Mispronounced Words to Ban from Your Vocabulary

According to noted author and former presidential speechwriter James Humes, “the art of communication is the language of leadership.” As Humes so eloquently points out, what we say and how we say it truly matters and proper grammar—along with correct pronunciation—are the pillars of effective communication. However, there are some words that prove bedeviling to many and their incorrect usage or pronunciation can quickly derail any conversation. To help keep your professional and personal brand from being tarnished by mispronunciations, we present some of the most commonly misspoken words in the English language.

February It may be the shortest month of the year, but February has long been one of the most misspelled and mispronounced months of the year. The most common problem is that people forget the first ‘r’ and say “Febuary.” Feb-ru-ary may be a little harder to say than the commonly mispronounced version but keep practicing and you’ll get it in 28 days or less.

Supposedly This is one we hear a lot and it’s supposedly one of the top offenders on the mispronounced word list. And although supposably is technically a word (meaning “able to be supposed”) it’s probably not the one you want to use.

Foyer Although many people tend to add a little European flair to the pronunciation of “foy-AY” the actual pronunciation is much more straightforward, sounding exactly as it is written: foy-er.

Sherbet Another word in which a large percentage of people tend to add an extra ‘r’…making it the incorrect “sherbert.” But alas, there’s only one ‘r’ in sherbet, making it even quicker to order your favorite dessert.

GIF (or JIF) One is a brand of peanut butter and one is an acronym for a graphics interchange format. Merriam-Webster maintains the word should be pronounced with a hard G, while the inventor of the file format pronounces the word GIF like the peanut butter brand. This may be an “either/or” exception in our list.

Regardless (or Irregardless) This is a case of the mispronounced version actually becoming a word because of its widespread and incorrect use. But grammar police say you should always stick with the original version, regardless of what others might say.

Library (or Liberry) You will never ever be able to check out a book from a liberry because it—and this mispronounced and misspelled version of the word library—simply doesn’t exist.

Cache When you are busy deleting items in your internet browser, you will come across the word cache. If you pronounce cache as “cash” without an ‘e,’ you will be right on the money.

Prerogative We can blame 90s singer Bobby Brown for the overexposure of the wrong way to pronounce “prerogative.” He sang the word as “per-og-uh-tive” but we guess that was his…er….prerogative.

Often Yes, there is a ‘t’ in the word often, but according to Merriam-Webster, it should be seen and never heard.