[lg policy] 10 most mispronounced words of 2016

[Harold Schiffman]

Here’s a look at the 10 most mispronounced words of 2016, with phonetic
pronunciations provided by Babbel’s director of didactics, Miriam
Plieninger:

– Bowie (/’boʊ-iː/; boh-ee) –David Bowie died in January, 2016 and as
people lamented his passing around the world, they may have also botched
his last name.

– Breitbart (/’breɪt-bɑːrt/; breyt-bart) – A conservative news outlet that
in many ways became the news this year. Shortly after the 2016 election,
President-elect Donald Trump announced Stephen Bannon would be his chief
strategist in the White House. Bannon was previously the head of Breitbart
News, which he had dubbed “the platform for the alt-right.”

– Cisgender (/’sɪz-dʒɛn-dɜːr/; sizz-gen-dehr) – A term used for people who
have a gender identity that aligns with the sex they were born with.

– Hygge (/’hjuː-gə/; HUE-gah) – The Danish term is defined as “quality of
coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of
contentment or well-being,” according to Oxford Dictionaries. Never heard
it? The Nordic trend rose to popularity this year with many in the U.K. and
U.S. trying to embrace enjoyment and positivity by taking a page from the
Danes.

– Marion Cotillard (/’koʊ-ti:-ja:r/; koh-tee-yar) – A French actress known
for roles in Allied and Assassin’s Creed. She was also thrown into the
Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt divorce drama after tabloids reported that she had
an affair with her married co-star.

– Narcos (/’nɑːr-koʊs/; nark-ohs) –  Chances are, you’ve been
mispronouncing the name of your favorite Netflix show. The title stems from
the Spanish word “narcotraficante,” which means drug trafficker, according
to  Plieninger.

– Nomophobia (/’noʊ-moʊ-‘foʊ-biː-ə/; noh-moh-pho-bee-ah) – You should know
this word by heart. It means a fear of being without your cell phone. Sound
familiar?

– Quinoa (/kiː-‘noʊ-ə/ or /kiː-‘nuː-ə/; kee-NOH-ah or kee-NOO-ah) – A
healthy grain product that no one can agree on how to pronounce.

– Rattata (/’ræt-æ-tæ/; RAT-ah-tah) –  A  fictional character from
augmented reality app Pokémon Go. It’s safe to say we are OK with leaving
this craze in the past. Shortly after Pokémon Go swept across the globe
stories of injuries, crimes, accidents and safety advisories involving
players of the app began pouring in.

– Roald Dahl (/roʊld/ /dɑːl/; rohld daal) –A deceased English author who
entertained children (and adults) with classics like Matilda, Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. He would have been 100
in September. But while Dahl died in 1990, his legacy lives on in his books
and the many film, television and theater adaptations of them, such as the
movie version of The BFG this summer.

– Xenophobia (/‘zɛn-oʊ-‘foʊ-biː-ə/; zen-oh-phoh-bee-ah) – Xenophobia means
a “fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or
strangers,”  according to Dictionary.com. The word was dubbed the word of
the year in 2016 by Dictionary.com as a nod toward an increasing fear of
“otherness”  around the world.

– Zika (/’ziː-kə/; zee-kuh) – A virus transferrable by mosquitos which can
cause devastating birth defects in babies born to women infected while
pregnant.

Contributing: Kelly Lawler
USAToday
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