprɪt] 解釋
Don't say: interpretate [ɪn’tɝprɪtet]
Comment: This error results from the back-formation of "interpretate" from "interpretation." But back formation isn't needed; we already have "interpret."
Do: just [dʒʌst] 正好, 恰好
Don't: jist [dʒɪst]
Comment: As opposed to the adjective "just," this word is always unaccented, which encourages vowel reduction. However, it sounds better to reduce the [ê] rather than replace it with [i].
Do: jewelry [ˋdʒuəlrɪ] (總稱)珠寶; 首飾
Don't: jewlery
Comment: The root of this word is "jewel" and that doesn't change for either "jeweler" or "jewelry." The British add a syllable: "jewellery"
K
Do:kimchi [kɪmtʃi] 朝鮮泡菜
Don't: kichi [kɪtʃi]
Comment: When someone pronunciate this word, they may lose [m]. they may pronunciate [kɪtʃi]
Do:Ku Klux Klan三K黨
Don't: Klu Klux Klan
Comment: Well, there is an [l] in the other two, why not the first? Well, that is just the way it is; don't expect rationality from this organization.
Do : lease [lis] 租約, 租契
Don't: leash [liʃ]
Comment: Southern Americans are particularly liable to confuse these two distinct words but the confusion occurs elsewhere.
Do: library [ˋlaɪ͵brɛrɪ] 圖書館, 藏書室
Don't: libary [ˋlaɪ͵bɛrɪ]
Comment: As mentioned before, English speakers dislike two [r]s in the same word. However, we have to buck up and pronounce them all.
M
Do: miniature [ˋmɪnɪətʃɚ] 縮樣; 縮圖
Don't: miniture [ˋmɪnɪtʃɚ]
Comment: Here is another word frequently syncopated. Don't leave out the third syllable, [a].
Do: moot [mut] (法學院)假設案件
Don't: mute [mjut]
Comment: The definition of "moot" is moot but not the pronunciation: [mut] and not [myut].
N
Do: other [ˋʌðɚ] (兩者中)另一個的; 其餘的
Don't: nother [ˋnaðɚ]
Comment: Misanalysis is a common type of speech error based on the misperception of where to draw the line between components of a word of phrase. "A whole nother" comes from misanalyzing "an other" as "a nother." Not good. Not good.
Do: nuclear [ˋnjuklɪɚ] 核心的, 中心的
Don't: nucular [ˋnjukulɚ]
Comment: The British and Australians find the American repetition of the [u] between the [k] and [l] quaintly amusing.
O
Do: orient [ˋorɪənt]東方
Don't: orientate [ˋorɪəntet]
Comment: Another pointless back-formation. We don't need this mispronunciation from "orientation" when we already have "orient."
Do: Australia [ɔˋstreljə] 澳大利亞
Don't : Ostraya [ɔˋstrejə]
Comment: This pronunciation particularly bothers Australians themselves, most of whom can manage the [l] quite easily, thank you.
P
Do: prescription [prɪˋskrɪpʃən] 命令, 指示; 規定
Don't: perscription [pərˋskrɪpʃən]
Comment: Same as above. It is possible that we simply confuse "pre-" and "per-" since both are legitimate prefixes.
Do: probably [ˋprɑbəblɪ] 大概, 或許
Don't: probly [ˋprɑblɪ]
Comment: Haplology is the dropping of one of two identical syllables such as the [ob] and [ab] in this word, usually the result of fast speech. Slow down and pronounce the whole word for maximum clarity and to reduce your chances of misspelling the word.
Do: relevant [ˋrɛləvənt] 有關的; 切題的
Don't : revelant [ˋrɪlɛvənt]
Comment: Here is another word that seems to invite metathesis.
Do: respite [ˋrɛspɪt] 暫緩; (死刑的)緩期執行
Don't: respite [rɛˋspit]
Comment: Despite the spelling similarity, this word does not rhyme with despite; it is pronounced ['re-spit]. Give yourself a permanent respite from mispronouncing it.
S
Don’t say: stomp [stamp]
Do say: stamp [stæmp] 郵票
Comment: Stamp is so called because it was originally stamped (not stomped) on a letter. You stamp your feet, too.
Don't say: suit [sut]
Do say: suite [swit] 隨員; 隨從
Comment: If you don't wear a suit [sut], then it is a suite [sweet], as in a suite of living room or a suite of rooms.
T
Don't say: tact [tækt]
Do say: tack [tæk] 平頭釘; 大頭釘; 圖釘
Comment: If everything is not going your way, does not lose your tact that would be tactless but take a different tack.
Don't say: tenant [ˋtɛnənt]
Do say: tenet [ˋtɛnɪt] 信條; 主義; 教義; 宗旨; 原則
Comment: Tenants who are the renters may not hold a tenet or dogma.
U
Don't say: upmost [ˋʌp ͵most]
Do say: utmost [ˋʌt͵most] 最大的; 最遠的; 極度的
Comment: While the word does demonstrate that efforts are up, the word is "utmost," a historical variation of "outmost."
V
Don't say: verbage [ˋævərɪdʒ]
Do say: verbiage [ˋvɝbɪɪdʒ] 廢話; 冗詞
Comment: Here is another word that loses its [i] in speech. Pronouncing it correctly will help you spell it correctly.
Don't say: volumptuous [vəˋlʌptʃʊəs]
Do say: voluptuous [vəˋlʌptʃʊəs] 性感的; 激起情慾的
Comment: Some voluptuous women may be lumpy, but please avoid this Freudian slip that apprises them of it.
W
Don't say: wadn't [ˋwɑdnt]
Do say: wasn't [ˋwɑznt] 不是; 不對
Comment: That pesky [s] before [n] again. See "bidness" and "idn't." ways way "I have a ways to go" should be "I have a way to go." The article "a" does not fit well with a plural.
Don't say: wet [wɛt]
Do say: whet [hwɛt] 磨; 磨快
Comment: In the Northeastern US the sound [hw], spelled "wh," is vanishing and these two words are pronounced the same. Elsewhere they should be distinguished.
Y
Don't say: yoke [jok]
Do say: yolk [jok] 蛋黃; 【生】卵黃
Comment: Another dialectal change we probably should not call an error: [l] becomes [w] or [u] when not followed by a vowel. Some people just confuse these two words, though. That should be avoided.
Z
Don't say: zuology [zuˋɑlədʒɪ]
Do say: zoology [zoˋɑlədʒɪ] 動物學
Comment: In fact, we should say [zo], not [zu], when we go to the zoo.