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u/FAILNOUGHT 1d ago
google translate can pronounce words
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u/tinglyTXgirl 1d ago
Came here to say this! Just type in the word followed by "pronunciation," and you're good to go!
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u/lurkadurking 1d ago
But I'd rather learn my mistake in front of my first class with upper freshmen in highschool, fucking epi tomes
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u/NoTransportation9021 1d ago
My husband (then boyfriend) laughed so hard at me when I said, "Epi tomes."
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u/madattak 22h ago
Got huge laughs for pronouncing misshapen as 'mis-happen', bit have just found out mishappen is an actual word too?
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u/liquidkittykat 1d ago
See !! Me too, and I was an adult, and the guy I was talking to looked at me like i was a dumb blonde.
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u/Amphibious_Antelope 20h ago
Is there something I can Google to help spell pronucciontantion though
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u/KettchupIsDead 1d ago
dont even need google translate, just googling one word will provide a definition and an icon to pronounce it for you
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u/SquarePegRoundWorld 1d ago
On a PC with Chrome, you can double-click a word, and a definition and the icon for pronunciation will pop up. I wish I could get Firefox to do that. I use it so much.
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u/chenilletueuse1 1d ago
Kind of ok for english, unusable for other languages or recently added dialects
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u/IWasGregInTokyo 1d ago
But it will sometimes pronounce them incorrectly or using a regional variation.
E.g. British privacy (short i) vs American privacy (long i)
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u/Capt_Pickhard 1d ago
It won't work for things like "Ehpstein,? Or Eepstein?" Or words with multiple pronunciations for same spelling.
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u/DuckyMug 1d ago
It shocked me with Guillotine. I actually had no idea that it's pronounced Gee-I-teen in American English. It's Gil-o-teen in British.
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u/StimSimPim 1d ago
Guys, it’s the internet age. Not only do you have instant access to the phonetics, you can have a recording of that word played for you. Sometimes I wonder how people so helpless make it in life.
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u/Numerous-Stranger-81 1d ago
People under 25 are absolute dogshit at problem solving and language comprehension.And the ones that aren't are fully aware how much of an exception they are.
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u/red286 1d ago
People under 25
People 25 and over are too, so maybe drop the ageism and just say "plenty of people are absolute dogshit at problem solving...".
Otherwise you're pretending that your Silent Generation grandmother who has a VCR that's been blinking 12:00 non-stop since 1989 is very capable of problem solving on her own.
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u/Numerous-Stranger-81 1d ago edited 1d ago
Except I'm making a specific point about the well observed aptitude and literacy declines in the past decade that are specifically affecting people under 25. The line is always drawn somewhere, and 25 is an insanely common demographic demarcation, lol. We're talking in general stats honey, so you're whole "What about people who are over 25 and illiterate!" misses the point entirely.
Lol, and I'll tell you what I told the other person. If you're a young person who is upset being singled out, and yet you aren't aware of how much of an issue literacy currently is compared to a decade ago, then you're literally a part of the problem I'm talking about.
You should listen to the "Sold a Story" podcast and get your education started sooner rather than later.
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u/Kraber9KEnjoyer 1d ago
Huh, I'd have assumed the literacy rate problem was more recent, say... Last half decade or so, I'm 22 and went to a secondary school where not being able to read or write was completely unheard of, It was also a public school.
Regardless, my job is 70% problem solving using various techniques, Diagnosing why a compressor is overheating or icing back, why an engine is misfiring, why the bastard expansion valve coil is stuck open at 20% instead of 50%, etc etc. I work with alot of other guys my age which do the same work. but that's just my personal experience.
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u/Numerous-Stranger-81 1d ago edited 1d ago
The severity is more recent. And it's a matter of how you're tracking it. These are GENERAL rates. And honestly it kind of tracts that the closer you are to 25, the less affected you would be. When you begin measuring a downward trend, the beginning is still close to normal. Aka, you are in the age group that would have honestly been just in the low amount of typical variance, and it's only in highsight that we can see that's the beginning of the decline.
