Booher's Rules of Business Grammar - Dianna Booher 2009

Oh, say, can you see?
Miscellaneous matters

You’ve mastered all the major matters at this point. In this section, you’ll see a hodgepodge of pet peeves that irritate your peers, your customers, and Uncle Pete. In the big scheme of things, these errors may not be all that’s standing between us and world peace. But of the less-important concerns, these mistakes can cost you a contract, cut you from the global competition, or mar an otherwise stellar impression.

76. Oh, say, can you see?

MISPRONUNCIATION

Comedian Norm Crosby made a living with malapropisms. The term malapropism refers to the mistake of using a different word from the one the speaker or writer intends. The term is actually derived from Richard Sheridan’s l775 play The Rivals, in which the character Mrs. Malaprop frequently misspeaks, to great comic effect.

Here’s an example: “What are you incinerating?” meaning “What are you insinuating?” Here’s another recent one from American Idol: “I made a carnal sin; I forgot the words,” meaning “cardinal sin.” Another: “My manager is a vast suppository of information,” meaning “My manager is a vast repository of information.”

Malapropisms are not the mistake under discussion here. But mispronunciations can be equally embarrassing. Unless you intend to make comedy your day job, these can stall your career.

Certain common words have syllables that people routinely transpose. And once learned incorrectly, these words become dragons to slay. Here’s a starter list. Because even your best friend won’t tell you, check these out for yourself to create awareness.

relevant (re-le-vant, often mispronounced re-ve-lant)

remuneration (re-mu-ner-a-tion, often mispronounced re-nu-mer-ation)

nuclear (nu-cle-ar, often mispronounced noo-cu-lar as in particular)

candidate (can-di-date, often mispronounced can-ni-date)

escape (es-cape, often mispronounced ex-cape)

jewelry (jew-el-ry, often mispronounced jew-le-ry)

supposedly (sup-pos-ed-ly, often mispronounced sup-pos-a-bly)

asterisk (as-ter-risk, often mispronounced as-te-rix or as-ter-icks)

mispronunciation (mis-pro-nun-ci-a-tion, often mispronounced mis-pro-noun-ci-a-tion)

February (Feb-roo-air-y, often mispronounced Feb-yoo-air-y)

plenitude (plen-i-tude, often mispronounced plent-i-tude)

across (a-cross, often mispronounced a-crost)

Memory tip

Visualize each word spread apart with its syllables separated until the correct pronunciation becomes second nature.