Cheugy, Chipotle and Dogecoin Among the Most Mispronounced Words of 2021
The American subtitling company and the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters (BIVR) recently released reports on the most mispronounced words of the year, the hardest words news readers and broadcasters have to say the first time around. We can only speculate if these words are harsh for people whose jobs involve television appearances, they create similar difficulties for all of us.
From new internet slang to popular singers’ names and from Korean treats to Mexican fast food chains, these were the most frequently spoken words this year.
Cheugy (CHOO-ghee): This Gen Z slang, popularized on TikTok, has been sued to describe someone who is out of fashion, outdated, overdone, or tried too hard. Example: Becoming an adult Disney or falling in love with Gray’s Anatomy in 2021: full of fun.
Chipotle (chih-POHT-lay): According tothis TikTok posted by the company itself, many boomers crash and burn trying to pronounce the name of this fast everyday restaurant that specializes in oversized burritos and charges an extra $ 3 for a tiny side. guacamole.
Dalgona (tal-goh-nah): This Korean confection made with ghee and baking soda has gained prominence in global pop culture after being featured in the mega-viral Netflix series The Squid Game . Although true Korean pronunciation begins with the “t” sound and emphasizes the last syllable, you can also hear it in the Americanized do (dal-GO-nah).
Dogecoin (DOHJ coin): This cryptocurrency was first minted in 2013 as a meme- inspired joke that only gained widespread popularity after it was advertised by Elon Musk.
Eilish (EYE-lish): The name of seven-time Grammy award winner Billie Eilish, who burst onto the music scene in 2019 (almost 3 years have passed, TV hosts. Come on).
Ethereum (ih-THEE-ree-um): This decentralized cryptocurrency is second only to Bitcoin in terms of market capitalization. (We may be able to pronounce it. But we still don’t know what the heck it is.)
Glasgow (GLAHZ-go): No, the venue for this year’s UN climate conference is not pronounced “glass ko”, “eye-ko” or even “glass cow” as President Joe Biden called it . To correctly pronounce the name of a Scottish city requires subtlety – and a soft “a” sound (as in the word “father”).
Omicron (OH-muh-kraan; oh-MIKE-ron): Named for the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet, the newest variant of COVID-19 does not have a single consistent pronunciation (unless you are Greek, in which case, how much I can tell that all English versions are wrong).
Shein (SHEE-in): A Chinese online women’s clothing store known for its lowest prices and featured in Shein’s shopping videos on daytime TV and social media. (If it helps you remember pronunciation, the company used to be called SheInside .)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (STEH-fuh-nohs TSEE-tsee-pas) The 23-year-old Greek tennis phenomenon climbed to 3rd place in the world in August 2021, making him the best Greek player in history.
And while they were not highlighted in the aforementioned reports and have nothing to do with 2021 per se, we must add that at the time of writing, they were still pronounced GIF (jif), bruschetta (broo-SKET-ah) and mischievous (MIS-chih-vus is not mis-CHEEV-ee-us.) We just needed to get it off our breasts.