Things Americans Say Wrong
Yes, the title is intentional.
Please take the following grains of salt before criticizing the list too harshly:
- I am an American citizen (naturalized), and thus a proud American.
- I have no formal training in linguistics.
- These are just some personal pet peeves, so don't get your panties in a bunch.
| a whole other... | Not "a whole 'nother..." |
| abercrombie | Not "ambercrombie" |
| across | Not "acrost" or "acrossed" |
| addictive | Not "addicting," when used as an adjective. |
| all I did was... | Not "all's I did was..." |
| all of a sudden... | Not "all of the sudden..." |
| alumni | This is often mistaken as the singular form of itself. The correct form is alumnus for singular masculine, alumna for singular feminine, alumnae for plural feminine, and alumni for masculine or generic plural. |
| Alzheimer's disease (ALTS-heim-ers) | Not "old-timer's disease" |
| Antarctica | Not "Antartica" |
| anticlimactic | Not "anticlimatic" |
| anyway | Not "anyways" |
| as best as you can | Not "as best you can" (pronoun may vary). Even more appropriate would be "as well as you can." |
| as long as | Not "so long as" |
| as opposed to | Not "as oppose to." This one is fairly subtle, since even in the correct pronunciation, the "d" is almost inaudible. However, many people do indeed consciously and audibly omit the "d." |
| ask | Not "axe." |
| asterisk (AS-te-risk) | Not "asterix" (AS-te-riks). This error is made frequently by low-ranking office employees or people who are beginning to learn computer terminology. |
| beck and call | Not "beckon call" |
| better than the last | Sometimes, to express pleasure toward something, someone might incorrectly say, "every day is better than the next," or "every bite is tastier than the next," and so on. If you think about this carefully, you'll realize that these are actually negative statements. When a person says, "every day is better than the next," it is equivalent to saying, "every day is worse than the previous." The person is essentially implying that every day since the beginning has been getting progressively worse. The correct phrase, therefore, should be, "every day is better than the last." |
| biceps | Not "bicep." The singular of biceps is still biceps. |
| boisterous | Not "voice-terous" |
| bystander | Not "by-standard" |
| calculate | Not "caculate." |
| cavalry | Not "calvary." Of course, if you're referring to the place outside of Jerusalem, then you're fine. |
| card sharp | Not "card shark." A reader contributes: "When someone is good at shooting pool or playing cards, they are sharp. Therefore, they are a 'pool sharp' or a 'card sharp.' They are not sharks as in 'pool sharks' or 'card sharks.'" |
| chipotle (chi-POT-lay) | Everyone seems to have their own pronunciation of this word. Most commonly, however, people mispronounce it by saying "chipolte" (chi-POL-tay), or "chipote" (chi-PO-tay), omitting the "l" altogether, or even "chipottle" (rhymes with "bottle"). The word itself has its origins in the Aztec language Nahuatl, where the "tl" sound was very common. It is derived from the words chil (chile), and pochilli (to smoke). |
| comeuppance | Not "comeuppins" |
| comfortable | Not "comfterble" |
| couldn't care less | Not "could care less." When you think about it, to say "I could care less" really means that you actually do care about something, and it's possible for you to care less about it. It is more appropriate to say "I couldn't care less" to indicate that you have reached the rock bottom of carelessness about something. |
| Darth Vader | Not "Dark Vader"! Yes, I've seriously heard people say that! |
| data | The word data is plural. Therefore it is inappropriate to use a phrase like "this data." It is more appropriate to say "these data." The singular form of the word is datum. |
| daylight saving time | Not "daylight savings time" |
| drivel | Not "dribble." Dribble is what one does with a basketball. Drivel is childish or nonsensical language. |
| drowned | Not "drownded" |
| enormity | The word enormity refers to excessive evil or wickedness. It does not, however, refer to general excessive size. For that, the preferred term would be enormousness. |
