Hey Bookworms!
I’m feeling brave today. I’ve been toying with the idea of putting together a video blog for a while now, and today’s the day. Have you ever had a situation where you’ve read a word repeatedly and understand it, yet you mispronounce it when it comes up in conversation? Yep. That. I thought this topic would be good for a video component because pronunciation is so much more fun when you can hear it. Here are a few of my own personal foibles:
And in case you aren’t into watching me embarrass myself on camera, check out some of the highlights in good old fashioned written form:
Banal- For YEARS I have been mentally pronouncing this word incorrectly. Recently on some awards show, this word came up and I remember remarking to Jim, “Oh those Hollywood types! They just read whatever is on the teleprompter even if they don’t know the words!” Except… Later that week I heard the word again. On NPR. I trust NPR’s pronunciation.
Cacophony- When I was in college I took a multimedia class… I have obviously retained NONE of that knowledge, BUT one of the programs we used for editing audio clips was called “Cacophony.” I remember coming home and telling my roommate (who was taking the same class) about a clip I’d put together and she was all “Uh, you mean Ca-COUGH-ony?” And then I felt stupid.
Posthumous- I’m not sure if this is one that can be written off to regional dialect, but I’m trusting NPR’s pronunciation, again. I’ve had the em-PHA-sis on the wrong syll-AH-ble for years.
Thanks for humoring me today, Bookworms! Anybody else have an embarrassing mispronunciation they want to own up to? I’m out on a limb here, y’all. Don’t leave me hanging!
Heather
Hahaha! You can also say “BAY-nahl” — that pronunciation is also acceptable. I’m fine with it having “anal” at the end. Bu-NAHL sounds silly. Haha!
Words For Worms
I’m relieved that anal-banal is acceptable! Buh-nahl sounds so pretentious!
Megan M.
OMG that “wrong em-PHA-sis on the wrong sy-LAB-ble” quote cracks me right up every time! I’ll have to watch the video later because I’m supposed to be helping my kids get ready for school right now (I’m sure you’re adorable on vidyatape) but I really think this is a common “reader” problem.
The other thing that happened a few times was I would hear someone say something and I would go “Ohhh that’s what that word was!” Like the first time I heard someone say “hors d’ouerves” out loud. I had seen it written in a book and couldn’t figure it out but then someone said it and it clicked. I also have trouble defining words – like I’ll totally understand what a word means but when someone asks me what it means, I struggle to explain it. Maybe that one’s just me.
Megan M.
P.S. – LOVE the theme song. The copyright card misspelled “resemblance” and left the first N out of “coincidental” though. Just FYI. For future vlogs.
Words For Worms
That was… Uh… Intentional… To demonstrate our reliance on spell check… Which doesn’t exist in Photoshop. Doh! Thanks for letting me know. I’ll fix the misspellings for future vlogs. Jim did the theme song for me and had it waiting when I came home last night. I just kept cracking up and singing it around the house.
Rachel
I LOVE that Jim helped out and sang. 🙂 It is super adorable!
Didi
Welcome to You Tube! I’ve been doing video now since January of this year and I find it lots of fun. It’s only the editing that drives me made. Looking forward to seeing your future videos. 🙂
Andi (@estellasrevenge)
You did GREAT on your first video blog!!!! I loved it and definitely LOLed. I’ve done the same thing with some of these words. I ran across this problem often in grad school. Haha!
Chanin
Yay video blog! It was awesome.
I still have the hardest time with cinnamon- ever since I was little I’ve pronounced it cimmonin. I also used to have difficulty with disciple (dis-iple) and chagrin (char-grin); for the longest time I only read them in books and never had to say them out loud. They are not exactly words that tend to come up in everyday conversation after all. Luckily my love of musicals saved me from making a complete fool of myself over disciple…they use the word in Jesus Christ Superstar….I was less lucky with chagrin. I was reading aloud in english class in junior high and stumbled over the word. People laughed. In retrospect it was humerous….at 14 not so much
Words For Worms
Awww! Char-grin! I always hated having to read aloud in school because once I had to read “ejaculate” aloud in a room full of pubescent boys… Emotional scarring.
Ashley Z
I LOVE YOUR FACE! that is all!
Words For Worms
I LOVE YOUR FACE, TOO!
Heather
I can’t watch the video at work but based on everyone else’s comments it sounds like its a hilariously good time! For years (and I mean all 25 years that I’ve been alive) I’ve pronounced hors d’oevres like horsss-duh-vors. I had NO idea this was a fancy French phrase until I got to college and now I’m too set in my ways to change.
Isi
You look as if you have been shooting videos since ever! Well done!
The topic is one of my FAVOURITES.
