DO you want to throttle that person in your life who insists on pronouncing it ‘vice-a versa’? Here are some more you will also hate.
Vice versa
At some stage every child sees this phrase written down and realises that it very clearly says ‘vice’ with no extraneous ‘a’ sound attached. Most people quickly change their ways, apart from some twats who will annoy you with it forever.
Espresso
We’ve all been drinking overpriced wanky coffee for long enough now to know there is no need to insert an ‘x’ into the beginning of this particular variety. You could get away with it in the 80s but now you just sound like an idiot.
Specifically
Using ‘pacifically’ instead of ‘specifically’ is not merely mispronouncing, but using a whole different word instead. On top of that, it isn’t even a real word with its own meaning, making the user doubly infuriating.
Et cetera
This is another phrase that regularly gets given a rogue ‘x’ after the first ‘e’, despite the fact that there isn’t one there. It is Latin, which can be tricky to speak, but it’s hardly the same as being asked to recite Lucretius’ De rerum natura.
Anyway
There are some incredibly irritating people out there who insist on adding an ’s’ onto this word, for reasons that no rational human can make sense of. Unless you’re starring in a particularly bad American high school romcom, which is highly unlikely, please stop doing it.
Mispronunciation
Saying ‘mispronounce-iation’ is almost impressive. You’re aware of the concept of mispronouncing words, but are failing to do anything about it, like seeing your house catch fire and just standing there going ‘Well this is odd’.
