DALLAS — Among the prominent figures of the year, Vice President Kamala Harris and rising pop sensation Chappell Roan stood out, not just in their influence but also for the frequent mispronunciation of their names.
On Wednesday, language-learning platform Babbel, in collaboration with The Captioning Group, unveiled a compilation of names and words that public figures in the U.S., such as news anchors and politicians, struggled to pronounce throughout 2024. This collection highlights the most notable topics and individuals discussed during the year, traversing the domains of entertainment and politics.
Esteban Touma, a linguistic and cultural expert at Babbel, remarked on how this compilation serves as a reflective snapshot of the year’s events: “It’s a nice way to kind of look back into the year and see everything that has happened.”
Emerging with popular hits like “Good Luck, Babe!”, Roan has made significant strides in her career and is presently nominated for six Grammy Awards. Her name is properly pronounced as CHAP-uhl ROHN rather than SHA-pel ROW-an, as many might assume. Meanwhile, during Harris’ unsuccessful presidential campaign, her great-nieces took to the convention stage to clarify the pronunciation of her first name, which is COM-a-la. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was also on the list; his last name continues to puzzle many, despite earlier campaigns promoting the phonetic “Boot-Edge-Edge” to guide supporters.
Other notable words and names featured in the compilation include:
— Kooikerhondje, a Dutch dog breed pronounced COY-ker-HUND-che, gained popularity especially as Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani showcased his own Kooikerhondje, Decoy, during a memorable first pitch.
— Actress Zendaya, known for her role in “Challengers,” often gets her name mispronounced as zen-DIE-uh, which should actually be pronounced zen-DAY-a.
— The fast-fashion retailer Shein is pronounced SHE-in, not SHEEN.
— The newly discovered exoplanet Speculoos-3b should be said as SPEK-yuh-lohss three bee.
— Phryge, serving as the mascot for the upcoming Paris Olympics, is pronounced FREE-je, tying back to the Phrygian cap, a significant symbol from the French revolution.
— Semaglutide, the active ingredient in weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, should be pronounced as sem-ah-GLOO-tide, contrasting with the mispronunciation SEE-mah-gloo-tide.
— Irish actor Barry Keoghan, featured in “Saltburn,” has a last name pronounced key-OH-gin.
Nancy Niedzielski, the chair of the linguistics department at Rice University in Houston, notes that many entries on the list are derived from languages other than English, which explains their frequent mispronunciation in the U.S. She emphasizes that getting these pronunciations right often comes down to exposure: “The key to pronouncing them correctly would probably just be hearing them spoken.”
Touma further elaborates that persistent efforts are essential when faced with difficult pronunciations. “One of the problems we have is our mouths are not tuned to produce these sounds from different languages,” he commented. He acknowledged his own struggles with words like Harris’ name, reflecting the common challenge of pronouncing unfamiliar names accurately in conversation.
As Roan’s music captivated audiences over the year, the cultural moment surrounding the correct pronunciations of her name became noteworthy. “The way we create understanding with each other is just trying to do these things,” concluded Touma, highlighting the importance of making an effort to pronounce names correctly.