These Are America’s Most Mispronounced Names and Words of 2024

As a seasoned cinema devotee and linguistics enthusiast who has spent countless hours immersed in the intricacies of various films from different countries, I find it fascinating to witness the struggle with pronunciation that even public figures experience in their day-to-day lives.

Among the most discussed individuals this year were Vice President Kamala Harris and rising pop sensation Chappell Roan. However, their names were frequently mispronounced as well.

On Wednesday, Babbel, a language-learning company, and The Captioning Group (TCG) unveiled a compilation of words that U.S. news anchors, politicians, and other public figures found challenging in 2024. This list serves as a recap of the year’s prominent themes and personalities, ranging from pop culture to politics.

Esteban Touma, an expert in languages and culture at Babbel, stated, “It’s quite refreshing to take a moment and reflect on the events of the year as if looking back through a window.

Roan, known for songs like “Good Luck, Babe!”, has risen to stardom this year and is up for six Grammy nominations. Contrary to some mispronunciations, her name is correctly said as CHAP-uhl ROHN, not SHA-pel ROW-an.

In this year when Aunt Harris’ presidential bid fell short, her great-nieces stepped onto the stage during the Democratic National Convention to clarify that her first name is pronounced as “COM-a-la”.

Additionally, joining the list was U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose last name continues to confound many in its pronunciation. During his 2020 presidential campaign, his team provided assistance by creating posters and T-shirts with the phonetic guide “Boot-Edge-Edge” to aid in correct pronunciation.

Other words on the list include:

2021 saw the Dutch Kooikerhondje, pronounced as “COY-ker-HUND-che”, gain popularity in dog breed circles. This is mainly due to Shohei Ohtani, the star player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, owning a Kooikerhondje named Decoy who stole fans’ hearts during a ceremonial first pitch.

It’s commonly misheard as “zen-DIE-uh,” but the correct pronunciation of actress Zendaya, known for her role in Challengers, is actually “zen-DAY-a.

— Online fast-fashion giant Shein is SHE-in, not SHEEN.

— Newly discovered exoplanet Speculoos-3b is pronounced SPEK-yuh-lohss three bee.

The Paris Olympics’ mascot, Phryge, is pronounced as “FREE-je”. This name pays homage to the Phrygian cap, a symbol often associated with the French Revolutionaries.

— Semaglutide, the drug in weight-loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, is pronounced sem-ah-GLOO-tide, not SEE-mah-gloo-tide.

— The last name of Irish actor Barry Keoghan, who starred in Saltburn, is pronounced key-OH-gin.

Nancy Niedzielski, head of the linguistics department at Rice University in Houston, notes that many words on the list are not typically English ones. Given this, it’s not surprising when they are mispronounced in the U.S., she explains. The likely solution for pronouncing them correctly, according to her, is simply to listen to them being spoken.

“There aren’t really tricks short of knowing how orthology works in that language,” she said.

In addition to several terms such as Keoghan, Phryge, and Shein, found on the U.S. list, were also present in a list created by Babbel (a language learning platform) for the United Kingdom. This list was put together with assistance from the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters, an association that represents subtitling experts.

Among the terms added to the U.K. list are “flygskam,” a Swedish term meaning “flight shame,” and the Chagos Islands, pronounced “CHAY-goss.” The former gained prominence due to climate activist Greta Thunberg, while the latter made the list following the British government’s decision this year to return sovereignty over the long-disputed Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius.

Touma, a fluent Spanish speaker, suggested that if you find it difficult to say a particular word, simply persist in your attempts.

He pointed out one issue we face is that our mouths aren’t accustomed to producing the sounds found in various languages.

Touma confessed that sometimes he stumbles over Harris’ first name, despite knowing how to say it correctly. In the heat of a conversation, he finds it challenging to pronounce it accurately.

Over the course of a year, as Roan’s music grew more popular, it became an intriguing cultural event to observe as individuals learned how to correctly pronounce her first and last name, according to him.

“The way we create understanding with each other is just trying to do these things,” Touma said.

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2024-12-04 11:06