【吳穎暉】

Commonly Mispronounced English Words in Singapore

Below are just some of the most commonly mispronounced words in Singapore, but not pertaining to Singlish. There are more interesting descriptions about common Singlish pronunciation patterns at [1].

Words Proper Pronunciations †
(in IPA annotation)		 Remarks
BrE AmE
†
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 1995 Ed., ISBN-10: 7-5600-1325-0.
abalone ˌæbəˈləʊni ˌæbəˈloʊni The trailing “e” is not silent
affluent ˈæflʊənt Stress is on the first syllable
almond ˈɑːmənd ˈɑːmənd ‖ ˈæmənd “l” is silent
Arabic ˈærəbɪk Stress is on the first syllable
area ˈeəriə ˈeriə  
artist ˈɑːrtɪst cf. artiste
artiste ɑːrˈtiːst cf. artist
awry əˈraɪ Stress is on the second syllable
beige beɪʒ “g” is pronounced as [ʒ]
bon voyage ˌbɒn vwaɪˈɑːʒ ˌbɑːn vwaɪˈɑːʒ French origin
borough ˈbʌrə ˈbʌroʊ  
cache kæʃ “ch” is pronounced as [ʃ]
calendar ˈkælɪndər Stress is on the first syllable
chalet ˈʃæleɪ ʃæˈleɪ “ch” is pronounced as [ʃ]; the trailing “et” is pronounced as [eɪ]
character ˈkærɪktər Stress is on the first syllable, cf. charisma
charisma kəˈrɪzmə Stress is on the second syllable, cf. character
chassis ˈʃæsi The “ch” is pronounced as [ʃ]; the trailing “s” is silent
ˈʃæsiːz pl.; the pronunciation is different from the singular form despite the spelling being identical
cigarette ˌsɪɡəˈret ˌsɪɡəˈret ‖ ˈsɪɡəˌret Stress is on the last syllable (BrE)
cliché ˈkliːʃeɪ kliːˈʃeɪ “i” is pronounced as a prolonged [iː]
colleague ˈkɒliːɡ ˈkɑːliːɡ Stress is on the first syllable
company ˈkʌmpəni “o” is pronounced as [ʌ]
comparable ˈkɒmpərəbəl ˈkɑːmpərəbəl Stress is on the first syllable; the first “a” is a schwa; cf. comparative
concierge ˌkɒnsiˈeəʒ ˌkɑːnsiˈerʒ French origin
connoisseur ˌkɒnəˈsɜː ˌkɑːnəˈsɜːr Stress is on the last syllable
content ˈkɒntent ˈkɑːntent n.: 内容
kənˈtent adj., n.u., v.t.: 满足
corp kɔːrp Abbreviation for “corporal” or “corporation“; cf. corps
corps kɔːr “p” and “s” are both silent; cf. corp
courier ˈkʊriər cf. Korea
croissant ˈkwɑːsɒŋ krɒːˈsɑːŋ French origin
cuisine kwɪˈziːn French origin
debris ˈdeɪbriː dəˈbriː ‖ deɪˈbriː “i” is pronounced as a prolonged [iː]; the trailing “s” is silent
debut ˈdeɪbjuː deɪˈbjuː The trailing “t” is silent
depot ˈdepəʊ ˈdiːpoʊ The trailing “t” is silent
economic ˌekəˈnɒmɪk ‖ ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk ˌekəˈnɑːmɪk ‖ ˌiːkəˈnɑːmɪk Stress is on the third syllable; cf. economy
economy ɪˈkɒnəmi ɪˈkɑːnəmi Stress is on the second syllable; the leading “e” is a short [ɪ]; cf. economic
egg eɡ Not [eɪɡ]; aff. red
en bloc ɒn ˈblɒk ɑːn ˈblɑː;k Not [en ˈblɒk]; aff. en masse
encore ˈɒŋkɔː ˈɑːŋkɔːr Not [ˈenkɔː]; aff. entrée, entrepreneur
en masse ˌɒn ˈmæs ˌɑːn ˈmæs French origin, not [ˌɪn ˈmæs]; aff. en bloc
entrée ˈɒntreɪ ˈɑːntreɪ French origin, not [ˈentriː]; aff. encore, entrepreneur
entrepreneur ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜː ˌɑːntrəprəˈnɜːr Stress on the last syllable; not [ˌentrəprɪˈniə]; aff. encore, entrée
esplanade ˌespləˈneɪd ˈesplənɑːd Stress is on the last syllable (BrE)
etc et ˈsetərə Latin origin, not [ek ˈsetrɑ ‖ ɪk ˈsetrɑ]
et cetera
excellent ˈeksələnt Not [ˈɪksələnt]
executive ɪɡˈzekjʊtɪv Not [ˈeksɪkjʊtɪv]
façade fəˈsɑːd Not [fəˈkeɪd]
faux pas ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː ‖ ˈfəʊ pɑː ˌfoʊ ˈpɑː French origin
