“Specifically” and “probably” are two of the most irritating mispronounced words, according to a survey.
In the poll of 2,000 participants, by insights agency Perspectus Global, 35% of those surveyed said they find it most annoying when people mispronounce the word “specifically” as “pacifically”.
Saying “probly” instead of “probably” annoyed 28% of people. And more than a quarter (26%) said the most annoying mispronounced word was “expresso” instead of “espresso”.
Also making the list was “specially” instead of “especially” (25%) and “artick” rather than “arctic” (19%).
Despite 61% of Brits finding it annoying when others say words wrong, as many as 65% would be too embarrassed to correct them. Yet 35% said they can’t resist correcting their friends and family.
Here’s a list of the top 10 most irritating pronunciations:
Pacifically instead of specifically – 35%
Probly instead of probably – 28%
Expresso instead of espresso – 26%
Specially instead of especially – 25%
Artick instead of arctic – 19%
Nu-cu-lar instead of nuclear – 19%
Tenderhooks instead of tenterhooks – 18%
Ex-cet-ara instead of etcetera – 18%
Ass-essory instead of accessory – 15%
Triath-a-lon instead of triathlon – 9%