This is just me being picky but in what language is /ou/ pronounced /u/ like cute or huge? In English /ou/ has two basic pronunciations in words like 'group' or 'ounce'. For some unknown reason in the word 'coupon' the /ou/ is pronounced like the /u/ in cue or cute. What is that about and where did it come from?
The other word is 'kindergarten'. I work in an elementary school where even the administration cannot pronounce that simple word. I can't count how many educated people I know say "kindygarten". These are people in education who should know better. Not only that, when they speak to parents whose first language isn't English they mispronounce the word and pass on the error. I wonder if they really think 'kindygarten' is correct or are they too lazy to pronounce it correctly?
Maybe both words come from previous eras and areas where 'wash' was pronounced 'warsh' for example and Los Angeles had a variety of mispronunciations. I can't even begin to spell the variations. I'd need that nasty pronunciation guide at the beginning of the dictionary and then you, the reader, wouldn't be able to decipher the spelling either.
Let's not forget the word "nuclear" which even public speakers often pronounce as "nucular". Elected officials are the worst offenders. They stand up in front of a microphone and mispronounce it until it starts to sound right. It's not but they seem so sure of themselves. You'd think one of their many aides would correct them. But no, it's a ubiquitous error most people probably don't even hear any more. Imagine trying to look up 'nucular' in a dictionary.
I can't tell you how many times in a school year children study how to use a dictionary. It's unreal. And it's really, really boring. How many times have you referred to the pronunciation guide in the dictionary? None? I thought so. Before I started having to teach it I never so much as looked at it. If I did, it looked like some foreign language which in a sense it is. With its upside down e's and triangle hats and double dots it's confusing and not very helpful. It's a code, and breaking it takes some serious study. Even then it's not overly helpful.
Mostly people just reproduce what they hear others say, right or wrong. And sometimes it's just plain wrong.
I listen to a radio show via podcast called A Way with Words where people often call in to air their pet word peeves. One I heard recently that surprised me was the word "irregardless". Come to find out it is actually a valid word dating back many decades. Just one of the vagaries of the English language that sometimes double negatives are allowed. What drives me nuts these days is how no one ever says "Marley and me", it's always "Marley and I" even when it should be "me". No one knows when to use "me" and when to use "I" anymore, so it's "I" all the time. Argh!
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