| espresso | Not "expresso." I mean, come on. |
| et cetera | Not "exetera." Commonly abbreviated "etc.," this is literally the Latin words et, meaning "and," and cetera, meaning "the rest." When spelled out, this is two words, not one. |
| exact revenge | Not "extract revenge." |
| exclamation mark | Not "exclamation point." Do you ever say "question point"? |
| fateful day | Not "faithful day" |
| February (FEB-roo-a-ry) | Not "Feb'uary" (FEB-yoo-a-ry). |
| founder | Not "flounder." Founder is what a ship does when it collides with something and sinks in the water. Flounder is a kind of fish. |
| for all intents and purposes | Not "for all intensive purposes" |
| hair's breadth | Some believe that this metaphor is actually "hare's breath." |
| heart-rending | Not "heart-rendering" |
| height | Not "heighth" |
| hertz | This applies to the singular form of the unit, which is still hertz. Some people mistakenly say, "1 hert." |
| horseradish | Not "horsh-radish" |
| I'd just as soon... | Not "I'd just assume..." An example phrase might be, "I'd just as soon not go to the park today." |
| I'm not sure | Not "I'm not for sure" |
| I've seen | Not "I seen" |
| in other words | Not "another words" |
| infinitesimal | Not "infintesimal" |
| instant messaging | Not "instant messenging" |
| integral | Not "intregal" |
| inverse square law | Not "invert square law" |
| jewelry | Not "jewlery" |
| jury rig | Not "jerry rig" |
| kielbasa (kil-BA-sa) | For some reason, this is commonly mispronounced "kielbasi" (kil-BA-see) |
| lackadaisical | Not "laxadaisical" |
| laundromat | Not "laundrymat" |
| let it be | Not "leave it be" |
| library | Not "libery" |
| lie / lay | These two are a constant source of confusion. Here are some correct uses of the words, so pay close attention: Lie down, Sally. Are you lying down? I lay there when Frank entered the room. I had lain there all morning. Lay those papers on my desk. You laid down the precious jewels with care. Our hens had laid many eggs that week. One of them is laying an egg right now. |
| literature | Not "litature" |
| mano a mano | In Spanish, this literally means "hand to hand." However, many Americans incorrectly pronounce it as "mano y mano," which would mean "hand and hand." |
| mayonnaise | Not "man-aise" |
| memento | Not "momento" |
| menstruation | Not "menstration" |
| mischievous (MIS-chee-vus) | Not "mischievious" (mis-CHEE-vee-us). |
| moot point | Not "mute point" |
| myrrh / mirth | Myrrh is an aromatic gift brought by the Three Kings for Jesus from the Christian folk myth. Mirth means amusement, as expressed in laughter. |
| nauseated | Not "nauseous." A reader contributes: "Too often I hear people who are sick to their stomach say “I am nauseous” rather than “I am nauseated.” Saying “I am nauseous” means that I cause OTHERS to feel sick to THEIR stomachs." |
| nuclear (NEW-clee-ar) | Often disgustingly mispronounced as "nucular" (NOO-kyoo-lar). I still cringe when remembering George W. Bush say "nucular" in his speeches. |
| nunchucks | Not "numchucks." A reader contributes: "Nunchaku is technically correct. However in English usage it is acceptable to use nunchucks, but not in Martial Arts usage or Japanese." |
| off | Not "off of," as in "get off me" or "peel the sticker off the box." |
| olfactory | Not "old factory" |
| on one hand... | Not "on the one hand..." |
| one and the same | Not "one in the same" |
| orangutan | Not "orangutang" |
| parenthesis | One of these "(" is a parenthesis (as opposed to parentheses, which is plural) |
| phenomenon | The word phenomena is plural. Therefore it is inappropriate to use phenomena when speaking of a single phenomenon. |
| picture | Not "pi'ture" |
| pieces and parts | Not "pieces parts." For some reason, this is catching on at an alarming rate. |
| powers that be | Not "powers to be" |
| prescription | Not "perscription" |
| pronunciation | Not "pronounciation" |
| realty/realtor | Not "real-a-ty" / "real-a-tor" |
| regardless | Not "irregardless" |
| relevant | Not "revelant" |
