Part 3: English words that we mispronounce
Last weekend, I flew to London with my girlfriends to eat, drink, and especially to party a lot. I know, I know: that all sounds very decadent, but every now and then it should be allowed, right? I am so in love with this charming English city. If it weren't so ridiculously expensive, I would have lived there a long time ago. The architecture, nice restaurants, beautiful clubs, friendly people, and above all that lovely English accent: envy-inducing. Unfortunately, I really speak terrible English despite having obtained my Cambridge certificate. I rarely mention this last part, as I then feel completely ashamed of my dramatic pronunciation. However, I always find it striking that my English sounds much better after a few cocktails. Does my self-confidence increase due to alcohol, or does my hearing and self-reflection decrease?
Below, I have at least compiled a list of English words that I have been mispronouncing for years. It is now the third part, we Dutch apparently have quite a knack for it. I would say: take advantage of it the next time you travel to England. I will definitely work on it myself, so that I also sound good sober during my next outing.
Kilometer
So I always emphasize ‘lo’, making it sound like kai-lo-meter. But that's actually American English. In the British English version, you should emphasize ‘meet’, so ‘kill-o-MEET-er’. And of course, we go for British.
Jewellery
I will always find this a terrible word, and therefore my big trick is to pronounce it as quickly as possible. It is not ‘JEWL-ree’, but ‘JEW-ell-ree.’
Often
The English apparently have many words where you don't even need to pronounce certain letters. For example, with the word ‘often’, you don't need to say the letter ‘t’ out loud, but swallow it.
GIF
Opinions are quite divided on this. In Dutch, I say ‘gif’, so I would think it's ‘djif’ in English, but according to the one true inventor of these moving images, it's ‘jif’. Just like that cleaning product, yes.
Liable
I don't necessarily use this word often, but I'm sure we all pronounce it incorrectly if we ever use it. It's not ‘LIE-a-bull’, but ‘li-AH-bull’. Totally illogical actually, because you pronounce ‘liability’ as you would think. Very confusing all.
Leicester
The name of this English city is really not what it seems, you know. I thought you only had to pronounce the ‘ei’ as ‘ie’, but no, no, Leicester is pronounced as ‘Lester’. Ridiculous, right?
Accessories
I find this word just as annoying as ‘jewellery’. Instead of the soft ‘s’, as you use in the Dutch version, you use a ‘k’ sound. So ‘ak-SES-sories’. Somewhere it's also quite logical if you know how to pronounce ‘access’ in English. It's a pity I never made that connection.
Prestigious
The English shorten this one in a good old-fashioned way. Instead of ‘pre-sti-gee-us’, they say ‘pre-STI-just’. Good to know.
Worcestershire sauce
The name of this flavorful sauce from Worcester is almost impossible to pronounce. How do you pronounce it? Well, apparently like this: ‘woostershersauce’.
Candy
Last but not least, for all the candy lovers among us: the English say ‘sweets’ and not ‘candy’. The latter is American, and we certainly do not say that when we are in London.
