Barnard Castle, Ghislaine Maxwell and Wuhan are among the most mispronounced words of 2020 according to Babbel report, so do YOU say them right?
- Barnard Castle and Wuhan are among the most mispronounced words of 2020
- Names often said wrong include Ghislaine Maxwell, Kamala Harris and Tao Geoghegan Hart the UK born professional cyclist who won the 2020 Giro D’Italia
- Report comes from language learning website Babbel who commissioned the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters to identify challenging words
Barnard Castle, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Wuhan have been popular topics of conversation for many of us throughout the year – though there’s a good chance we may have been pronouncing them wrong according to language-leaning website Babbel.
The small market town of Barnard Castle was thrust into the spotlight in May, when Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings caused a political storm when he visited the town to ‘test his eyesight’ in lockdown.
But many – including newsreaders – said the name of the north eastern town incorrectly, as it should be pronounced ‘BAR-nard CAR-suul’.
The most commonly mispronounced words of 2020
Brackets show the phonetic pronunciation
Barnard Castle (BAR-nard CAR-suul)
A market town and castle in County Durham, which became much-discussed following political adviser Dominic Cummings’ highly-criticised visit in May
Ghislaine Maxwell (GEE-lane MAX-well)
British former socialite, who is known for her association with Jeffrey Epstein and was arrested in July
Kamala Harris: (CAW-ma-la HAIR-iss)
US politician who became the Vice President-elect in November
Kawaii (kuh-WAI-ee)
The Japanese concept of cuteness, which was used as a theme in the 2020 series of Great British Bake Off
Paris ( PA-riss )
The capital city of France, whose pronunciation became a talking point following the launch of the Netflix series ‘Emily in Paris’ in October
Koselig (KOOSH-lee)
A Norwegian concept which has become a lifestyle trend in 2020, based around the ideas of cosiness, comfort, and warmth
Nevada ( nev-ADD-ah )
The US state, known globally for its largest city, Las Vegas, which played a central part in November’s presidential election
Wuhan (WOO-hawn)
A city in China’s Hubei province, which was the first place to officially report coronavirus cases
Pfizer (FIE-zer)
The American pharmaceutical company, which announced a successful trial of a COVID-19 vaccine in November
Tao Geoghegan Hart (TIE-oh GAY-gen haart)
The British-born professional cyclist who won the 2020 Giro D’Italia
Babbel commissioned the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters – the UK’s leading organisation for subtitling professionals – to identify the prominent and topical words of 2020 that commonly proved challenging for newsreaders and people on television to pronounce correctly.
Running since 2016, this annual report is now in its fifth year. The British Institute of Verbatim Reporters is responsible for captioning and subtitling real-time events, on television and in courtrooms. Its members have to be professionally attuned to exactly how words are spoken.
Other mispronounced words include Ghislaine Maxwell, the name of the British socialite who was arrested in the US in July and accused of procuring girls as young as 14 for late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to abuse and perjuring herself in a separate civil case.
Her name is phonetically pronounced GEE-lane MAX-well, according to Todd Ehresmann, Senior Linguist at Babbel.
Barnard Castle and Ghislaine Maxwell were among the most commonly mispronounced words of 2020. The small market town of Barnard Castle was thrust into the spotlight in May, when Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings caused a political storm when he visited the town to ‘test his eyesight’ in lockdown (he is pictured left at a press conference).Ghislaine Maxwell, (right) the British socialite who was arrested in the US in July name is pronounced ‘GEE-lane MAX-well’
Surprisingly, Paris, the capital city of France, also made the list this year of mispronounced words.The words became a talking point following the launch of the controversial Netflix series ‘Emily in Paris’ in October. The streaming service said the name should be pronounced the French way ‘so it rhymed’ – presumably Emil-ee in Pa-ree, while Babbel say the phonetic pronunciation is PA-riss. Lily Collins is pictured in the show
‘In a year dominated by politics and the pandemic, UK newscasters have been grappling with Chinese cities, vaccinations, and exemplary athletes. All of these have added some new phrases to our national vocabulary, which may take some practice.
‘The key to language-learning is confidence and enthusiasm, so we always say that being good enough to be understood is perfectly fine. But, of course, it doesn’t hurt to know how these words are meant to be pronounced,’ Todd told Femail.
Surprisingly, Paris, the capital city of France, also made the list this year of mispronounced words.
The words became a talking point following the launch of the controversial Netflix series ‘Emily in Paris’ in October.
Also on the list was Pfizer (left) , the American pharmaceutical company, which announced a successful trial of a Covid-19 vaccine in November. Wuhan (right), the Chinese city which first recorded coronavirus cases was also commonly mispronounced this year, and should be said as ‘WOO-hawn’.
Kamala Harris, who became Vice President Elect of the US in November often sees her name pronounced incorrectly. CAW-ma-la HAIR-iss is the correct way to pronounce her name, Babbel say
The streaming service said the name should be pronounced the French way ‘so it rhymed’ – presumably Emil-ee in Pa-ree, while Babbel say the phonetic pronunciation is PA-riss.
Also on the list was Pfizer, the American pharmaceutical company, which announced a successful trial of a Covid-19 vaccine in November.
The correct pronunciation is ‘fie-zer’ as the P is silent.
Wuhan, the Chinese city which first recorded coronavirus cases was also commonly mispronounced this year, and should be said as ‘WOO-hawn’.
Kamala Harris, who became Vice President Elect of the US in November often sees her name pronounced incorrectly.
CAW-ma-la HAIR-iss is the correct way to pronounce her name, Babbel say.
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