| repercussions | Not "reprocussions" |
| rhombus | Not "rhumbus" |
| sacrilegious | Not "sacreligious." It has nothing to do with "religion." |
| sherbet | Not "sherbert" |
| sidetracked | Not "sidetracted" |
| statute of limitations | Not "statue of limitations." To quote Jerry Seinfeld, "Fine, it's a sculpture of limitations!" |
| strength | Not "strenth" |
| supposedly | Not "supposably" |
| take for granted | Not "take for granite" |
| that's not fair | Not "that's no fair" |
| touch base with... | Not "touch bases with..." |
| triathlon | Not "triathalon." Also applies to biathlon, tetrathlon, pentathlon, etc. Even the word athlete is sometimes mispronounced "ath-a-lete." |
| utmost | Not "upmost" |
| verbiage | Not "verbage" |
| vertebra | The word vertebrae is plural and should not be used as the singular. |
| vice versa | Not "vice-a-versa." |
| voluptuous | Not "volumptuous" |
| warranty | Not "warrantee." It should not sound like "guarantee." |
| where are you? | Not "where are you at?" and certainly not "where you at?" |
| width | Not "wi'th" |
| would have | Not "would of" |
| wreak havoc | Not "wreck havoc" |
| yin/yang | Not "ying/yang" |
March 11th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
Being from the south of England, I must say that I recognise several of these not as Americanisms but common here too. "Would of" and its variants, for example, are particularly widespread (mostly but far from exclusively among children); I fear this may become largely accepted. Even "for all intensive purposes" crops up from time to time in England; although now I think of it, I can only imagine it being said sarcastically (I believe this is from a friend directly reporting on the speech of an English co-worker, though).
I myself try as best I can to avoid such abuses, of course.
March 26th, 2011 at 6:09 am
Yah, they're idiots in general; anti-intellectual, fundamentalist morons.
March 27th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
I believe it should be "try to" rather than "try and". Example - "I will try and get the house cleaned today" is incorrect, but "I will try to get the house cleaned today" would be the correct way.
I ran into something interesting this last week, and I suppose it's not technically about grammar, but it is something to think about. There is a film entitled "99 and 44/100% Dead". Well, the "/100" is the same thing as the percentage sign, so this is redundant and incorrect. It should be either "99 and 44/100 Dead" OR "99 and 44% Dead" (or even "99.44 Dead" but that doesn't have a good ring to it).
It's similar to saying "PIN number" when the N in PIN already stands for the word number (we wouldn't say "personal identification number number").
Enjoy the website - thanks for the fun forum! Language is such a blast.......
Liz Anya
April 12th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
you missed out vehicle
english: Ve-icle
american:Ve-HIC-le
May 1st, 2011 at 3:26 pm
I'd have to disagree with you on 'nauseous', and I'd put forward this as a good explanation of why: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nauseous. Also, 'orientated' is a perfectly acceptable variant of 'oriented', just as 'while' and 'whilst' are both valid versions of the same word. Other than that, a pretty good list.
May 19th, 2011 at 2:12 am
Hi Dmitri! I watch quite a few political shows & often hear otherwise educated-sounding "talking heads" or TV commentators say "pundint" instead of the correct "pundit". So annoying!
I hope you'll add it to your wonderful list.
June 1st, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Although datum IS the singular form of data, data can be used as plural or singular. However sentences such as the following which I see a significant amount of is incorrect: Much of this data are unreliable.
June 6th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
"Orientated" is indeed a word
June 12th, 2011 at 3:12 am
I was just scanning a review on IMDb and spotted a linguistic error I've never seen before: the word "deafly" (which I don't believe exists) was used in place of the correct word "deftly".
