Netiquette IQ Blog Of 4/25/2019 - 20 Hard-to-Pronounce Words You're Probably Getting Wrong

from thoughtco.com

20 Hard-to-Pronounce Words You're Probably Getting Wrong

by Olivia Valdes

 

Olivia Valdes is a college admissions consultant and the founder of Zen Admissions.

Updated January 14, 2019 

We all know the embarrassing feeling of discovering we've mispronounced a word for years. On the other hand, some words are so commonly mispronounced that the "correct" pronunciation sounds downright strange.

Don't feel bad if you've been mispronouncing some of these tricky words. A living language like English evolves and thrives precisely because it is spoken every day. Some choose to adhere to rigid rules (known as linguistic prescription) of grammar and pronunciation and take pleasure the precision of English grammar and vocabulary. Others prefer the descriptive linguistics approach, which doesn't apply judgments like correct or incorrect, but instead looks at how language is actually used. 

In other words, as long as people can understand you, you are successfully using language for its primary purpose: communication.

01

of 40

Accede

How to say it: ak-SEED
May be mispronounced: a-SEED
What it means: to consent, give approval; yield to another’s wishes

02

of 40

Alias

How to say it: AY-lee-iss
What it means: an assumed name taken on temporarily, sometimes by a criminal or fugitive

03

of 40

Anathema

How to say it: uh-NATH-uh-muh
What it means: someone or something that one strongly dislikes or loathes

04

of 40

Anemone

How to say it: uh NEH muh nee
What it means: a flower in the buttercup family; a sedentary marine animal, as in sea anemone

05

of 40

Apocryphal

How to say it: uh-POK-ruh-fuhl
What it means: of questionable authenticity, as in a story or statement

06

of 40

Camaraderie

How to say it: kah-muh-RAH-duh-ree
May be mispronounced: kahm-RAH-duh-ree
What it means: easy familiarity and friendship, often built over time 

07

of 40

Colloquialism

How to say it: kuh-loh-kwee-uh-liz-uhm
What it means: a word, phrase, or expression that is conversational rather than formal

08

of 40

Debauch

How to say it: dih-BAWCH
What it means: to lead away from virtue; to corrupt morally 

09

of 40

Demagogue

How to say it: DEM-uh-gog
What it means: a leader who appeals to popular passions and prejudices to gain support

10

of 40

Emollient

How to say it: ih-MOL-yuhnt
What it means: making smoother or less harsh; a substance with a soothing effect on the skin

11

of 40

Epitome

How to say it: ih-PIT-uh-mee
May be mispronounced: eh-pi-TOME
What it means: a person or thing that characterizes a whole category to which it belongs

12

of 40

Espouse

How to say it: ih-SPOWZ
May be mispronounced: ex-POWZ
What it means: to follow or support an idea or theory as a cause 

13

of 40

Espresso

How to say it: eh-SPRES-oh
May be mispronounced: ex-PRESS-oh
What it means: a strong coffee of Italian origin, made by forcing hot water through coffee beans  

14

of 40

Fatuous

How to say it: FACH-oo-uss
May be mispronounced: FAT-choo-uss
What it means: foolish, inane; devoid of intelligence 

15

of 40

Forte

How to say it: Fort
May be mispronounced: for-TAY
What it means: a strong point or a strength

16

of 40

Grandiloquent

How to say it: gran-DILL-uh-kwuhnt
What it means: extravagant, lofty, or bombastic in style or manner, especially language 

17

of 40

Hegemony

How to say it: hih-JEH-muh-nee
May be mispronounced: hedge-ih-MOAN-ee or homo-JENNY
What it means: authority, leadership, or influence by a dominant social group

18

of 40

Inchoate

How to say it: in-KOH-it
What it means: only partly in existence; partially formed, as in an idea

19

of 40

Knell

How to say it: nel
May be mispronounced: knel (with the k)
What it means: the sound of a bell rung slowly to announce death or a funeral

20

of 40

Maelstrom

How to say it: meyl-struhm
What it means: a violent whirlpool 

April is the official month for:

• From thebalancecareers.com

The following events, industries, causes and emotions (yes, emotions) are observed all month long in April unless otherwise indicated. Even cannabis (fast becoming legalized), Florida tomatoes, celery, and soft pretzels are honored, beginning April 1 through April 30—every year. 