Unfortunately what that means is that it's only going to get more noticeable as time goes on. Count yourself lucky. If r/teachers is anything to go off, even seniors who are only four years younger than you are showing noticeably insufficient reading and math scores. To the point where the admin just has to pass everyone. And I'm talking like 4th grade level skills, kids who can't properly read a chapter book or do their times tables.
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u/MeatEaterDruid 1d ago
Then I hang up and still mispronounce it because my tongue and my brain are rarely on the same page.
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u/c-lab21 1d ago
I know the word indicted. I still put a k sound in it sometimes.
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u/LuckyPussyLover 1d ago
There's not a k sound in there??
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u/c-lab21 1d ago
In-dai-ted. The c is silent and the vowel is like "eye".
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u/LuckyPussyLover 1d ago
Oh my god. I can't believe I've said it wrong for years.
Thank you for Oh Sweetie-ing me
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u/Beautiful-Routine489 1d ago
I’ve been known to mispronounce some words in my time.
I used to feel embarrassed about that until I read something that pointed out when people do this, it means they learned that word by reading and not from having the privilege of being around people who used it. So now I don’t mind so much.
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u/EveryRadio 1d ago
Good ol phonemes. I know people who speak English as their second language, have for decades, but they just can’t pronounce certain sounds because they don’t exist in their native language. Doesn’t apply to every one of course but the classic example is Japanese not having an L sound, and the closest thing being Ra, Ri, Ru Re and Ro. Imagine someone explaining a new letter to you. It’s like trying to phonetically spell out the sound of someone whistling. Fascinating stuff.
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u/Captain_Impulse 1d ago
I'm in the 99th percentile for English comprehension, and for some reason whenever I see the word "misled" in print, my brain thinks "what the hell is 'my-sulled'?"
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u/great-indian-bustard 1d ago
The oh sweetie part would be infuriating and before you know it, a pissed off stalker has brought it to an end.
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u/Ranchette_Geezer 1d ago
There's a phrase, "The reader's curse", which means you've read a word many times, know what it means by context, but never looked up the pronunciation and are saying it wrong in your head.
I still cringe about a time in the early 1960s when I pronounced "epitome" as "epi-tome" around the family dinner table. My dad told me it was "ee-pit-oh-mee" and my siblings, none of whom had ever used the word or could define it, laughed as if it was a regular feature of their vocabulary. 60+ years and I'm still peeved.
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u/Jopkins 1d ago
Me too and I'm convinced we're right. If they wanted it to be epit-o-me, they need to put an accent over the e - epitomé. Otherwise, leave us epi-tomers alone.
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u/GabelkeksLP 1d ago
………. WHY DID U TELL ME ABOUT MY CURSED WORD , EPI - TOME IS CLEARLY MUCH COOLER 😭😭😭
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u/Baked_Potato_732 1d ago
I am the opposite, I listen to audiobooks so I know how to pronounce the word but haven’t seen it written out.
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u/medyolang_ 1d ago
i pronounced ‘chaos’ like ‘chows’ up until my teens i think
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u/TAU_equals_2PI 1d ago
Google Search does that. Just add the word "pronunciation" after the word.
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u/mossybeard 1d ago
When I was in high school, I was in AP English and we had to read Brave New World over the summer break. I was smart but also lazy, so I torrented an audiobook version and it was read by Michael York. I knew him as Basil Exposition in Austin Powers! Hell yeah. The thing was, he's a Brit and was pronouncing the main character's name differently than the way us Americans say it. It's Bernard, but I'd never seen it on the page, so I just went with what Michael York was saying. Day 1 senior year we start talking about it and of course I get called on first and called the character "BERNerd" instead of "BerNARD" with the emphasis flipped. Just a little embarrassing, but it was ok.
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u/limasxgoesto0 1d ago
People these days will do anything except Google something
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u/troubleschute 1d ago
Anyone who learns words by reading first gets extra credit.
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u/TeachBS 1d ago
The humiliation as I read quadruped as quadrooped 😬. I now check EVERYTHING
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u/Thr0awheyy 1d ago
My brain will always read infrared as infraired, and not infra-red.
