Skip to main content
Question Protected by MetaEd
Post Locked by Andrew Leach
Notice added Historical significance by Andrew Leach
Notice removed Historical significance by CommunityBot
Post Unlocked by CommunityBot
Post Locked by RegDwigнt
Notice added Historical significance by RegDwigнt
Post Unlocked by RegDwigнt
Notice removed Historical significance by RegDwigнt
Question Unprotected by Daniel
Question Protected by Daniel
Notice added Historical significance by waiwai933
Post Locked by waiwai933
Notice removed Historical significance by waiwai933
Post Unlocked by waiwai933
Notice added Historical significance by waiwai933
Post Locked by waiwai933
Post Unlocked by waiwai933
Question Unprotected by RegDwigнt
Question Protected by Thursagen
Post Locked by RegDwigнt
edited tags
Link
delete
delete
Post Made Community Wiki
Source Link
davebug
  • 261
  • 2
  • 7
  • 8

What words are commonly mispronounced by literate people who read them before they heard them?

Quite a few words are mispronounced by under-educated people, or people learning English as a second language. Some words are often mispronounced by quite educated people who read, and began reading high-level literature before they heard the vocabulary spoken.

This can lead to a vocabulary dissonance, occasionally leading to the belief that there are two words (the known spelling of one, and the verbal hearing of the same) where only one exists. Epitome is a common example that springs to mind.

Answer with a word and its proper pronunciation (and potentially, the commonly mistaken punctuation).