fiancé fiˈɒnseɪ ˌfiɑːnˈseɪ French origin; male, cf. fiancée
fiancée fiˈɒnseɪ ˌfiɑːnˈseɪ French origin; female, cf. fiancé
film fɪlm Not [flɪm]
foliage ˈfəʊli.ɪʤ ˈfoʊli.ɪʤ Three syllables in total, note the [i.ɪ] part
gauge ɡeɪʤ “u” is silent
genuine ˈʤenjuɪn “u” and the adjacent “i” are pronounced as two separate vowels
gourmet ˈɡʊəmeɪ ˈɡʊrmeɪ ‖ ɡʊrˈmeɪ Not [ɡɔːˈmeɪ]
grand prix ˌɡrɒn ˈpriː ˌɡrɑːn ˈpriː Not [ˈɡrænd prɪks]
granite ˈɡrænɪt Not [ˈɡrænaɪt]
infamous ˈɪnfəməs Stress is on the first syllable
H eɪʧ Not [heɪʧ]
health helθ Not [helʔ]
Korea kəˈriə Not [kɒˈriə]; cf. courier
liaise liˈeɪz Two syllables in total, stress is on the second syllable; not [ˈlaɪəs]
lingerie ˈlænʒəri ˌlɑːnʒəˈreɪ ‖ ˈlænʒəri The first “i” is pronounced as [æ]; “ng” is pronounced as two separate consonants [nʒ]
love lʌv Not [lɜːv]
marijuana ˌmærɪˈhwɑːnə Spanish origin, note that “j” is either silent or pronounced as [h]; the trailing “a” is a schwa
massage ˈmæsɑːʒ məˈsɑːʒ Not [mɑˈsɑːʤ]
mischief ˈmɪsʧɪf Stress is on the first syllable; aff. mischievous
mischievous ˈmɪsʧɪvəs Stress is on the first syllable; aff. mischief
mobile ˈməʊbaɪl ˈmoʊbəl adj.; stress on the first syllable
ˈmoʊbiːl n.c.; stress on the first syllable
myrrh mɜːr （中药）没药
opportunity ˌɒpəˈtjuːnɪti ˌɑːpərˈtuːnɪti Five syllables in total; stress is on the third syllable
pint paɪnt “i” is pronounced as [aɪ]
pizza ˈpiːʦə “i” is pronounced as a prolonged [iː]; “zz” is pronounced as [ʦ]; not [ˈpɪzə]
produce prəˈdjuːs prəˈduːs v.: 生产；使生产
ˈprɑdjuːs ˈproʊduːs n.u.: 产品，尤指农产品
protégé ˈprɒtəʒeɪ ˈproʊtəʒeɪ French origin; male, cf. protégée
protégée ˈprɒtəʒeɪ ˈproʊtəʒeɪ French origin; female, cf. protégé
purchase ˈpɜːrʧəs Stress is on the first syllable; “a” is a schwa
quasi- kwɑːzi ‖ kweɪzaɪ  
red red Not [reɪd]; aff. egg
regime reɪˈʒiːm The first “e” is pronounced as [eɪ]; “g” is pronounced as [ʒ]
rendezvous ˈrɒndeɪvuː ˈrɑːndeɪvuː Both “z” and “s” are silent; the first and the second “e” are pronounced as [ɒ] and [eɪ], respectively
salmon ˈsæmən “l” is silent
seat siːt n., v.t.; cf. sit
Singapore ˌsɪŋəˈpɔː ˈsɪŋəpɔːr “ng” is pronounced as [ŋ] only, no [ɡ] sound
sit sɪt v.; cf. seat
soften ˈsɒfən ˈsɒːfən “t” is silent
statue ˈstæʧuː cf. stature
stature ˈstæʧər cf. statue
suit sjuːt cf. suite
suite swiːt cf. suit
superfluity ˌsjuːpərˈfluɪti Stress is on the third syllable; cf. superfluous
superfluous sjuːˈpɜːrfluəs Stress is on the second syllable; cf. superfluity
sword sɔːrd “w” is silent
tarot ˈtærəʊ ˈtæroʊ The trailing “t” is silent
tasks tɑːsks tæsks Ends in a triple-consonant cluster, not [tɑːsː]
thank θæŋk Not [tænk] or [sæŋk]
then ðen Not [den]
Thomas ˈtɒməs ˈtɒːməs “h” is silent (This rule may be applied to several other words like Thames [temz])
three θriː Not [triː]; aff. through
through θruː Not [truː]; aff. three
tuition tjuˈɪʃən “ui” is pronounced as a cluster [juɪ]
used juːst adj.: 习惯的
juːzd v.t. past tense & past participle
adj.: 旧的，用过的
variable ˈveəriəbəl ˈverriəbəl Note the pronunciation of the first syllable
vegetable ˈveʤtəbəl Only three, instead of four, syllables; the second “e” is silent
viscount ˈaɪkaʊnt “s” is silent
wander ˈwɒndə ˈwɑːnːdər cf. wonder
Wednesday ˈwenzdi Only two syllables; both “d” and the second “e” are silent
won wʌn Rhymes with “wonder”, not [wɒn]
wonder ˈwʌndər Rhymes with “won”; cf. wander
[↑]
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