This post contains mispronunciations by articulate guests and anchors on prime-time television mainly on NDTV, a popular English news channel. To a lesser degree, the post also covers instances of mispronunciations on platforms outside NDTV.
(Note that I’ve treated a word as mispronounced only if its pronunciation didn’t match either British or American pronunciation.)
These are some of the mispronunciations I’ve have picked while watching these programs. Note that I don’t watch to pick mispronunciations. I, like anyone else, watch for content and my ears subconsciously pick words that are pronounced different from the norm. This, however, wasn’t always the case. I used to be a serial mis-pronouncer, but then I improved it to the extent that I’m writing this post.
The idea of this post is not to point out pronunciation mistakes of others. People featured here are good speakers and anyone can make few odd mistakes. The idea is educational. The idea is to show that anyone can improve their pronunciation to a level where they can start noticing mispronunciations (while focusing on content and not pronunciation) even among persons with solid command on the language.
More resources on improving pronunciation:
- How you can improve your pronunciation?
- How I corrected my pronunciation of 3,400+ Words?
- More than 200 commonly mispronounced words in English
Here is how this post has been structured:
1. Each entry starts with name and brief introduction of the person who mispronounced one or more words.
2. This is followed by the word, the incorrect pronunciation, and the correct pronunciation. The pronunciations have been written in non-phonetic form (example: al-guh-rith–uh m) so that you make them out even by reading. Also, the small part that makes a pronunciation incorrect has been highlighted in red font (like this: al–goh-rith–uh m) so that you can easily spot the difference between the correct and the incorrect. Note that in these pronunciations uh (or schwa), which appears in almost every second pronunciation, is a neutral sound that is not stressed and syllables in bold (al in algorithm) are stressed.
3. If you want to check the source where the speaker has mispronounced these words, I’ve included a reference list at the end of the last entry in this post. The reference contains links to source videos, mentioning one-minute (sometimes longer) range that contains the mispronunciation(s).
In the reference, I’ve also provided links to correct (British) pronunciations of these words on Cambridge Dictionary.
Let’s jump right in.
1. Shivam Vij
Contributing editor, ThePrint | Formerly contributing editor, Huffington Post India
Word 1: Potato
He pronounced: poh–tey-toh
Correct pronunciation: puh–tey-toh
Word 2: Deliberately
He pronounced: deh–lib-er-it-li
Correct pronunciation: dih-lib-er-it-li
2. Shaurya Doval
Private equity professional | Public policy thinker | Former Director, India Foundation
Word: Hyperbole
He pronounced: hahy-pur–bol
Correct pronunciation: hahy-pur-buh-lee
3. Prannoy Roy
Co-founder and executive co-chairperson of NDTV | India’s most recognized TV journalist | Known for his coverage of elections
Word 1: Repercussion
He pronounced: rep–er–kuhsh–uh n
Correct pronunciation: ree-per-kuhsh–uh n
Word 2: Algorithm
He pronounced: al–goh-rith–uh m
Correct pronunciation: al-guh-rith–uh m
Note that it is not that difficult to pick mispronunciations where the departure from correct pronunciation is significant (example: see ‘potato’ and ‘hyperbole’ in the above two entries), but not so easy where the departure is subtle, like in this entry.
4. Meera Shankar
Indian Foreign Service | Former India’s ambassador to United States
Word 1: Robot
She pronounced: roh–boat
Correct pronunciation: roh-bot
Word 2: Reciprocal
She pronounced: re–sip-ruh-kuh l
Correct pronunciation: ri-sip-ruh-kuh l
5. Sanjay Manjrekar
Former Indian batsman | Ace cricket commentator on television
During the 4 PM IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils on 20 May 2018, Rohit Sharma injured his hand. Sanjay Manjrekar described his pain as ‘ri-thing’ (for the word writhing). A fellow foreign commentator within few seconds pronounced it correctly.
Word: Writhing
He pronounced: ri–thing
Correct pronunciation: rai-thing
6. Shashank ND
CEO, Practo
Word: Chasm
He pronounced: chaz–uh m
Correct pronunciation: kaz–uh m
7. Amitabh Kant
CEO, Niti Aayog | Former secretary, Government of India
Word 1: Comparable
He pronounced: kum–pair–uh-buhl
Correct pronunciation: kom-per-uh-buhl
Word 2: Competitive
He pronounced: kom–pit-i-tiv
Correct pronunciation: kuh m-pet-i-tiv
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8. Few panelists, including lawyers
Of the five on the panel who spoke the word, three pronounced the word incorrectly multiple times. Only the anchor and the reporter pronounced it correctly.
