Omicron and Billie Eilish among the most mispronounced words of 2021
Posted December 7, 2021 2:39 pm.
Last Updated December 7, 2021 2:56 pm.
The name of the latest COVID-19 strain and a type of cryptocurrency popularized by Elon Musk are definitely a mouthful to say — perhaps that’s why the words have made the list for being among the most mispronounced words for 2021.
The U-S Captioning Company, Babbel, captions events on TV and create their list from words that were most difficult to say for newsreaders and hosts throughout the year.
The two most mispronounced words of 2021 are cheugy (CHOO-gee) — a term popularized by Gen Z to mock millennials who are behind the times — and singer-songwriter Billie Eilish’s (EYE-lish) last name.
As of late, many are having trouble pronouncing the new COVID-19 variant — Omicron. However, there is no standard way to pronounce it currently — even the Oxford Dictionary has six different pronunciations.
Another difficult word, according to Babbel’s list, is Mexican-inspired fast food chain Chipotle (Chih-POHT-lay) — located in the United States.
Chinese fashion company Shein (SHEE-in) and Dogecoin (DOHJ-coin) — a kind of cryptocurrency — also made the cut for being difficult to pronounce.
With files from The Canadian Press