• African-American Women's Fitness Month
• Alcohol Awareness Month
• Amateur Radio Month
• American Cancer Society Month
• Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
• Black Women's History Month 
• Bowel Cancer Awareness Month 
• Celebrate Diversity Month
• Community Service Month
• Confederate History Month 
• Distracted Driving Awareness Month 
• Financial Literacy Month 
• Fresh Florida Tomato Month
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month 
• Jewish-American Heritage Month
• Keep America Beautiful Month 
• Lawn and Garden Month 
• Mathematics Awareness Month 

• Month of the Military Child 
• National Autism Awareness Month
• National Better Hearing and Speech Month
• National Canine Fitness Month
• National Cannabis Awareness Month 
• National Car Care Awareness Month 
• National Child Abuse Awareness Month 
• National Couple Appreciation Month 
• National Deaf History Month (March 13 to April 15) 
• National Decorating Month 
• National Donate Life Awareness Month 
• National Fair Housing Month 
• National Food Month
• National Fresh Celery Month 
• National Garden Month
• National Humor Month 
• National Internship Awareness Month 

• National Inventor's Month 
• National Jazz Appreciation Month 

• National Landscape Architecture Month 
• National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (last full week in April) 
• National Mental Health Month
• National Month of Hope
• National Multiple Birth Awareness Month
• National Occupational Therapy Month
• National Older Americans Month
• National Parkinson's Awareness Month
• National Pecan Month
• National Poetry Month 
• National Safe Digging Month 
• National Siblings Day (April 10) 
• National Soft Pretzel Month
• National Soy Foods Month

• National STDs Education and Awareness Month
• National Straw Hat Month 
• National Volunteer Month 
• National Welding Month 
• Occupational Therapy Month 
• Pets are Wonderful Month
  
• Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month
• 
•  
• Records and Information Management Month 
• Scottish-American Heritage Month
• Sexual Assault Awareness Month 
• Stress Awareness Month
• Thai Heritage Month
• Women's Health Care Month

International and One-Day Observances

Because you may be in the business of working with internationals, we can not forget the participation of other countries. Here are a few international honorees, as well as some causes that are observed globally: 

• April is International Guitar Month, recognized in several countries.
• Ontario, Canada recognizes April as Sikh Heritage Month. 
• April is National Pet Month in the United Kingdom, although the U.S. waits until May to honor its non-human family members. 
• International Pillow Fight Day is observed on April 6 in 2019. 
• World Autism Awareness Day also falls on April 2 in 2019. 
• World Health Day is April 7, in 2019. 

Netiquette IQ Blog 4/11- Maxims

from thoughtco.com

Maxim

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

Maxims can be tricky: one maxim (such as "Too many cooks spoil the broth") may be countered by another ("Many hands make light work"). See What Is a Maxim?. (Fox Photos/Getty Images)

by Richard Nordquist

Richard Nordquist is a freelance writer and former professor of English and Rhetoric who wrote college-level Grammar and Composition textbooks.

Updated March 20, 2017

Definition

A maxim is a compact expression of a general truth or rule of conduct. Also known as a proverb, saying, adage, sententia, and precept.

In classical rhetoric, maxims were regarded as formulaic ways of conveying the common wisdom of the people. Aristotle observed that a maxim may serve as the premise or conclusion of an enthymeme.

Etymology
From the Latin, "greatest"
 

Examples and Observations

• Never trust a man who says, "Trust me."
   
• You're either part of the solution or part of the problem.
   
• "Nothing ever goes away."
  (Barry Commoner, American ecologist)
   
• Sherlock Holmes: Would you stand up?
  Dr. John Watson: Whatever for?
  Sherlock Holmes: It is an old maxim of mine that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Therefore, you are sitting on my pipe.
  (John Neville and Donald Houston in A Study in Terror, 1965)
   
• "Think sideways!"
  (Edward De Bono, The Use of Lateral Thinking, 1967)
   

• "Start with a phenomenon that nearly everyone both accepts and considers well understood--'hot hands' in basketball. Now and then, someone just gets hot, and can't be stopped. Basket after basket falls in--or out as with 'cold hands,' when a man can't buy a bucket for love or money (choose your cliché). The reason for this phenomenon is clear enough; it lies embodied in the maxim: 'When you're hot, you're hot; and when you're not, you're not.' . . .
  
  "Everybody knows about hot hands. The only problem is that no such phenomenon exists."
  (Stephen Jay Gould, "The Streak of Streaks," 1988)
   

• "Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it."
  (George Santayna)
   
• Maxims as Tools of Argument in Classical Rhetoric
  - "In the Rhetoric, Book II, Chapter 21, Aristotle treated maxims as a prelude to his discussion of the enthymeme, because, as he observed, maxims often constitute one of the premises of a syllogistic argument. For instance, in an argument about financial matters, one can imagine a disputant saying, 'A fool and his money are soon parted.' The full argument suggested by this proverb would run something like this:

A fool and his money are soon parted.
John Smith is undeniably a fool when it comes to money matters.
John Smith is sure to lose out on his investment.

