You Can Say That Again

When I was a kid, I remember (or was told) I used creative pronunciations for common words. Instead of cinnamon I’d say cimm-anin. Instead of spaghetti it was bis-ketti. The library was the lie-berry. Maybe back then my excuse was in just learning to talk but I can’t play that card as an adult. So when someone says Feb-YOU-air-ee instead of Feb-ROO-air-ee, or Shur-BERT instead of Shur-BET, I tend to wince.

We’ve made it to the time of year where we reflect on the previous one, and we do so in year-in-review lists. “Most Influential People of 2024”. “Best Television Shows of 2024”.  “Significant World Events of 2024”.  And how about this one?  Most Mispronounced Words of 2024.  Thanks to Babbel, maker of language-learning platforms, the hard audio evidence doesn’t lie.  Babbel came up with ten words people mispronounced over and over last year.

I could print Babbel’s list here, but it’d be a waste of your time so I’ll just hyperlink it instead.  Eight of the words I never ever used in 2024 (and never will), and the only reason I spoke the other two was because they’re the last names of politicians featured in 2024 headlines.  To be honest, the list made me question Babbel’s approach to learning languages.  Are these the words promoting a budding English speaker’s proficiency?

Babbel also listed mispronounced words from other languages, including one of my favorites: espresso.  Not sure how we Americans get that one wrong time after time, but we do.  Maybe the myriad “ex-” words in the English language have us saying EX-presso but the concentrated coffee drink sounds exactly as it reads: ES-presso.  Keep that in mind and your next Italian barista will be happy to serve you.

As long as we’re speaking Italiano let’s get another one right – al dente.  When you want your pasta cooked just right; “not too soft but firm to the bite”, you describe it as ALL den-tay, not ALLA dawn-tay.  I only know this because I learned Italian when I was in college.  If I didn’t know better myself I’d probably go with AL dent.

Notre-Dame de Paris

As long as we’re talking foreign language mispronunciation, let’s correct another one.  Notre-Dame de Paris, the medieval Catholic cathedral in the middle of Paris (and the middle of the River Seine), can be mispronounced so many ways it’s almost as devastating as the fire from which it was resurrected.  On the surface it sounds something like NOH-tur daym day PEAR-iss, which is “English-French” at its absolute worst.  In actual French it sounds like this: NOH-tr dam due PAH-ree, where the two “r”s almost sound like “l”s.

You never saw it coming but today’s language lesson is a segue to the topic I’ll be covering for the next several weeks and months.  Notre-Dame de Paris is a magnificent structure and a renowned work of architecture.  It’s also a new model created by the good people at LEGO.  And speaking of good people (great, actually), my wife put that LEGO model under the Christmas tree for me this year.

For those who enjoyed the long journey of my building the LEGO Grand Piano (which I chronicled in Let’s Make Music!), and the shorter journey of the LEGO Fallingwater House (Perfect Harmony), I’ll be at it again as I attempt to rise Notre-Dame de Paris from the “ashes” of 4,383 plastic pieces.  Won’t you join me on this foray into all things FRON-says?  (That’s “French” for those of you who mispronounce it.)  You’ll learn about the world’s cathedrals along the way, many of which took hundreds of years to construct.  Let’s hope my own build of Notre-Dame de Paris is a whole lot shorter than that.

Some content sourced from the CNN World article, “These are the most mispronounced words of 2024”, and Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia”.

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Author: Dave

Five hundred posts would suggest I have something to say… This blog was born from a desire to elevate the English language, highlighting eloquent words from days gone by. The stories I share are snippets of life itself, and each comes with a bonus: a dusted-off word I hope you’ll go on to use more often. Read “Deutschland-ish Improvements” to learn about my backyard European wish list. Try “Slush Fun” for the throwback years of the 7-Eleven convenience store. Or drink in "Iced Coffee" to discover the plight of the rural French cafe. On the lighter side, read "Late Night Racquet Sports" for my adventures with our latest moth invasion. As Walt Whitman said, “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Here then, my verse. Welcome to Life In A Word.

18 thoughts on “You Can Say That Again”

  1. I am looking forward to your build. I thought about buying a Lego building this year, but didn’t actually do it.

    and I like to do a fake southern accent just to irritate my westcoast friends.