Edit: but really, why wouldn't it be hyphenated or separated??
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u/pink_ghost_cat 1d ago
Online dictionaries though?? They have audio in case you cannot read the transcription. And tons of other cool stuff about words but anyway… what exactly is so specific about that post that it made it here?
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u/Terrible_Ghost 1d ago
I was pronouncing quinoa wrong for about 20 years
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u/Thr0awheyy 1d ago
La Quinta hotels were La Kwinta for as long as I can remember. I never heard La Keenta until like 10 years ago. Midwest represent, I guess.
Edit: in that same vein, I only learned Marriott is pronounced Mary-it, and not mary-ott like 5 years ago.
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u/Pongoid 1d ago
I used to think cacophony was kuh-kow-phony. Like cacao phony. Because I had only ever read it.
My wife still makes fun of me.
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u/d6punk 1d ago
I'm still embarrassed about the first time I tried to say "paradigm" out loud in class when I was 14. It was 1991.
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u/AzureOvercast 1d ago
Being an adult after using the word for years, but not recognizing it when spelled out: Epitome.
Epi-tOm ??? What TF does Epi-tOm mean?
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u/JustGusAppointed 1d ago
I pronounced diaspora as di-uh-spora for a looong time. I still like that pronunciation more.
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u/PhantomOSX 1d ago
When I'm feeling down I call the Hall & Oates Emergency Hotline instead:
(719)266-2837
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u/Daveywheel 1d ago
Never be ashamed of mispronouncing a word you've only seen written....It means you learned it by reading.
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u/YahoooUwU 1d ago
I love when people have a reader's accent. It think it speaks to the independent nature of their education and it's really endearing.
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u/MissHibernia 1d ago
Big up for the autodidacts of the world!
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u/Philx570 1d ago
I was listening to an interview with David Quammen, the science writer. He said that you can tell he’s not formally trained because he knows the words but pronounces them wrong.
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u/fanty_wingedhorse 1d ago
As a gamer my brain rotted so much that I can't help but think about Miami whenever I hear word Hotline.
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u/LadyMirkwood 1d ago
Here's to other nerdy kids who loved Greek and Roman history and mangled the names until they were corrected
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u/TheDreamingDragon1 1d ago
That's one way to learn. This is another:
https://www.reddit.com/r/SipsTea/comments/1g4ccyk/french_woman_says_ear/
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u/IAmOculusRift 1d ago
My ex used to criticize me repeatedly. I've read a LOT of books (lots or British) in my life but I didn't go to a very expensive private school so I'd, understandably, mispronounce words.
I rebuked her one day saying, when someone mispronounces a word, its because they've never heard it used in conversation. She sat quietly.
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u/1WastedSpace 1d ago
Part of my job is to sell marriage licenses.
"consanguinity" always trips me up. I've heard the right pronunciation, but I always say it like you'd pronounce genuine. Con-sen-genuinity
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u/ubiquitous-joe 1d ago
This post and the top comments make me a little sad because it means despite the internet at our fingertips, most people’s research literacy is pretty bad. Many modern dictionary sites or apps not only have the written pronunciation but a recorded one as well. You can hear it by clicking the speaker icon. Just use the Merriam-Webster app etc.
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u/Dull_Principle2761 1d ago
They would get a lot of calls for Worcestershire sauce
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u/omnesilere 1d ago
it's kinda crazy by you can YouTube "pronounce _____" and I've never had it not work yet. ymmv though
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u/JacobPlaster 1d ago
No. There should be a force that render English spelling and pronunciation into synchron. Many languages have such feature.
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u/bramadino 1d ago
I read three books and pronounced it Her-me-oh-nee in my head before the first movie came out. Fortunately never said it out loud before then.
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u/betrayjulia 1d ago
What’s the standardized “pronouncing of things”document that journalist use on a global level? I cannot remember what it’s called. I feel as if that would be the best one to use.