I think these things sometimes happen when people hear language much more often than they read it.
July 14th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Here are some that really frustrate me... I mean they are obviously wrong in so many ways...
Craig not 'Creg'.
Craig \c-raig\ as a boy's name is pronounced krayg. It is of Scottish and Gaelic origin, and the meaning of Craig is "rock, rocky". Comes from the word "crag". Also originally a Scottish surname. The name is now popular in the English-speaking world.
Aluminium not 'Aluminum'
Mobile definitely not 'Moble'
Iraq not Eye-raq (Would you say Eye-srael?)
I could go on... is it just a natural lazy slur developing in the USA?
August 6th, 2011 at 11:00 am
Okay, this is starting to bother me. I never knew ignorance could go that far.
First of all, the article primary intention was to identify the many common mistakes Americans make in their dialect. I'm American, and I would have to agree with all of the mistakes identified. Yet, I'm still puzzled by the fact that some of those who commented started identifying American "slurs" that Americans have adapted from their English counterparts. Language has developed and changed over the years, probably since the first language ever spoken. I mean, you don't see us still speaking in Old English, right? We adapted the English language and, while developing, we started creating our own dialect. So, just because we don't speak the way the English, British, etc. do, it doesn't mean that we're lazy, wrong, and so forth. So, to us, "chips," "mobile," "aluminum," as well as the different pronounciations, are correct. It doesn't mean we're ignorant. I guess the "Hollywood" stereotype has gone really far now, and I would know, I attended high school in Hollywood.
They say American English is complex because of the way we pronounce things, but that's all a part language development. Besides, we weren't born learning the same English as England or Britain, or other English-speaking countries in Europe. That's why they identify English as either American English or English (UK). I figured I had to clear this up.
September 3rd, 2011 at 5:50 am
I agree with some of these, but some are just pronunciation differences! Americans have a different accent to Brits so when they say words they will sound different, it doesn't always mean they're pronouncing them wrong. Also some things are just American-English, they are a foreign country after all. Things like chips for crisps, fries for chips, pop or soda for fizzy drinks etc are just their adaptation of our language. The things I don't understand are the those that they spell differently such as 'aluminum'... I don't understand that, or why they took the 'u' out of so many words; 'favor', 'color' etc. The weirdest one for me is Cregg!?? I listen really carefully when they say it to see if it's just a pronunciation thing, but it does seem every time like they really are saying 'CREGG' and not 'Craig'!?
September 3rd, 2011 at 6:02 am
P.S. Reading through these comments, it's just descended into a grammar debate! Most of what is being brought up is just how uneducated people speak, and some are just ridiculous... 'criterion' for example, for one thing who the hell uses that word? And for another, how many people would know if it's criteria or criterion? Good God!! I wish we could stick the the subject, how Americans pronounce things or say them wrong; i.e. 'addicting' which I think is my biggest peeve, it's totally wrong, it's 'addictive'! And seriously, 'would of'?? Do you know HOW MANY uneducated idiots in the UK say that?? Probably more than there are in the US!
September 10th, 2011 at 12:24 am
how bouts we change the name of this here list to be called something long the lines of "incorrect uses of the english language" instead of all this American's only do it nonsense.
September 25th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Hello again Dmitry...I am begging you to PLEASE update your list to include one of the most common incorrect usages of the English language. This is regarding when to use "lie" and when to use "lay". People use "lay" instead of "lie" all the time ("I'm tired and need to lay down"). "Lay" should only be used in the present tense with an object ("Please lay the pen down over there") or as the past tense of "lie" ("I lie here today in the same place I lay yesterday"). This error is so ingrained in our society that even brilliant wordsmith Bob Dylan got it wrong in the song "Lay, Lady, Lay". But it just irks me every time I hear "lay" when it should be "lie".