The value of maxims, according to Aristotle, is that they invest a discourse with 'moral character,' with that ethical appeal so important in persuading others. Because maxims touch upon universal truths about life, they win ready assent from the audience."
(Edward P.J. Corbett and Robert J. Connors, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. Oxford University Press, 1999)

- "The orator, says [Giambattista] Vico, “speaks in maxims.” But he must produce these maxims offhandedly; as practical matters always require immediate solutions, he does not have the time of the dialectician. He must be able to quickly think in enthymemic terms."
(Catalina Gonzalez, "Vico's Institutiones Oratoriae." Rhetorical Agendas, ed. by  Patricia Bizzell. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006)
 

• "Too many cooks spoil the broth"
  - "'Too many cooks spoil the broth'--so goes a proverb that is as familiar to most Americans as its meaning. The Iranians expressed the same thought with different words: 'Two midwives will deliver a baby with a crooked head.' So do the Italians: 'With so many roosters crowing, the sun never comes up.' The Russians: 'With seven nurses, the child goes blind.' And the Japanese: 'Too many boatmen run the boat up to the top of the mountain.'"
  ("Language: The Wild Flower of Thought." Time, March 14, 1969)
  
  - "Having passed through several different studios over its 15-year development, sci-fi comedy Duke Nukem Forever sets a new precedent for how too many cooks really can get busy with the spoilage."
  (Stuart Richardson, "Duke Nukem Forever--Review." The Guardian, June 17, 2011)
  
  - "Does the adage 'too many cooks spoil the broth' apply to fiction? Readers of the novel No Rest For The Dead will soon find out. The 26 authors invited to take part in the series have combined sales of tens of millions of books."
  ("No Rest For The Dead: New Crime Thriller Co-Written by 26 Authors." The Telegraph, July 5, 2011)
   

• The Lighter Side of Maxims
  Dr. Frasier Crane: There's an old real estate maxim that says the three most important things when looking for a property are location, location, location.
  Woody Boyd: That's just one thing.
  Dr. Frasier Crane: That's the point, Woody.
  Woody Boyd: What, that real estate people are stupid?
  Dr. Frasier Crane: No, that location is the one most important thing in real estate.
  Woody Boyd: Then why do they say that it's three things?
  Dr. Frasier Crane: Because real estate people are stupid.
  (Kelsey Grammer and Woody Harrelson in "A Bar Is Born." Cheers, 1989)

Pronunciation: MAKS-im

April is the official month for:

• From thebalancecareers.com

The following events, industries, causes and emotions (yes, emotions) are observed all month long in April unless otherwise indicated. Even cannabis (fast becoming legalized), Florida tomatoes, celery, and soft pretzels are honored, beginning April 1 through April 30—every year. 

• African-American Women's Fitness Month
• Alcohol Awareness Month
• Amateur Radio Month
• American Cancer Society Month
• Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
• Black Women's History Month 
• Bowel Cancer Awareness Month 
• Celebrate Diversity Month
• Community Service Month
• Confederate History Month 
• Distracted Driving Awareness Month 
• Financial Literacy Month 
• Fresh Florida Tomato Month
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month 
• Jewish-American Heritage Month
• Keep America Beautiful Month 
• Lawn and Garden Month 
• Mathematics Awareness Month 

• Month of the Military Child 
• National Autism Awareness Month
• National Better Hearing and Speech Month
• National Canine Fitness Month
• National Cannabis Awareness Month 
• National Car Care Awareness Month 
• National Child Abuse Awareness Month 
• National Couple Appreciation Month 
• National Deaf History Month (March 13 to April 15) 
• National Decorating Month 
• National Donate Life Awareness Month 
• National Fair Housing Month 
• National Food Month
• National Fresh Celery Month 
• National Garden Month
• National Humor Month 
• National Internship Awareness Month 

• National Inventor's Month 
• National Jazz Appreciation Month 

• National Landscape Architecture Month 
• National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (last full week in April) 
• National Mental Health Month
• National Month of Hope
• National Multiple Birth Awareness Month
• National Occupational Therapy Month
• National Older Americans Month
• National Parkinson's Awareness Month
• National Pecan Month
• National Poetry Month 
• National Safe Digging Month 
• National Siblings Day (April 10) 
• National Soft Pretzel Month
• National Soy Foods Month

• National STDs Education and Awareness Month
• National Straw Hat Month 
• National Volunteer Month 
• National Welding Month 
• Occupational Therapy Month 
• Pets are Wonderful Month
  
• Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month
• 
•  
• Records and Information Management Month 
• Scottish-American Heritage Month
• Sexual Assault Awareness Month 
• Stress Awareness Month
• Thai Heritage Month
• Women's Health Care Month

International and One-Day Observances

Because you may be in the business of working with internationals, we can not forget the participation of other countries. Here are a few international honorees, as well as some causes that are observed globally: 

• April is International Guitar Month, recognized in several countries.
• Ontario, Canada recognizes April as Sikh Heritage Month. 
• April is National Pet Month in the United Kingdom, although the U.S. waits until May to honor its non-human family members. 
• International Pillow Fight Day is observed on April 6 in 2019. 
• World Autism Awareness Day also falls on April 2 in 2019. 
• World Health Day is April 7, in 2019.