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    1. I haven’t acquired a fake Southern accent myself yet… at least, I don’t think I have. Maybe I should connect with my West Coast friends and see if they look at me funny when I talk.

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  3. Looking forward to your build!

    Someday I would like to talk to you in person – just to watch you cringe. I have a Canadian accent, modified by time spent living in Texas, England, the Middle East and Arizona. Sometimes I stop in mid sentence and think – I really do not know the Canadian pronunciation for the next word I am about to say….

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    1. I’m not sure I could identify a pure Canadian accent, let alone all those other “adjustments” you’ve made. In today’s world I suspect your brand of modified accent is more common than one might expect.

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    1. I was able to visit the Cathedral during the college year I was in Italy, but it was a quick stop on a whirlwind tour of Paris. Building the model will have me wanting to go back to give it the touring time it deserves.

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  5. Dave, it IS funny to read about and hear how people have changed pronunciations to suit their fancy, or just because they never took the time to learn to enunciate the word clearly. Canadians laugh when non-Canadians pronounce the city of Toronto, because to Canadians, they run the name together so it is simply “Toronno” never pronouncing that second “t” but anyone else pronounces it to enunciate the “t” and I hear it a lot for referencing sports teams like the Blue Jays or Maple Leafs. I was smiling about the French references. I am studying French, Day #70 and having learned 750 words already, I know that I’d be hard pressed to try to carry on a conversation with a person fluent in French. I will look forward to seeing your LEGO progress – that was a thoughtful gift from your wife. Did she like the tiny something you got her and mentioned in the blog post about tiny items like the mini Rubik’s Cube?

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    1. I love the way “Notre-Dame de Paris” is supposed to be pronounced. Just another reminder French is a beautiful language (and I always wanted to learn to speak it). Didn’t know that about “Toronto” – good to know! My wife’s “little” stocking items were ornaments depicting characters from the series “Outlander”, a TV series we both really enjoyed. They were inexpensive and they’ll never make it onto our Christmas tree, but then again I’m always good for an odd gift or two 🙂

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      1. French is a beautiful language – I agree with you Dave. I have always had a problem trilling my “Rs” and the same is true 46 years later, so I will never sound truly authentic. 🙂 I thought you’d enjoy that little fact about Toronto and how a non-Torontonian would say the name of that city. That was clever of you and yes, the odd gifts that mean something special to the giver and receiver are often the best kind!!

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  6. Can’t wait for your upcoming posts on the Notre-Dame project. Also anxious to hear your take on the building of the world’s finest cathedrals. They fascinate me!

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    1. After a college year abroad in Italy studying architecture many years ago, it’s safe to say the cathedral is my favorite building form. It only takes visiting a few to get completely attached to them.

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  7. My dad would also express disappointment in hearing Feb-U-ary. Incorrect grammar was another source of dismay for him. Both Mom and Dad spoke with impeccable grammar, even though neither went to college. When I asked them where they learned all the ins and outs of correct English they replied that teachers of their day were relentless in drumming it into their heads. These days many parents complain when teachers try to hold to time-honored standards. (Even administrators will fuss!) And so we now have newscasters and screenwriters (one example out of many) who don’t know correct pronoun usage. P.S. That Lego cathedral is AMAZING! Can’t wait to hear about the adventure of putting it together, Dave!)

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    1. Yes, Nancy, I liken it to a misspelling in a formal document. It’s red flag to me the same way someone mispronounces a word. The English language deserves more respect! 🙂

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  8. I will call foul on that list of mispronounced names. Sorry, but I don’t think it’s fair to list names of semi-famous people. Real words that are commonly mispronounced (like FebRUary or nuCLEar) would be fair game. Is it possible that Kamala’s mother mispronounced Ka-MA-la and passed her mistake down to the first victim?

    The cathedral will be quite a project! I will try to refrain from pronouncing it like your college alma mater.

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    1. I still hear people say Ka-MAH-la even after all the corrective efforts when she ran for President. I wonder if it’s a natural English language tendency to put the em-PHA-sis on the second sy-LAH-ble? 🙂 As for my beloved university, yes, the name has gone fully “English-French”, sigh. Most people don’t even know it’s formally Notre Dame du Lac (Our Lady of the Lake).

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