September 29th, 2011 at 4:36 am
I can't stand it when Americans say 'I wish I would have' when they mean 'I wish I had'. That grates so much!
October 4th, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Melissa,
Thanks again for visiting! I added an entry for lie/lay. Good catch!
October 7th, 2011 at 7:27 am
@ Ivan,
"Other English-speaking countries in Europe"?
October 12th, 2011 at 12:19 am
It's "card sharp" "infinitesimal" and "triathlon"?
Noted.
October 15th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
You're wrong about card shark. Someone is called a card shark because they're a predator. That's how it's used in the professional gambling world. I've never heard of a card sharp in my life. How does sharp modify card exactly? Shark modifies the subject.
October 15th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
* Note on my above comment - It sounds like card sharp is where card shark originated, but that phrase is antiquated or only used in the UK.
October 18th, 2011 at 9:21 pm
I am American and am completely appalled by several of the phrases listed in this lovely chart. I disagree with many for some have alternate pronunciations that include the supposed mistaken ones. However, I am severely disappointed at the horrifically simple errors that people are making in phrases that I use /correctly/ almost every day!
October 27th, 2011 at 8:14 am
Why is the word "battery" pronounced "baddery"? My real pet hate is the word "soldering" which is pronounced "soddering".
October 27th, 2011 at 11:59 am
Andy,
How exactly do you pronounce "soldering"? (and "battery", for that matter?)
It sounds like you're referring to regional variations of these pronunciations, which don't quite qualify for the list.
October 29th, 2011 at 1:58 am
A favourite of mine is foyer. The correct pronunciation is foyay, not foyer.
November 11th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Using "Mayan" and "Mayans" is technically incorrect in reference to peoples located in Mesoamerica. "Mayan" refers to a language group, "Maya" is correct for the culture group and "Mayas" is used in plural form.
December 19th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
[...] [...]
December 25th, 2011 at 4:17 am
Americans, that is, those idiots sandwiched between Mexico and Canada are just that - idiots. Who cares what the cunts say? Nobody listens to them.
December 29th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
There's also "tenure" - not "ten year"
December 31st, 2011 at 9:51 pm
Correcting people on their way of pronouncing and speaking in the USA is considered racist or intolerant. You have to preserve the person's culture you know! Getting people to kick off their heels and do the right thing is very hard in America. I put a good bit of effort into speaking properly and even I learned a few things from this list. Nice job.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
This list seems like a bit odd. I'm an American, and I don't say any of these things. In fact, I honestly haven't heard most of them outside of the realm of parody. Clearly some people speak this way, but implying that they're mistakes made by "Americans" would be like publishing a list of British soccer hooligan malapropisms and suggesting that they are mistakes commonly made by British people. Why not call the list "Things Ignorant People Wrong," because that certainly seems more fitting?
Despite the popular stereotype, we are not all illiterate morons that are incapable of speaking the language. Some of us even speak more than one!
As for the people questioning "aluminum," it was originally called "aluminum," not "aluminium." The US is actually using the original name. In Britain, the -ium suffix came into usage to make it sound more "elemental" (cesium, gallium, etc.) Davy, the man that isolated it, said that he actually would have preferred it to be known "alumium." However, the fact remains that it was called "aluminum" long before "aluminium," and the former is perfectly acceptable.
January 6th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
While many of these are indeed incorrectly spoken phrases, much of them are transliterations of what geographical and colloquial pronunciations are as they would sound to someone not born and raised here. For instance, what sounds like "Would of" is actually "Would've", a very popular contraction. When Webster was writing his original dictionary, he wanted Americans to pronounce all of the letters in a word to contrast with British usage which substitutes and contracts many words and phrases. However, as more people speak it and more cultures are assimilated, usage gets "lazy", which could also be seen as streamlined and updated. My $0.02.
