‘Cheugy’, ‘omicron’ are among the most mispronounced words in 2021

“Cheugy” is clearly a lot to chew on. Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and Philadelphia Eagles Jason Kelce centers have something in common – broadcaster selling their name.

And almost everyone has trouble with “omicron.”

All four made this year’s list of the most mispronounced words compiled by the American Subtitle Company, the company that captions and subtitles real-time events on TV and in courtrooms.

The list released Tuesday identifies words that have proven to be the most difficult for news readers and those on television to pronounce this year.

The caption company said it surveyed its members to create the list, now in its sixth year and commissioned by Babbel a language learning platform with headquarters in Berlin and New York.

“US broadcasters have struggled with new 2021 words and names while covering important sporting events, trends, and trends,” said Esteban Touma, a comedian and teacher at Babbel Live. viral internet trends and emerging celebrities”.

“As a language teacher, it is interesting to see that some of these terms are often new colloquialisms, either derived from or borrowed from another language,” he said. “As a non-native speaker, I must confess that it is fun to see English speakers stumble a bit for a change.”

Here’s how Touma breaks down the right pronunciation for the most common mistakes:

Cheugy (CHOO-gee): A trendy term popularized by Generation Z and used to mock the outdated and unfashionable aesthetic commonly associated with millennials, such as signs “Live, Laugh, Love”.

Chipotle (chih-POHT-lay): The American fast food chain that has been at the center of a viral trend this year when it challenged Baby Boomers to pronounce names.

Dalgona (tal-goh-NAH): A Korean dish made of molten sugar and baking soda, popularized in Netflix’s “Squid Game”. (Touma notes that some speakers seem to make a “K” instead of a “G” on the middle syllable.)

– Dogecoin (DOHJ-coin): A divisive cryptocurrency that began somewhat ironically before being popularized by Elon Musk, causing its value to increase dramatically.

– Eilish (EYE-lish): Singer Billie Eilish, whose album “Happier Than Ever” was released this year received critical acclaim and was nominated for an award. Grammy Awards Album of the year.

– Ethereum (ih-THEE-ree-um): Another cryptocurrency that has skyrocketed in value this year amid the decentralized currency boom.

– Ever Given (EV-er GIV-en): The name of the ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March, causing billions of dollars in damage. Many reporters mistakenly named the ship “Evergreen”, the name of the company that owns the ship printed on the hull.

– Glasgow (GLAHZ-go): The city hosting the United Nations Climate Conference in November has been mispronounced by both President Joe Biden and former president Barack Obama.

– Kelce (KELs): Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles center revealed on radio this year that his teammates and the media have been mispronouncing his name for years.

– Omicron (AH-muh-kraan / OH-mee-kraan): A new variant of COVID-19 was first identified in November, named after the Greek alphabetical system of identifying variants by the Greek alphabet. World Health Organization. (Touma notes that it’s pronounced differently in the US and UK.)

– Shein (SHEE-in): The Chinese fast-fashion company that is at the center of the “Shein haul” trend, in which participants record themselves trying on various company outfits.

– Stefanos Tsitsipas (STEH-fuh-nohs TSEE-tsee-pas): Currently the number 4 player in the world, the Greek athlete rose to international level when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final of the French Open. wide in June.

– Yassify (YEAH-sih-fai): A popular trend in which many beauty filters are applied to famous photos or portraits for a comic effect.