pronunciation

6 Stories

In 2024, These Words Were the Most-Mispronounced

'Kamala' and 'Chappell Roan' are among the words that Americans struggled most with in 2024

(Newser) - Vice President Kamala Harris and breakout pop star Chappell Roan were among the year's most talked-about people. Their names were also among the most mispronounced. The language-learning company Babbel and closed-captioning company the Captioning Group released a list of the words that news anchors, politicians, and other public figures...

Harris Kids Offer a Pronunciation Lesson

It's "comma-la," vice president's grandnieces make clear at DNC

(Newser) - The final night of the Democratic National Convention included a tutorial on pronouncing Kamala Harris' name—featuring none other than the candidate's great nieces, Amara and Leela Ajagu. The actor Kerry Washington introduced the girls by saying "it's come to my attention that there are some folks...

Isolated Staffers in Antarctica Show How New Accents Begin

During months of isolation, staffers at British Antarctic Survey began talking differently

(Newser) - Together through extreme isolation for months on end, wintering researchers in Antarctica develop close relationships—and, as one study found, a new way of talking, too. The BBC reports that over six months, staff members at British Antarctic Survey's (BAS) Rothera Research Station slowly began to pronounce certain words...

Streisand Took Up Her Beef With Siri With Tim Cook

Singer didn't like how Apple's digital assistant pronounced her last name, so she made a call

(Newser) - Barbra Streisand must be annoyed at how often her first name is misspelled. Now, she's got another beef: how her last name is mispronounced. The 81-year-old singer is on the interview circuit to promote her new memoir My Name Is Barbra , coming out Tuesday, and in one interview airing...

Ron DeSantis Offers an Answer on How to Say His Last Name

'Winner,' the presidential candidate snarks, refusing to clarify further on 'ridiculous' pronunciation debate

(Newser) - "Dee-Santis" or "Deh-Santis"? How GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pronounces his own last name has become the debate du jour , and although Mediaite calls it a "substantively meaningless distinction," the public's curiosity has yet to be quelled. Fox News reporter Paul...

No One Knows How to Say Ron DeSantis' Name— Including DeSantis
DeSantis Keeps
Switching How He
Says His Name
THE RUNDOWN
Jun 1, 2023 8:41 AM CDT

DeSantis Keeps Switching How He Says His Name

Yearslong puzzle on how to pronounce surname reignites now that he's running for president

(Newser) - Now that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has officially jumped into the 2024 presidential race, people have lots of questions on what he plans to do if he's elected to the Oval Office. But another question has emerged of late, and it's a more personal one: How the heck...

6 Stories