Word: Devotee
They pronounced: divo–uh–tee
Correct pronunciation: dev-uh–tee
9. Manish Tiwari
Senior lawyer, Supreme Court of India | National spokesperson, Indian National Congress | Former minister, Government of India | Member of Parliament
Word 1: Adjudicate
He pronounced: ad–joo-di-keyt
Correct pronunciation: uh–joo-di-keyt
Word 2: Rhetoric
He pronounced: rhi–to-rik
Correct pronunciation: ret-er-ik
Word 3: Pyrrhic
He pronounced: pyr-ik
Correct pronunciation: pir-ik
Word 4: Demonstrate
He pronounced: dem–on-streyt
Correct pronunciation: dem–uhn-streyt
10. Shekhar Gupta
One of the most well-known and respected journalists in India | Founder, ThePrint
Word 1: Rhetoric
He pronounced: rhi–to-rik
Correct pronunciation: ret-er-ik
Word 2: Assam
He pronounced: as-saam
Correct pronunciation: as-sam
11. Ajai Sahni
Counter terror expert | Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management
Word: Record
He pronounced: ri-kord
If the word was used as a verb, his pronunciation was correct. But here the word has been used as a noun.
Correct pronunciation: rek-ord
12. Richa Chaddha
Hindi cinema actress
Word: Statistics
She pronounced: sta–tis-tiks
Correct pronunciation: stuh–tis-tiks
13. Shaina NC
National spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party | Fashion designer
Word 1: Rhetoric
She pronounced: rhi–to-rik
Correct pronunciation: ret-er-ik
Word 2: Improvise
She pronounced: im–pro-vahyz
Correct pronunciation: im-pruh-vahyz
14. Jaiveer Shergill
National spokesperson, Indian National Congress | Lawyer, Supreme Court of India
Word: Juxtapose
He pronounced: juhk–sta-pohz
Correct pronunciation: juhk-stuh-pohz
15. Ashwini Kumar
Senior lawyer, Supreme Court of India | National spokesperson, Indian National Congress | Former minister, Government of India
Word: Competitive
He pronounced: kom–pit-i-tiv
Correct pronunciation: kuh m-pet-i-tiv
16. Srinivasan Jain
Managing Editor, NDTV
Word 1: Divisive
He pronounced: dih-vi-siv
Correct pronunciation: dih-vahy-siv
Word 2: Ignominious
He pronounced: ig-no–min–uhs
Correct pronunciation: ig-nuh–min-ee-uhs
17. Sanket Upadhyay
Senior Editor, NDTV
Word 1: Instrumental
He pronounced: in-stroo–men-tl
Correct pronunciation: in-struh–men-tl
Word 2: Contest
He pronounced: kon–test
Correct pronunciation: kuhn-test
If contest was used as a noun, his pronunciation was correct. But here the word has been used as a verb.
18. Nidhi Razdan
Executive Editor, NDTV
Word: Premise
She pronounced: pri–mise
Correct pronunciation: prem-is
19. Sonia Singh
Editorial Director, NDTV
Word: Divisiveness
She pronounced: dih-vi-siv-ness
Correct pronunciation: dih-vahy-siv-ness
Jay Panda, a guest on the show, pronounces the same word correctly.
20. Raveesh Kumar
Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs
Word 1: Project
He pronounced: pro–jekt
Correct pronunciation: pruh–jekt
Note that here project has been used as a verb – and not noun. Therefore, its pronunciation is different from what most are used to.
Word 2: Provocative
He pronounced: pro–vo–kay-tiv
Correct pronunciation: pruh–vok–uh-tiv
Word 3: Rhetoric
He pronounced: ret–or-ik
Correct pronunciation: ret-er-ik
21. K C Singh
Former Diplomat and Strategic Affairs Expert
Word: Cleansing
He pronounced: kleen-zing
Correct pronunciation: klen-zing
22. Abhishek Manu Singhvi
Senior lawyer, Supreme Court of India | National spokesperson, Indian National Congress
Word 1: Homogeneity
He pronounced: hoh-muh-juh–nai-tee
Correct pronunciation: hoh-muh-juh–nee-i-tee
Word 2: Pendulum
He pronounced: pen–du-luh m
Correct pronunciation: pen-juh-luh m
23. Amit Baruah
Resident Editor, The Hindu
Word: Divisive
He pronounced: dih-vi-siv
Correct pronunciation: dih-vahy-siv
24. Arvind Subramanian
Visiting lecturer, Harvard University | Former Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India
Word 1: Seismic
He pronounced: sees-mik
Correct pronunciation: sahyz-mik
Word 2: Behemoth
He pronounced: be-hey-muh th
Correct pronunciation: bih-hee-muh th
25. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Chairperson and Managing Director, Biocon
Word: Domestic
She pronounced: do–mes-tik
Correct pronunciation: duh–mes-tik
26. Rajiv Dogra
Former Indian Ambassador to Italy and Romania and Consul General to Karachi, Pakistan
Word: Wand
He pronounced: waind
Correct pronunciation: wond
27. Arati Jerath
Political commentator and journalist
Word 1: Rhetoric
She pronounced: rhi–to-rik
Correct pronunciation: ret-er-ik
Word 2: Disingenuous
She pronounced: dis-in-jeen–yuhs
Correct pronunciation: dis-in-jen-yoo-uh s
Word 3: Divisive
She pronounced: dih-vi-siv
Correct pronunciation: dih-vahy-siv
28. Kapil Sibal
Senior lawyer, Supreme Court of India | National spokesperson, Indian National Congress | Former minister, Government of India
Word: Assam
He pronounced: as-saam
Correct pronunciation: as-sam
Reference
1. Shivam Vij
Source. Watch the words potato and deliberately as spoken by him in the range 7-8 minute.