You know I’m Spanish and Spanish language has rules of pronuntiation, so when you read a new word, you just follow the rules (it’s not that you have to study them; you know it since you learn how to read an write) and you CAN’T mispronounce the word. Good.
The issue is that when I started learning English and I saw that the same sequence of letters can have different pronunciation, I wanted to kill myself (for example: bus and busy. The “u” is not pronounced the same; in Spanish a letter is always pronounced in a certain way, always).
This is incomprehensible in my language, and I always wonder if you, English speaken guys, had problems with the pronuntiation of new words, because I have!
Banal is pronounced the same in Spanish, by the way 😉
Words For Worms
Isi, oh my word, you have no idea! I took Spanish in school (not that I retained enough to do much more than ask where to find the bathroom) and what I loved about it was that it was easy to spell. If you heard the word pronounced you could sound it out and spell it right-the vowels always did the same thing sound-wise. No silent letters popped up. It’s a gorgeous language! English is complete madness, even the native speakers are confused half the time.
Isi
I can see why 😉
My English teacher, who is Welsh, told me that two centuries ago there was an attempt to create rules for writing/pronouncing but in the end it didn’t happen so that’s why are here now and you have done a video 😉
He told me that English speaking children, when they learn how to write and read, they learn the whole words and their pronuntiation.
Spanish speaking children learn syllables: ma-me-mi-mo-mu, because the sequence of letters is pronounced always the same.
It’s interesting the way we have to learn depending on the rules of the language 🙂
Leah @ Books Speak Volumes
I loved this! My pansy ass kind of wants to try vlogging, now. And you are not alone! I also mispronounced banal and cacophony for years! Also, learning the correct way to pronounce naivete felt life-altering. (I thought it was pronounced naive-et for a very long time.) And grievous — I stuck an extra i in, so it sounded like griev-y-us.
It’s so interesting that reading a lot of books expands our vocabulary, but half the time we’re probably pronouncing the words (in our heads, anyway) incorrectly.
Words For Worms
Leah you should try it! It was way less frightening than I’d though about it. Words that originate from French often throw me for a loop- I feel you on naivete! I’m so glad I’m not alone in this- so many people sharing makes me feel like part of a very cool club!
Ashley F
OMG you’re so adorable.
I’ve heard people mispronounce banal and posthumous before. I think they’re incredibly common words to not get right. Now that you said, it in my head I’m totally saying cacophony they way you did.
I have a similar beef with books using words I can’t pronounce although typically it’s names that frustrate me. This is my #1 reason for disliking Fantasy as a genre. Names, places, objects all with made-up names in non-existent languages. It hurts my head! I also come across it in a lot of the historical fiction I read because they’ll talk about a piece of clothing or something totally common for the time but foreign to me and I have no idea how to pronounce it.
Words For Worms
Fantasy is awful that way- all the made up words just wreak havoc with my brain (although I do enjoy them from time to time.) You know what I love? That there are pronunciation guides floating around for Outlander. Pretty sure I still say some of them wrong in my head, but I like that I can get it figured out :).
Charleen
This is a terrible quality clip, but completely relevant:
http://youtu.be/8yGMhG98ebY
For me, it was macabre. And the really bad part is I’d seen it in writing, heard it in speech, knew the two words mean the same thing, and it still took me FOREVER to put together that it was the same word! #shameface
Also, yay for vlogging! And also thank you for keeping it under 5 minutes, because I’ll rarely watch vlogs that run longer than that. If I try, I’ll start opening new tabs and only listening and then I’ll just tune out completely, so I’ve just given up on it. I have a much better attention span in real life than I do once I sit down at the computer.
Words For Worms
Oh my gosh, I’d forgotten that clip from HIMYM! I freaking love Ted. No #shamefaces here, darling, we’re all together in this. I think I’ll probably always try to keep the vlogs short- I’m a short speech kind of lady.
Charleen
“Class dismissed. No homework… for a while…”
Love it.
Loralie
This is a great topic! Agatha Christie is my all time favorite author, and I started reading her books when I was pre-teen-ish. And there were a lot of words that I was pretty sure that I knew how to pronounce, because it is the same language right? But I always pronounced ‘queue’ as ‘quay’ for some reason in my head, and didn’t realize how it was actually pronounced until everyone was talking about their Netflix queues and then the penny dropped.
Words For Worms
Ooooh queue was one that threw me at first- I’d forgotten that one! I think I’d heard it before and thought it was spelled “cue.”
Rory
You’re adorable (and very lucky to have a former videographer husband – total marriage bonus), well done. My video blog went on far, far too long, but that’s fairly reflective of me as a person…
For me it it was genre, for the longest time I thought the gen part was pronounced more along the lines of “jen…”. Oops.
