From Kamala Harris to Shein: Babbel unveils 2024's mispronounced words
What's the story
Language learning platform Babbel has revealed the most mispronounced words of 2024. The list includes foreign words, names of public figures from the US and UK, and even a fast-fashion company. Notably, US Vice President Kamala Harris's first name, pronounced correctly as "COM-a-la," and Irish actor Barry Keoghan's name, pronounced "key-OH-gin," made it to the list. The fast-fashion company Shein also featured on both lists with its correct pronunciation being "SHE-in."
Pronunciation pitfalls
Medical and music industry names among mispronunciations
The list also features semaglutide, an ingredient in Ozempic, pronounced "sem-ah-GLOO-tide." Rising music star Chappell Roan's name is another entry, pronounced "CHAP-uhl ROHN." US actress Zendaya's name was also often mispronounced; the correct pronunciation is "zen-DAY-uh." These examples show how mispronunciations are prevalent across industries.
Linguistic challenges
UK list features Swedish words and common mispronunciations
The UK list also includes Swedish words like Snus , correctly pronounced as "SNOOZ", and flygskam, said as "FLEEG-skam". The word espresso was also included, owing to its frequent mispronunciation in the UK. Contrary to popular belief, it is pronounced as "es-PRESS-oh," not "EX-press-oh." This just goes to show the linguistic challenges English speakers face with foreign words or even commonly used terms.
Other words
Other commonly mispronounced words
The Dutch Kooikerhondje, pronounced ("Coy-ker-hund-che"), is frequently mispronounced despite being a popular and adorable pet known for its playful nature. Many struggle to pronounce Phryge (pronounced "FREE-je"), the mascot of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, which symbolizes French liberty. Similarly, the Chagos Islands, pronounced "CHAY-goss," are a group of more than 60 tropical islands in the Indian Ocean. They gained attention this year after the British government returned sovereignty of the disputed archipelago to Mauritius.
About Babbel
Babbel's collaboration reveals common pronunciation pitfalls
For the past nine years, Babbel, the Berlin-based language-learning software company has teamed up with The Captioning Group, renowned for their expertise in closed captioning, to identify the year's most commonly mispronounced words. The group, which works closely with live broadcasts, reviews their experiences to pinpoint words that public figures on TV frequently stumble over. Some of the results are more surprising than others.