Listen correct pronunciations of potato and deliberately here and here, respectively.
2. Shaurya Doval
Source. Watch the word hyperbole as spoken by him in the range 12-13 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of hyperbole here.
3. Prannoy Roy
Source. Watch the word repercussion as spoken by him in the range 25-26 minute.
Source. Watch the word algorithm as spoken by him in the range 40-41 and 63-65 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of repercussion and algorithm here and here, respectively.
4. Meera Shankar
Source. Watch the words robot and reciprocal as spoken by her in the range 4-5 and 11-12 minute, respectively.
Listen correct pronunciations of robot and reciprocal here and here, respectively.
5. Sanjay Manjrekar
Source. Watch the word writhing as spoken by him in the range 3:15:00-3:18:00 hours.
Listen correct pronunciation of writhing here.
6. Shashank ND
Source. Watch the word chasm as spoken by him in the range 9-10 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of chasm here.
7. Amitabh Kant
Source. Watch the words comparable and competitive as spoken by him in the range 3-4 and 7-8 minute. Another speaker pronounced the first word – comparable – correctly in the range 11-12 minute.
Listen correct pronunciations of comparable and competitive here and here, respectively.
8. Few panelists, including lawyers
Source. Watch the word devotee spoken multiple times throughout the video.
Listen correct pronunciation of devotee here.
9. Manish Tiwari
Source. Watch the words adjudicate and rhetoric as spoken by him in the range 21-23 minute.
Source. Watch the words pyrrhic and demonstrate as spoken by him in the range 17-19 minute.
Listen correct pronunciations of adjudicate, rhetoric, pyrrhic, and demonstrate here, here, here, and here, respectively.
10. Shekhar Gupta
Source. Watch the word rhetoric as spoken by him in the range 43-44 minute.
Source. Watch the word Assam as spoken by him in the range 42-43 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of rhetoric and Assam here and here.
11. Ajai Sahni
Source: I couldn’t find the video of this show, but it was aired on 22 April 2019 at 9 PM on NDTV.
Listen correct pronunciation of record here.
12. Richa Chaddha
Source. Watch the word statistics as spoken by her in the range 28-29 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of statistics here.
13. Shaina NC
Source. Watch the words rhetoric and improvise as spoken by her in the range 10-11 minute and 47-48 minute, respectively.
Listen correct pronunciations of rhetoric and improvise here and here, respectively.
14. Jaiveer Shergill
Source. Watch the word juxtapose as spoken by him in the range 29-30 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of juxtapose here.
15. Ashwini Kumar
Source. Watch the word competitive as spoken by him in the range 57-58 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of competitive here.
16. Srinivasan Jain
Source. Watch the word divisive as spoken by him in the range 1-2 minute.
Source. Watch the word ignominious as spoken by him in the range 49-50 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of divisive and ignominious here and here, respectively.
17. Sanket Upadhyay
Source. Watch the words instrumental and contest as spoken by him in the range 4-6 minute.
Listen correct pronunciations of instrumental and contest here and here, respectively.
18. Nidhi Razdan
Source. Watch the word premise as spoken by her in the range 1-2 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of premise here.
19. Sonia Singh
Source. Watch Sonia Singh in 36-37 minute range and Jay Panda in 42-43 minute range.
Listen correct pronunciation of divisiveness here.
20. Raveesh Kumar
Source. Watch the words project, provocative, and rhetoric as spoken by him in the range 3-4 minute.
Listen correct pronunciations of project, provocative, and rhetoric here, here, and here, respectively.
21. K C Singh
Source. Watch the word cleansing as spoken by him in the range 17-18 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of cleansing here.
22. Abhishek Manu Singhvi
Source. Watch the word homogeneity as spoken by him in the range 18-19 minute.
Source. Watch the word pendulum as spoken by him in the range 16-17 minute.
Listen correct pronunciations of homogeneity and pendulum here and here, respectively.
23. Amit Baruah
Source. Watch the word divisive as spoken by him in the range 10-11 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of divisive here.
24. Arvind Subramanian
Source. Watch the words seismic and behemoth as spoken by him in the range 25-26 minute.
Listen correct pronunciations of seismic and behemoth here and here, respectively.
25. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Source. Watch the word domestic as spoken by her in the range 10-11 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of domestic here.
26. Rajiv Dogra
Source. Watch the word wand as spoken by him in the range 29-30 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of wand here.
27. Arati Jerath
Source. Watch the word rhetoric as spoken by her in the range 7-8 minute and words disingenuous and divisive in the range 34-35 minute.
Listen correct pronunciations of rhetoric, disingenuous, and divisive here, here, and here, respectively.
28. Kapil Sibal
Source. Watch the word Assam as spoken by him in the range 13-14 minute.
Listen correct pronunciation of Assam here.
I have a huge problem with mispronunciation.