Words wot you say wrong...

[yello]

I've always said 'combatative' rather than the 'combative'. Possibly because you have argumentative and competitive but also because, for me, combative just sounds wrong - you have to change the stress pattern of the root (combat) and this obscures (again, for me) its meaning.

There are words I mispronounce left, right and centre but the above is a case of me just plain getting it wrong.

 

[fossyant]

Usually Welsh names. Most folk pronounce LLandudno as "landudno", not "clandudno"

Hardest is Betws-y-coed - I know it's "Betswi coid" but we all say 'co ed'

 

[Globalti]

Noocelur. It's something to do with the Eyeranians.

Most people mispronounce Ikea (as eye-kea) and Ibiza (as eye-beetha).

 

[Andy in Germany]

I'm not going to admit to the mess I frequently make of German words, especially local dialect terms...

And then there's the words I've misunderstood and use in the wrong context...

 

[yello]

And then there's the words I've misunderstood and use in the wrong context...

That's what interests me rather than the understandable mispronunciation of other language words.

I would say 'understandable' though, as I am constantly pronouncing French vowel sounds as English (orthographic not phonetic)

 

[Sharky]

Can you be a bit more pacific?

 

[raleighnut]

View: https://youtu.be/aJ0nFQgRApY

 

[glasgowcyclist]

When I were a lad my mate would always say, when he got a flat tyre, that he had to fix a pumpture. He was convinced that this is correct because it needs to be pumped up again.
He still uses the same word today.

 

[yello]

When I were a lad my mate would always say, when he got a flat tyre, that he had to fix a pumpture.

I do like that one! I may even use it. Your mate gets extra points for the justification too

 

[Oldbloke]

At the boucherie in my local supermarket I asked for "un kilo de viande hache" (minced beef); got a very puzzled look & "vous est sur?" from the butcher.

He then went off and filled a bag with dropped cuttings & mis-shaped sausages, having heard my request as "viande dechets" ie meat waste.

I was too embarrassed to refuse it!

 

[gbb]

Old friend of ours used to have a couple...chimberley Instead of chimney and this one used to crack us up at work...hed say bearying I steady of bearing

 

[yello]

At the boucherie in my local supermarket I asked for "un kilo de viande hache" (minced beef); got a very puzzled look & "vous est sur?" from the butcher.

He then went off and filled a bag with dropped cuttings & mis-shaped sausages, having heard my request as "viande dechets" ie meat waste.

My most regular difficulty with French pronunciation is with 'un alonge' (literally, 'an elongated' but it refers to a café alongé or simply black coffee with twice the hot water)... this gets heard as 'une orange' thinking I want an orange juice. Darned annoying. Fortunately, creeping Americanism (it has some uses ) means that a number of cafes now know it as an americano. They'll all being speaking English (well, American) soon I tell you, and I won't have to battle with the damned language!

Edit: I once heard a women ask for "un long café alongé" so I guess she wanted it even more diluted!

 

[Levo-Lon]

Pedant.. I always pronounce it ashole

 

[Chris S]

At the boucherie in my local supermarket I asked for "un kilo de viande hache" (minced beef); got a very puzzled look & "vous est sur?" from the butcher.

He then went off and filled a bag with dropped cuttings & mis-shaped sausages, having heard my request as "viande dechets" ie meat waste.

I was too embarrassed to refuse it!

I'd have been too embarrassed to accept it

 

[Chris S]

When I was a child I would say 'skelington' instead of skeleton.