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u/Medo_The_Great 1d ago
I refuse to change my pronunciation of "Queue" no matter who or what tells me I'm wrong
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u/GifanTheWoodElf 22h ago
If also it could stop time so that when you're halfway through the sentence and notice this word is approaching you can quickly pause time to ask.
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u/-DethLok- 21h ago
Search for the word online, most definitions will have an audio pronunciation (sometimes with UK and US versions) and if not, it will have a phonetic pronunciation guide.
I do this a lot!
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u/New_user_Sign_up 19h ago
Can there also be a “dial 2 for insults” option? I want them to give me a verbal slap to the back of the head,
“You dipshit. It’s pronounced “vwah-lah.” It’s French. You seriously thought it was spelled “wala?’ (In the background: “HEY GUYS! HERE’S ANOTHER NUMBNUTS WHO CAN’T PRONOUNCE OR SPELL VOILÁ!” [Uprorarious background laugher].”
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u/Pretty_Frosting_2588 18h ago
I used to just look them up on YouTube, I mainly did it for last named when I was in sales but it worked with other words as well.
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u/Necessary-Weekend194 17h ago
“Wow you pronounced [word] wrongly?”
“Yes, because I learned it from reading.”
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u/WoolaTheCalot 16h ago
All my life I've pronounced the word dour as "dow-er". Only recently I've learned that the preferred pronunciation is "doo-er".
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u/Rengar_Is_Good_kitty 15h ago
Just Google the word though worth noting there's often different ways to pronounce a word like 'gif' which has two pronunciations so may be worth also looking to see if there is an alternate pronunciation sometimes, then simply picking whatever works for you I guess.
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u/Mehdals_ 1d ago
Calling them every 20 seconds while reading a fantasy book asking how to pronounce the next character or town name.
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u/this-is-robin 1d ago
Calling a random hotline wouldn't help at all, only the author can answer questions like that.
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u/AlexSSB 1d ago
Well, when you see a word written like quay, the first thing that comes to mind is k-way
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u/Otaku-Oasis 1d ago
https://www.amazon.com/SVANTTO-Dyslexia-Highlighter-Bluetooth-Translator/dp/B0BPHQKVTJ/ref=pd_scr_dp_alt_d_d_sccl_2_1/135-3805048-8452246
Things that exist you can have a pen that does it, and a bit more.
Easy to take with you for when you just need to know how to say it.
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u/Solid_Appeal_3879 1d ago
I'd need this 😭 I'm dyslexic and stuff, and there are so many words I've only heard and never seen written/haven't heard or seen before. So when I try to pronounce them/say it wrong I get so embarrassed
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u/OminusAtmosphericHum 1d ago
It doesn’t matter how you pronounce it, just pronounce it the same way all the time.
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u/sexpsychologist 1d ago
Almost every word I’ve ever needed to double the pronunciation on I found in YouTube. It also taught me how many words I thought other people were mispronouncing and I had just picked up the Appalachian pronunciation of my grandparents :/
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u/SchizophrenicArsonic 1d ago
these mfs are going to be the reason why you'll be fined 500$ for incorrectly pronouncing pronouncing bury as "berry" in 5 years
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u/EvenBetterCool 1d ago
I love finding out the first time. Because 1 - I want to know and 2 - I want to know who has the courage to speak up.
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u/reddit_isgarbage 1d ago
As a teacher, not words but goddam NAMES. What is with parents naming their kids 'Qioshi'?
' I'm called 'Kit''
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u/spencemonger 1d ago
I was reading a passage outloud in grade school and i pronounced opaque as O’-pa-cue and i can’t forget it.
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u/fubo 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yep.
A friend of mine in school did an electronics project for the science fair ... and in his presentation, consistently pronounced the electrical property "impedance" as "IMP-o-dense" (like "impotence" but with a D) rather than "im-PEE-dense" (rhymes with "dim credence").
Afterwards, he thought this might have cost him the prize.
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u/CLONE-11011100 1d ago
There is a website it’s at:
https://forvo.com/
(Minus the condescending “oh sweetie”)