Here's a word that I hear mispronounced so often I looked it up to make sure I wasn't the dumb ass.
How do you say "realtor"?
- Does it sound like reel-ugh-ter?
- Or real-ter?
- Or re-uhl-ter?
- None of the above
When I first moved to Houston, I gave my boss an address on Bissonnet Avenue but being from Louisiana, I articulated it with a French pronunciation: Bis-so-nay. She corrected me and imperiously stated "here in Texas, we pronounce all the letters in words". Huh, how about that? She was taking me task for sounding like a rube while she and the rest of Houston mangled FRENCH with their "Bis-son-net"(yep, with a "t" at the end). Thanks for correcting me, putain.
So, just for kicks, I just Googled "commonly mispronounced words" for you good people and found a list of 100 at pbs.com
Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, I've been saying "Bacchus" incorrectly all this time plus "pathos". Feeling superior to me yet? Check out the list and I'll bet you'll be surprised at a few. Having a hard time saying "Bak-us" instead of "Bahk-us", which incidentally, is the name of huge New Orleans Carnival krewe and their parade. New Orleans folks saying it wrong all these years? For true?
3 comments:
I had fun with your links! Thanks. From the way some Texans talk, there's a center-of-the-universe marker on every corner.
Well, I didn't see 'prah-leens' on the list. Everyone in Texas, and really every other state but Louisiana pronounces it 'PRAY-leens' which drives me #%&*(! crazy!
Ya'll are cracking me up!
Kittie - you're right. My mom has said the same for years. She's convinced it's because they teach Texas history at every grade level whereas Louisiana offers it twice in 12 years.
La Belle - when I hear "prayleens" or "pee-cans" or "crayfish", it's like nails on a chalkboard. If not said correctly, surely it cannot be enjoyed to its fullest.
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