Words For Worms
Rory, I loved your vlog- I found your rambling utterly charming :). I did get a pretty fun marriage perk with Jim, but, like I said, we LITERALLY have a dozen VCRs in our basement. And a 3/4 inch video player. And a betacam deck…
Mabel
I can never pronounce “conscience,” even though I know in my head how to pronounce it. Every! Time!
Words For Worms
I pronounce “conscience” just fine, but in order to spell it I have to think “con” “science.” Which is clearly not the correct pronunciation…
Monika
Oh my gosh, I’ve been mispronouncing banal, too!!! LOL
Great vlog, enjoyed the topic! Next time though, I think a cute little penguin could fit on your chair with you… 🙂
Words For Worms
I had that debate with myself! I was very tempted to pull out one of the penguins and have a co-star. Maybe next time :).
Lauren@FilingJointly
I know there are words that I probably mispronounce but I’m at a loss for them right now. I did used to read a lot of Archie Comic Books when I was younger (and only then, not also now….) and for a very long time I thought Reggie was pronounced like eggy-with-an-R. Until my dad laughed in my face and corrected me.
Also, I think we should add a clause to our “F You Mensa” byline that says something about “Not Fancying Up Butt Words” because honestly that sounds like something Mensa jerks would do.
Also, I’ll see you this weekend.
Words For Worms
Hahahahahahaha! I’ve done the same things with names. We need to work on a mission statement for F You Mensa. We’ve got “not fancying up butt words” and “buttering ourselves” already… This idea is genius. Also, I can’t wait to see you this weekend. I will be holding a conversation with your pregnant belly. FYI.
Joules (from Pocketful of Joules)
Adorable — it’s like I get to hang with you but with (sadly) less hugs!
And my parents still tease me to this day about when I asked them for a suede coat when I was around 10… but pronounced it sued. As in, “you’re an asshole and you gonna get sued.” Yup.
Words For Worms
<3 Joules, we should seriously Facetime while watching tv and drinking wine. It's the next best thing to installing a pneumatic tube system between my house and yours. I can call you from my faux "sued" couch.
Melinda
I think I would have pronounce cacophony wrong too, but I kind of knew how to pronounce “banal”. You did not embarrass yourself with this video, promise!
As for me making videos, I doubt that will happen anytime soon and also I am scared of embarrassing myself or worse: no one understanding what I’m saying, because of my accent 🙁
Megan M.
I’m jealous of people with accents! You should totally go for it – I bet you sound adorable!
Words For Worms
I’m so jealous of accents! Midwestern feels like a non-accent to me. I used to answer the phone to telemarketers with a British accent as a child, just because I was a pain in the butt.
Melinda
Hahaha!
Melinda
LOL!
Melinda
Thanks Megan! I will try it one day.
Isi
Mel, I also think accents are beautiful; I would love to see you on a video 🙂
We have to chat sometime, anyway! (But that would be even trickier because I’m sure you won’t understand me 😛
Words For Worms
Oh I think South African accents are so gorgeous! I’d love listening to it.
kristinshafel
Hahah that was so cute and charming! 🙂 I’m too happy sitting behind my bass in the back of the orchestra to do a vlog, I think.
Words For Worms
I’m blushing now :). I’d watch a video of you playing the bass with or without the orchestra. I’m very impressed by musical talent, as I have none of my own.
Jennine G.
I agree with your take on banal. “Anal” at the end sounds much better, regardless of the other meaning for that part of the word. lol. The word that trips me up is “superfluous.” I know I have to stop and think it through first.
Awesome vlog by the way!
Words For Worms
Superfluous! My friend and I had a conversation about that word while I was running this concept by her. She called it Super Flu Us. And that just makes me think of The Stand.
Jennine G.
Yes, that’s how I want to say it too!!!
Daddio
Nicely done! Did use cue cards? Great presence.
Morley Bisquick
I had heard she used non-union penguins during the filming of this telecast. The Leopard Seal Society of Greater Texas will be filing a delicious penguin union grievance.
Words For Worms
Whistle blower! That’s the last time you’ll record a theme song for me!
Words For Worms
Dad, you’re required to think I’m cute. You made me.
Catherine
Katie, you rock!! Of course, it now means one more blogger I know has done a vlog. Thankfully, peer pressure only affects me when it comes to drinking games.
Here’s a word I can’t even pronounce and that I sort of pretend doesn’t exist. Tarpaulin. Why use it? Why isn’t tarp good enough? I heard the full word on TV, burst out laughing and said to my husband, “How stupid is that? Did they make that up?” Yup. Good news is we’re still married.
Words For Worms
Drinking games! Ah, memories… Tarpaulin- I have no freaking clue how to say that. Tarps for everyone!
