There are a great many words in English which are frequently
mispronounced; the accent is placed upon the wrong syllable; for
example, _thea'ter_ instead of _the'ater_; the wrong sound is given to
the vowel, for example, _hearth_ is pronounced _hurth_. Sometimes, too,
an extra letter is added in the pronunciation; for example, _once_ is
often pronounced as though it were spelled _wunst_.
The following is a list of common words that are frequently
mispronounced, and there are many others which you may add to this list
as they occur to you. Look up the correct pronunciation in the
dictionary and pronounce them many times aloud.
In the second column in this list is given the incorrect pronunciation,
which we often hear.
Acoustics a-cow-stics
Aeroplane air-e-o-plane
Apron a-pron
Athlete ath-a-lete
Autopsy au-top'-sy
Awkward awk-ard
Column col-yum
Coupon coo-pon
Deficit de-fic'it
Diphtheria dip-ther-y
Economic ee'co-nom-ic
Errand ur-rant
Faucet fos-set
Figure fig-ger
Film fill-um
Finance fi'nance
Guardian guar-deen'
Height heighth
Hostile hos-tile'
Hundred hund'erd
Idea i-dee'
Inaugurate in-aug-er-ate
Inquiry in'qui-ry
Inventory in-ven'-to-ry
Length lenth
Magazine mag'-a'zinn
Mischievous mis-chie'-vi-ous
Municipal mu-ni-cip'-al
Opponent op'-ponent
Overalls over-hauls
Rheumatism rheumatiz
Stomach stum-ick
Twice twict
Vaudeville vaw'de-ville
There are a number of words in English which sound very much alike and
which we are apt to confuse. For example, I heard a man recently say in
a speech that the party to which he belonged had taken slow poison and
now needed an anecdote. It is presumed that he meant that it needed an
antidote. Some one else remarked that a certain individual had not been
expelled but simply expended. He undoubtedly meant that the individual
had been suspended.
This confusion in the use of words detracts from the influence which our
statements would otherwise have. There are a number of words which are
so nearly alike that it is very easy to be confused in the use of them.
In our spelling lesson for this week we have a number of the most common
of these easily confounded words. Add to the list as many others as you
can.
+Monday+
Lightening, _to make light_
Lightning, _an electric flash_
Prophesy, _to foretell_
Prophecy, _a prediction_
Accept, _to take_
Except, _to leave out_
+Tuesday+
Advice, _counsel_
Advise, _to give counsel_
Attendants, _servants_
Attendance, _those present_
Stationary, _fixed_
Stationery, _pens_, _paper_, _etc._
+Wednesday+
Formerly, _in the past_
Formally, _in a formal way_
Addition, _process of adding_
Edition, _publication_
Celery, _a vegetable_
Salary, _wages_
+Thursday+
Series, _a succession_
Serious, _solemn_
Precedent, _an example_
President, _chief or head_
Partition, _a division_
Petition, _a request_
+Friday+
Ingenious, _skillful_
Ingenuous, _honest_
Jester, _one who jests_
Gesture, _action_
Lose, _to suffer loss_
Loose, _to untie_
+Saturday+
Presence, _nearness_
Presents, _gifts_
Veracity, _truthfulness_
Voracity, _greediness_
Disease, _illness_
Decease, _death_