Common Pronunciation Mistakes

Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should Avoid

First of all, don't worry about not having a native-English accent. It's important to be able to speak clearly, so that people can understand you. However, it's almost impossible to sound exactly like a native English speaker. English isn't really our mother-tongue and it's totally not fair to expect us to know the ten thousand different rules and exceptions the language follows. English is one of the most widely spoken languages in India. As Amitabh Bachchan's famous dialogue , 'English is a funny language'. 

It is inconsistent, and varies in pronunciation and accent around the world. 

        Sometimes we get confuse while checking the spelling of the word either with the vowel sounds or consonant sounds. For the vowel sounds," should it be ae/ah/ai" and for consonant sounds "which letter to be used as silent?". English vowels make it really tricky to know how to say a word. “Way,” “weigh” and “whey” are all said the same, for example, while “comb,” “bomb” and “tomb” are all pronounced differently because "English is not a Phonetic Language". We replace the sounds when we get confuse with our indigenous language. Sometimes we are afraid that we might be mispronouncing some words without even knowing it. It's becoming more complicated because those mispronunciations might have become so widely used that they've actually been adopted by some dictionaries and are now accepted as correct pronunciations.

"What?"

"Can you please say it again"

You might be heard this several times while talking in English even your vocabulary and Grammar are perfect. It can be difficult for the person to understand  you, just for the pronunciation. So here are some tips regarding correct pronunciation of commonly used English words.

Everyday English Words You’ve Probably Been Pronouncing Wrong All This While

              

      

Words	Wrong pronunciation	Correct Pronunciation	Meaning
Adobe	Ah-dob	Ah-doh-bee	Brand
Aegis	Ay-jis	EE-JIS	Endorsement and guidance
Almond	Al-mohnd	Al-mund
Alumni	Ah-lum-nee	A-lum-nayee	former pupil or student
Arch	Ark	Arch	Form an arch or curve
Archive	Ar-keev	Ar-kaa-iv	data backup or a store of old data
Ask	Aks	Ask
Asterisk	As-ter-ik	AS-TER-ISK
Asthma	Asth-ma	Az-maa
Asus	Ah-sus	Uh-soos	Brand
Bass	bus	Bay-s
Biology	Bi-logy	Bai-awe-lojy
Bowl	Ba-ohl	bohl
Buffet	Bu-fet	Boo-fey
Bullet	Boo-let	Boo-lit
Burgar	Bur-gar	Bu-gu
Cabin	Kay-bin	Kah-bin
Cache	Kashey	Kash
Capris	cape-reese	Kuh-preez
Chanel	Cha-nnel	Sh-nl	Brand
Chassis	Chay-sis	Sha-see
Chevrolet	Shev-ro let	Shev-ro-lay	Brand
Chutzpah	Choot-spah	Hoot-spah	insolence; audacity
Cliché	Kleech	Klee-shey	A trite or obvious remark
Clothes	Klawths	Klow-dhz
Coupon	Koo-pun	Koo-pawn
Data	Daa-taa	Day-ta
Debris	Debris	Deb-ree	remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up
Demon	Dey-mon	Dee-mon
Dengue	Den-gyoo/den-goo	Den-gee
Dessert	Day-zurt	Di-zurt
Develop	Deve-lup/Dev-lup	Dih-veh-lup
Discretion	Dis-kree-shun	Dis-kreh-shun	Freedom to act or judge on one's own
Enterpreneur	En-tray-pren-yur	On-truh-pren-yur
Epitome	Epi-tome	Epi- tumi	standard, typical or perfect example
Etc	Ekcetra	Et-set-era
Executive	exe-cute-tiv	eggs-eck-uh-tiv
Extempore	Ex-Tem-por	Ex-tem-purree	With little or no preparation or forethought
Forte	Fort	For-tay	An asset of special worth or utility
Gauge	gauj	Gayj
Genre	Jen-ner	Zhon-ruh
Guardian	Gar-jen	Gar-dee-un
Heart	Hurt	Haa-rt
Hierarchy	Hi-ar-ky	HI -ER-AR-KY
Hierarchy	Hee-rar-key	Hi-u-raa-kee
Huawei	Hawai	Ooh-waa-way
Hyunday	Hi-un-dye	Hun-day	Brand
Iron	Eye-run	Aye-urn/Aye-en
Jewelry	Jew-el-er-y	JEW-EL-RY
Lingerie	Lin-guh-ree	Lawn-zhuh-ray
longevity	Lon-gee vi tee	Lonje-vu-tee
Marijuana	Mary-joo-anna	Mar-uh-wah-nuh	commonly used illicit drug
miniature	Min-a-ture	MIN-I-A-TURE	Being on a very small scale
Mischievous	Mis-chee-vee-us	MIS-CHI-VUS	Naughtily or annoyingly playful
Mojito	Mo-jee-toh	Moh-hee-toh	Cuban cocktail
Monk	Mawnk	Munk
niche	nitch	NEESH	position particularly well suited to the person who occupies it
Nike	Nyk	Ny-kee	Brand
Nuptial:	Nap-tial	Nup-shul	Of or relating to a wedding
Pizza	Pi-za	Peed-zuh
Poignant	Poig-nant	Poi-nyant	Arousing affect
Police	Poo-leece	Puh-leece
Porsche	Porsh	Por-shuh	Brand
Receipt	Re-seept	Re-seet
Renault	Ren-olt	Reno	Brand
Rendezvous	Ren-des-voos	Ron-day-voo	meeting planned at a certain time and place
Resume	Re-zume	Ree-zu-may	brief summary of your skills and experience
Schedule	Ske-dyool	Ske-dzhool/Shed-yool
Subtract	Sub-stract	Sub-tract
Sudoku	Suh – doe – coo	Soo – doe – coo	Number puzzle
Suite	Suit/soot	Sweet	Apartment consisting of a series of connected rooms used as a living unit
Tagheuer	Tag-hew-air	Tag-haw-yer	Brand
Tomb	Taw-mb	Toom(b)
Tour	Toor	Too-uh
Tuition	Tyu-shun	Twi-shun
Unanimous	Uh-ani-mus	yoo-næn-im-əs	In complete agreement
Viva-voce	Veeva-vosee	Vaiva-vow-chi/veeva-vow-chi	examination conducted by spoken communication
Wednesday	Wed-nes-day/Way-nes-day	Wenz-Dai
Woman	Woh-man	Woh-men
Women	Woh-men	Wih-men
Zebra	Zeb-rah	Zee-bruh