Shannon @ River City Reading
So cute! I loved your little theme song. I definitely think that sometimes the whole reading too much/talking to little thing can come back to bite us in general! I hope you keep vlogging!
Words For Worms
Hehehehe I love the theme song too. I keep listening to it and cracking up. I had a lot of fun with this vlog, I think I will probably have to revisit the format at some point :).
Akilah
Ceramics.
Integral.
Those are the two biggies.
Michael @ Literary Exploration
Well done for stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something different. Even taking a different approach to other book vloggers. Look forward to see what you come up with in the future.
RebeccaScaglione - Love at First Book
LOVE!!!! First of all, such a cute intro!!! Your own theme song? FAB!
This is a great vlog, not only because you’re fabulous but also because it’s the PERFECT topic for a vlog!!!
RebeccaScaglione - Love at First Book
BTW my pronunciation error is the word “liaisons.”
Kelly Massry
My husband calls me out on this ALL the time! And he’s supposed to be the “non-reader!” Go figure. As for my pronunciation errors – too many to list! But does it matter? That’s why we read in our heads, right ? 🙂
Wendy @ Wensend
I really LOVE this blog. I mispronounce English words quite a lot. I read a lot of English books, but it’s not my native language, so I also don’t know how to proncounce some of the words. In Dutch we say kakofonie as in KAkofonie haha, so I would probably also pronounce it the wrong way :p
Isi
Katie, I forgot to tell you my secret with English pronuciation, what was I thinking about??
Look at this web: http://howjsay.com/
Everytime I read a new word, I put it there, and if there are different ways of pronouncing a word (American/British English), it is said there too!
Elena
Oh God, you remind me so much of Reese Witherspoon! It’s the gestures and the voice and… everything! (And I mean it as a compliment despite what some people think about her).
Words For Worms
This is awesome. I’m super flattered, but of all the celebrities in the world, Reese Witherspoon and I share a birthday! A few years apart, but March 22 is a good day! 🙂
Sarah Says Read
Hehe, this is just too great! Man I kind of miss vlogging. And the theme song in the beginning is adorable 🙂
So, “anal” banal totally sounds better, I think. And I didn’t know how to pronounce cacophony either, so thanks for that 😉
Ummm, I mispronounced aspartame recently at the grocery store. The honeyman couldn’t stop laughing because I said “as-spart-a-me” at first. It was bad. And I STILL have to think before I say Arkansas. I always want to say “R-Kansas” because wtf, it’s Kansas with more letters in front of it. Whoever decided it was “Ar-can-saw” was wrong, dammit.
Words For Worms
LOL! I am cracking up over your Aspartame! That is the best thing I’ve ever heard. And yeah. Where does Arkansas get off with the “saw”? The only reason it sticks in my head is because I heard the state pronounced long before I could spell…
Helen @ My Novel Opinion
LOVE THIS!! I think it’s so awesome that your hub created the theme song for you.
I’m with you on banal and posthumous, especially the latter. It has taken me years to correct myself on that one and I still slip up occasionally.
It’s funny that you blame the mispronunciation on reading to much and talking too little..my dad would always say the same to me.
And now I’m in the US, having moved from the UK 7 years ago, and I’m relearning the pronunciation of some words because according to my kids I say things wrong.
Words For Worms
Keep the accent, it’s cooler!
Silvia
I loved this video. That’s happened to me several times and usually it’s when I’m being all superior about someone pronouncing it “wrong” like your story with the actor. One that comes to mind is awry. Even now that I know it’s pronounced “a-‘ri”, I always want to say “‘oar-e” with the stress on the first syllable.
I guess I have an excuse since I don’t live in an English-speaking country, but still.
Oh an by the way – you totally have an accent. Trust me, I’m from Europe – all Americans have accents, even those in the Midwest 😉
Words For Worms
Awww, Silvia, you just made my day. Did you hear that, world?!?! I have an ACCENT! All European accents sound sophisticated to me… Do Midwestern accents sound… I don’t know… farmer-ish? to Europeans?
Silvia
Heh, you’re welcome 😉 Not sure about it sounding sophisticated though – thankfully I don’t have a strong Austrian accent, but you only have to look as far as Schwarzenegger to hear what that would sound like.
Hard to describe what yours sounds like, I don’t get any farmer vibes for sure. I’d definitely recognise you as American but I’m not sure I’d know where you’re from. Which kinda makes sense if the pronunciation US news presenters use is closest to it. Found an article for you here : http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/midwest/
Silvia
it=European accents – sorry, bad grammar.
Words For Worms
Hahahahaha that’s awesome- I’m sure you don’t sound like the Governator!