Massachusetts City Makes World’s Most Mispronounced List… kind of.
You can make a most mispronounced list based entirely off of Massachusetts cities and towns: Leominster, Tyngsborough, Tewksbury, Leicester – I’m looking at you. I think we take a certain…
You can make a most mispronounced list based entirely off of Massachusetts cities and towns: Leominster, Tyngsborough, Tewksbury, Leicester - I'm looking at you. I think we take a certain pride in our tough-to-pronounce town names. And it's definitely a rite of passage when you move to the area; just plan on getting hassled for a good 6 months to a year until you get them all straight. Only then do you move to the next level of becoming "one of us." LOL
One of our town/city names actually just made a list of the World's Most Mispronounced Places. (Kind of. I'll explain a little further down.) But which one? Can you guess it??Preply conducted the study which revealed the most mispronounced places around the world. International places like Cannes and Versailles filled the list. Yosemite National Park was the only US entry on the list of 20. But Massachusetts also had an entry on the list... kind of.
OK enough kind of's, let's explain it. Worcester made the list!!!
Worcester, England that is.
However, Worcester, Massachusetts, was named after Worcester, England in recognition of its English roots and heritage. The history dates back to the early colonial period when European settlers began establishing towns in the New World. Therefore, it's the same name! What's funny is that their pronunciation is the same as ours - “WUSS-stuh.” The American version of Worcester is supposed to be pronounced with the R sound, “WUSS-ster" but we all knows what often happens to that R. We England it up.
While we're at it - let's give you the most mispronounced town names in Mass (strangely with a different #1). Grab yourself a water and some tongue detangler because (if you're not from Massachusetts) your tongue is gonna get REAL twisted in a sec.
If you have a friend that's new to town - or someone visiting - sit them down with the following list and have them attempt saying these Massachusetts towns aloud. It should be good for a few minutes of hilarity.
These are the 10 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts town names. I remember waaaaayyyyy back when when I first got into Boston radio and wow is this bringing back some embarrassing on-air memories...
BTW I was going to include proper pronunciations but naaahhhh. IYKYK. If not, ask a local.
#10 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts Town Name:
Carlisle
#9 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts Town Name:
Suffolk
#8 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts Town Name:
Quincy
#7 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts Town Name:
Barnstable
#6 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts Town Name:
Gloucester
#5 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts Town Name:
Scituate
#4 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts Town Name:
Needham
#3 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts Town Name:
Reading
#2 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts Town Name:
Worcester
#1 Most Mispronounced Massachusetts Town Name:
Leominster
BONUS #1
Leicester
BONUS #2
Tyngsborough
BONUS #3
Tewksbury
BONUS #4
Chicopee
The 10 Most Mispronounced Words in America
Big shout out to the folks at Unscrambled Words who used Google data to round up the Top 10 Most Mispronounced Words in America. I'm confident on 6 out of 10 personally - I'm sure I'm slaughtering at least 2 of the 10 pronunciations though I obviously don't know which two. LOL
Check the list out and see how you do. For fun at work put the list in front of a co-worker and let the giggles begin!
#10 Most Mispronounced Word in America:
Pho
#9 Most Mispronounced Word in America:
Dogecoin
#8 Most Mispronounced Word in America:
Worcestershire
#7 Most Mispronounced Word in America:
GIF
#6 Most Mispronounced Word in America:
Gnocci
#5 Most Mispronounced Word in America:
Nguyen
#4 Most Mispronounced Word in America:
Charcuterie
#3 Most Mispronounced Word in America:
Omicron
#2 Most Mispronounced Word in America:
Gyro
#1 Most Mispronounced Word in America:
Acai
Correct Pronunciations
1) Acai - "aa·saa·ee"
2) Gyro - "yee-roh" or "zhihr-oh"
3) Omicron - "aa·muh·kraan"
4) Charcuterie - "shaar·koo·tr·ee"
5) Nguyen - click to hear
6) Gnocci - "nyow·kee"
7) GIF - "JIF"
8) Worcestershire - "wu·stuh·shr"
9) Dogecoin - “dohj coin”
10) Pho - "fuh"
Congrats! You can now pronounce the most mispronounced words in the country!
Hit play and bow.