January 12th, 2012 at 10:38 pm
(This is not about the list of pronunciations, but about a couple of the comments I read) I am a native American-English speaker and I say all of these sayings correctly, so a lot peoples' stereotypes about American pronunciation, or intelligence in general, is a myth and I find them to be very insulting that you would group a whole category of people as being idiotic "cunts". I understand how people could think we are dumb because we mash our words together, but no matter what native language someone speaks, they WILL mash their words together. If any sane and completely normal American, like myself, heard another American speaking like this, we would quickly find them an English teacher or a nice large-print dictionary to take home and study. So, I like to think that every culture has their idiots, and their intellects, and I seperate them from each other (instead of making offensive generalizations). So PLEASE, instead of grouping us all together, maybe you "uneducated folks" should try the same. Thanks.
~A smart, cultured, non-ignorant American. (yeah, they exist ;D)
January 18th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
As an American living in England currently, I do actually find this quite offensive and completely hypocritical. I have encountered just as many Brits over here who cannot pronounce words correctly (or spell!) as in the US. Quite to the contrary, I have encountered large amounts of slang and mispronounced words, if you really need to look at the exact letters in a word. Although I have met many wonderful and kind British people, I have also encountered more than anyone's share of the most rude and arrogant people on the planet. And to be quite honest, some English accents sound absolutely awful!! After spending over a year in England, I can assure you that people in my state would not treat someone from England the way I have been treated here by many individuals, no matter how they pronounced their words. (This does not apply to everyone mind you!)
January 25th, 2012 at 5:02 pm
Needed to be said but not all Brits live in Downton Abbey either, innit (sic). I returned from the Czech Rep where I was teaching English, to England and was shocked by the English I heard here. Often the foreign students spoke it better, 'you was', ' pass-er-bu''er', 'wosatallabart?' etc. Back to Americans- why say 'I am a artist'. what is happening to 'AN'? There is good and bad English everwhere, from all native speakers. Soon everone will be picking on the Chinese. I think it's a function of being top dog. And the USA is still top dog.
January 25th, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Having said that, when I hear Americans say 'internet', I hear 'innernet' and they say 'international', I hear 'inner-national', but that's just accent I suppose. What if a country that ruled from the Canadian Arctic to New Zealand and virtually the whole coastline from South Africa up to Arabia and across to Singapore and down around to Australia, had it's language taken over by a new nation with many more inhabitants which rose in power as the Mother nation dwindled, to being a plain European nation and a poodle to the new kid on the block, wouldn't it feel just a little bit jealous that even its language was no longer under its control? Has this happened to any other language? Whenever a British person criticises American English there is always some of this feeling behind it. And we were in World War Two from the start and you didn't join in till a third of the way through! Couldn't have done it without you guys. And who was instrumental in supplying Russia with equipment and setting up its tank production lines, USA! Detroit's a dying war veteran.
January 29th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Hello,
I came across this post by accident, and found it fun. I have hard time believe some, but I was surprised not to see one common mistake. So common it might be becoming'correct'. It's, 'its' and it's. 'It's' should really be only the short form of 'it is' and NOT the possessive pronoun ...
another small one I come across daily in my job: 'dice' is the correct plural of 'die'. Neither 'dies' nor 'dices'. Regards from a non native speaker.
January 30th, 2012 at 11:45 am
There are just as many Canadians with the same poor grammatical abilities. My mother in law is an Canadian English teacher. I'm not sure who she paid in order to receive a teaching degree, but wow. The one she says that drives me crazy is bat'ry. I'm mean that "t" doesn't really even belong in my phonetic spelling. She is to lazy to even touch the tip of her tongue to the roof of her mouth to create a "t" sound. She almost just grunts or holds her breath for half a second, then throws the "ry" in to follow. I wish she would hold her breath a little longer...say...for an hour or so. I'm no expert, just venting. Thanks
January 30th, 2012 at 11:47 am
a Canadian English teacher...not an Canadian English teacher. Just caught that in my post.