It isn’t until you start researching the topic that you find out just how many words are often (including that one) 
mispronounced. I gave a few examples in my blog post of a couple of weeks ago.
I have decided to make this a series of a few posts, spread out so you won’t get bored! Here are some words beginning with the letters A through E that are often mispronounced.
acrost–should be across (no t at the end)
affidavid – should be affidavit (ends in a t; no David there)
Antartic or Anartic – should be Antarctic (two ts and a c)
barbituate – should be barbiturate (I don’t say this one often, but when I do, I say it incorrectly. There is an r beginning that final syllable.)
calvary – should be cavalry (the l doesn’t become before the v)
cannidate – should be candidate (two ds)
dialate – should be dilate (two syllables, not three)
excape – should be escape (no x)
excetera – should be et cetera (like in escape, there is no x)
expresso – should be espresso (there is no x here either)
Grammar Diva News Update
This coming Saturday, February 25, I will be speaking at the monthly meeting of Marin Writers. 2 p.m., The Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA. It is open to anyone who would like to attend as a guest (or join!)
On Friday evening, March 16 at 7 p.m., I will be launching The Best Little Grammar Collection Ever! at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma. There will be refreshments and a lively talk about language. Hope to see you there if you are in the area!
Calvary is also a word, but it means something very different from cavalry.
Yes – and people confuse them. Thank you for the comment!
Hi Arlene. I am an English teacher living in DK and also teach German Ans Danish 😋
My experience with all these mistakes is that Many people copy what they hear only and not what they read. And,then they copy it wrongly..
But, of course, there Are also people who misread words or make socalled transfer mistakes based on what they THINK they read and never reflect on whether it should be pronuonced differently 😋
I beleive a lot of people are very unaware of how they speak as the way we learn our mother toungue is through copying our surroundings.
No excuse but important to be aware of
Kr Helle-Sofia 🌸
Maybe I’m finally in. My comments are not about the current issue (mispronounced words). I’ve been writing for years about the misuse of lower case ninth letter in the alphabet. Upper case is I, lower case is i.
Why is lowercase so often used when all other letters in a statement, promotion, ad, etc are upper case?
Examples: BABiES ARE US, TRiViA CAFE,
What gives?
Thanks for the comment. I don’t know what gives, but I think someone else complained about that same thing a long time ago. I don’t know what gives, but I don’t like it either! Must be a design thing. I also don’t like when people use lowercase i for the pronoun I!
Are you kidding? I hear it often
Jim Koger
You might in the next edition explain that the words listed are misspelled to show how they are mispronounced. How about some tricksters like “forte,” and my all-time favorite because the chosen pronunciation seems to be determined by political affiliation, “nuclear.”
Good idea! And I have heard that mispronunciation of nuclear is actually an alternative way of pronouncing the word, and that many engineers and technical people actual say it that incorrect way! Alternative facts????
I have a friend who says, “onacologist” instead of “oncologist.” She adds the extra syllable and it drives me nuts.
I correct her, but, still she says it incorrectly.
Thanks! I haven’t heard that one!
Arlene, I’m an audiologist & the counterpart to our profession is speech pathology, of which we had to take numerous courses. I remember asking one of the faculty speech pathologists who specialized in dialect about the correct pronunciation of “often,” as hearing it pronounced with the “t” makes me cringe. I learned from him that the “t” pronunciation is correct for the British, but the correct American pronunciation is without the “t.”
Just saying.
Thank you for that info. Makes sense. Generally, in anything I write, I am referring to American English, since that is where I live.
Strange, but I have never heard the words you gave as examples of mispronunciation mispronounced.
Thank you for the comment. You are probably in the minority if you haven’t heard anyone say expresso!
And please add encourage…I offen hear Anchorage – and, although most probably a very curageous city, still, not quite the same thing.
I don’t think I have heard that one! Thanks!
My two pet peeves of pronunciation are: niche (nitch, not neesh) and homage (ah-midge, not oh-mahzh). Drives me nuts! I am hearing them both painfully mispronounced more and more on radio and t.v.
Glad you are still blogging, Arlene! This is my final semester at SRHS.
Hi Annie – Yup. I will probably get to those words when I get to those letters! Are you retiring? A definite loss to the school. Good luck and please keep in touch. Great hearing from you!
I like the French pronunciation of these French (old French in the case of homage) words better than the English pronunciation in this case. It brings a bit of culture (or pretentiousness for others) to the conversation. I also like reservoir to be pronounced in the French way, and cringe when I hear ‘reservore’ or worse 😉 But then again, “de gustibus et coloribus non est disputandum”!
I agree with you…..and we could definitely use a little bit of European class!