Words your parents pronounce/use that drive you CRAZY!!!

[Notsurehwhattdo]

My parents say ON-velope. Rather than EN-velope. Cin-a-MAR, rather than Cin-a-ma.

Slightly differently, they also say 'trod on' rather than 'stepped on'. I know it's not incorrect, I just hate the posh way they say trod and think it's a horrible word!

All the above drives me crazy! Aaaaarrrghhhh

Inspired by the theatre thread!

Are you American @verdantverdure?

I have never heard onvoy before but OED says it's an alternative pronunciation in US English so that would make sense.

A few examples by my DF:

Lasagne - LASS-aa-nyuh
Chimney - Chimley
Balcony - Bolcany
Cupboard - Cup Board
Brexit - Bregg-sit

Might I just add that he is the first person to correct the language of anyone else who he deems to have pronounced something wrong. Drives me absolutely insane. My ex-MIL was exactly the same although with her there were too many mispronunciations to count and her own corrections were always wrong. Just a couple of common examples -“Learn me/Borrow me/ Where is that to” I remember vividly how when describing the colour I’d painted my living room correctly as taupe. She scoffed and said it’s TAWP almost shouting it at me in the process. I used to inwardly cringe at how smug and overconfident she was about being so wrong.

On a more positive note - great thread OP! It’s had me in stitches.

If I remember correctly, it was a radio programme.

This made me chuckle and think about The Two Ronnies sketch where they pronounced words differently.

So bicarbonate of soda became

Bicker bonnet off sodda

it’s TAWP

Isn't taupe pronounced tawp?

Just looked up taupe and discovered it is tope not tawp, I have been saying it wrong forever (thankfully probably only said it once or twice)

It’s harmless stuff. My 19 and 20y olds regularly mock the way I pronounce some things and I am in my fifties. I am happy for them to continue doing so after my death. It’s the natural order of things and no malice intended!

Suduko instead of sudoku.
Expresso instead of espresso
Pacific instead of specific

People over 20 using cutesie words makes me cringe so much. Like lickle and dindins.

Why is it pretentious to pronounce a French word in the French way? Do you talk about people who drive a Renolt or a Pyoojiott - or an Ordi, for that matter?

Interesting question, and I'm not sure why pronouncing restaurant with a French accent sounds pretentious to me, it just really does. I think it's possibly because people used to do this more at a time when there were fewer foreign words in English generally (I was a kid in the 70s and used to hear adults say it a lot then), so it came across a bit 'ooh listen to me, I know the correct French pronunciation, aren't I amazing?' And partly also because when people do this they always seem to exaggerate the pronunciation far more than most French people presumably would. 😄

Yes. I hate the word pop in this context!

I do this 😂 it started ironically but I now do it as a habit.
My mum says "old dee" instead of al dee for Aldi. One of my friends parents says CaraVAN with an emphasis on the VAN but I think this is a regional thing! My gran always said "the coop" like "soup" instead of co-op.

‘Plar-stic’
’Elar-stic’
’Ga-raj’
‘Moz-arella’ (with a soft z)
’old-dee’ for Aldi
’Ik-ay-a’ for Ikea

Why are parental mispronunciations so annoying?!

Locally, unnecessary addition of articles before a proper noun. ie 'the XXX road' instead of 'XXX road'

My youngest pronounces 'one' as 'woon'. It's a little cute but I do correct her. She says 'woon' regardless. I think it's a local dialect but not we don't have the same dialect in our family

My MIL:

'Plaarstic' instead of plastic

And pretty much all of the same older generation pronunciations as well. Maybe that is what they were taught at school?

Also calls the Land Rover the 'Landy' which really makes me cringe

Yes so does mine - it's the brand name I think or used to be.

My mum mispronounces my mum in laws name . I've been married for 22 years and knew her before that so not sure why. She's Ellen and refers to her as Helen .She's dead now but I dread her saying Helen in front of my father in law as it sounds really disrespectful. No cognitive decline either, sharp as a tack.

Was going to say this, see also Keefley for Keighley.

My dad calls falafel fah-fye-EL to rhyme with Raphael. At first I thought he might have only seen it written and misread it, but no amount of hearing the real pronunciation has changed things.

My mother does the cutesy diminutive thing, which is just irritating. No need to talk about 'doggies' when everyone present is over 30.

And what do you say? Shuh? York-shuh?

It's just different. it's not better.

I do get that some of these can be funny, I'm definitely chortling at a few of these, but in reality there are probably a lot of individuals with (possibly undiagnosed) dyslexia being shamed here.

Some people were taught to read whole words rather then with a phonics methodology?

Mine...
Spec-si-fic rather than spuh-si-fukh
So hard to undo years of mispronouncing it and unless someone points it out you may never know you're saying it wrong!

Recommendations for elocution lessons/podcasts please?! 😬

I'm from New Orleans.

It's pronounced by most locals as New OR-lunz or, if an old money, Uptown type, New Or-lee-unz.

"N'Awlins" will peg you as a tourist faster than wearing Mardi Gras beads outside of Carnival season.

My parents used to say kebabs like "Key-babs"

I've seen it written ke bobs elsewhere too!

sang-witch (mum)

caw-vid (pal)

itchy teeth! (me)

My mum has a few...

Cer stiff icate rather than certificate
Pacific rather than specific
Bellconny rather than balcony

And any name such as Alfie or Ralphy becomes Elfie or Relphy.

Bizarre