Language learning platform Babbel has released its list of the most mispronounced words of 2024 in the United States and the United Kingdom. The list includes the names of several politicians, public figures, and foreign words that have entered the English lexicon, CNN reported.
One of the prominent names on the list is US Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Donald Trump in the November 5 US presidential election. Her first name, ‘Kamala’, has long been a source of plenty of confusion. Babbel says it should be pronounced as “COM-a-la”.
The pronunciation was widely discussed during the presidential campaign as well. Her great-nieces, Amara and Leela, once even took to the stage to share how to pronounce it correctly. “First you say ‘Kama,’ like a comma in a sentence,” Amara said, while Leela added, “Then you say ‘La,’ like ‘la-la-la-la-la’.”
The other name that featured on US and UK lists was Barry Keoghan. The actor appeared in films such as Bird and Bring Them Down this year, besides his role in the hit mini-series Masters of the Air.
Another dual entry that has made it to the list is the Chinese fashion brand Shein. It’s to be pronounced ‘SHE-in’, rather than SHEEN.
Another notable entrant was actress Zendaya, who featured in Dune: Part Two and Challengers this year. Her name should be pronounced “zen-DAY-uh”.
Besides them, other entries are semaglutide, which is an active ingredient in the popular weight loss drug Ozempic, pronounced as ‘sem-ah-GLOO-tide’ as well as music star Chappell Roan, who should be called ‘CHAP-uhl ROHN’.
The UK list also features two words from the Swedish language. Among these are smokeless tobacco Snus, which should be pronounced as ‘SNOOZ’ and flygskam, the name of a movement aimed towards discouraging people from flying. It should be called ‘FLEEG-skam’.
Meanwhile, another popular word on the list is espresso. The word became widely popular this year as Sabrina Carpenter’s single, Espresso, topped the UK charts.
The language learning platform has now suggested it be called ‘es-PRESS-oh’ and not ‘EX-press-oh’.
