Copyright M Live Michigan
Some words are just hard to say. For evidence, look no further than a recent data crunch conducted by Unscrambler.com, which used Google Trends between January and October to determine the most mispronounced words across the United States. Researchers searched phrases like “How do you pronounce”, “pronunciations of” and “How to pronounce” to determine the hardest words for Americans to say, which produced some interesting results. RELATED: Study reveals most misspelled words in Michigan, U.S. “Our research about the most searched for mispronunciations gives an interesting insight into American culture. Exposure to new words through media, music, pop culture and social platforms drives curiosity,” an Unscrmabler spokesperson said. “People often look up pronunciations if there is a gap between how a word or name is spelled and how it sounds, English language is particularly irregular in this regard.” America’s most mispronounced words with pronunciations: Gyro (312 000 searches) - YEE-roh. Worcestershire sauce (300 000 searches) - WUSS-ter-sheer. Acai (192 000 searches) - ah-SIGH-ee. Qatar (180 000 searches) - KAH-tar. Dachshund (156 000 searches) - DAKS-hund. Niche (142 000 searches) - NEESH. Aoife (84 000 searches) - EE-fah. Charcuterie (72 000 searches) - shar-KOO-tuh-ree. Paczki (36 000 searches) - POONCH-kee. Primeval (26 000 searches) - pry-MEE-vul. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (24 000 searches) - soo-per-kal-uh-fraj-uh-lis-tik-ek-spee-al-uh-DOH-shus. Hozier (21 000 searches) - HO-zee-er. According to research from Oxford University, English spelling only matches pronunciation about 75% of the time. Furthermore, a Cambridge University linguistics survey found that over 60% of English speakers admit they regularly mispronounce at least one common word. “Correct pronunciation is closely tied to perceived intelligence and competence. The desire for correct pronunciation is a mix of avoiding social embarrassment and simple curiosity,” a statement said. “There are over 40 regional accents across America. No wonder people are searching for how to pronounce words.” In Michigan, the most mispronounced word is paczki, a popular Polish pastry consisting of deep-fried dough filled with sweet filling and topped with powdered sugar, icing or glaze.
