Is it rude to correct people when they mispronounce words?

Question

My pet peeve is people mispronouncing words and I have a habit of correcting them,even if i don't know them well.My friends have told me this is rude and wrong,but I just can't seem to stop myself from doing it. HELP!!!

Answer 1

Ahhh, the joys of paying too much attention!

I too cannot deal with people who have poor pronunciation and even poor Enunciation!

I used to get into trouble for it all the time.

I was told it was rude to correct people (especially folks older than I am) but I could not stop!

(Oh, and yes, it IS rude...sometimes we just do not care though, eh!?)

Then one day, someone from a different country, and a different pronunciation guide, corrected me! WHAT?!

So, I learned that I did NOT know everything, and now I am a lot more careful about it. I also have found that there are a large number of words that are rarely spoken correctly. Looking in a good dictionary will provide you with the "standard" pronunciation for words, you have to practice a bit to read the little wierd letters and how they are supposed to sound. The root word or where it comes from language wise will also make a difference, another good thing about the dictionary, it will tell you a word is from the fr-French, or lat-Latin.

The word Aluminium- like aluminum foin. in the US we tend to say Al-um-in-um in other parts of the world it is Al-uu-min-i-um. who is right or wrong?



We leave out a lot of letter sounds in teh US, and also in some regions, we add them in where they are not , like the word Wash, some people say Warsh. I always found that disturbing. Or the word ASK, as in "I want to ask a question." many people sasy AXE- in stead- ARGGG! I say, but what are you going to ? Language evolves through use and regionality. That is how accents and dialects get developed.

Consonant sounds blend and change. Vowels are different from region to region, why do you think the Y and W are sometimes considered a vowel? There are a number of words that do not have any other vowels than those. They are common letters/sounds in other languages.

As English is a polyglot language, we have to learn to adjust just a little and be forgiving of all unusual pronounciations.

Answer 2

You can stop yourself from correcting people, but you have CHOSEN not to. So be it.



Yes, it is rude to be the grammar police.



My sister has a habit of mispronouncing words or using words incorrectly. We have an agreement that I should correct her (only if we are alone) because I told her she sounds uneducated when she does that and I just have this need to protect her. She understands and agrees.



Otherwise, NO WAY would I correct anyone's way of speaking. Simply because if someone mispronounces a word and you know the right word, you KNOW what they are talking about and therefore you need not correct them. Right? You know what they are saying, so what is the real point other than making yourself look like a smarty pants and perhaps embarrassing the other person with your English lesson.

Answer 3

it depends on the context of your situation. will you ever see this person again? will it really matter? if not, maybe just avoid it. did you ever think maybe they pronounce it differently where they grew up? there are a lot of words that are pronounced differently throughout the regions. I work for a large company and frequently am on phone calls with people from around the country. they say some words differently. Think it would be wise of me to interrupt and "correct" them? I think not. Maybe they think that I'm the one mispronouncing things!



The only time I would say something is if the person has to make a speech or is speaking in front of colleagues or something and it is an obvious blunder. I once had a boss who pronounced the word "especially" "EX-pesh-ally" to me, the "ex" is incorrect, but I know alot of people say it that way. to me, it should be "Es-pesh=ally". did I dare say something? No, because other people might perceive it as accurate

Answer 4

It's rude, you're going to have to figure out how to stop.



People that correct others, they will eventually (if not frequently) find themselves in the situation where they correct someone wrong. Maybe they don't get called out (e.g. I'm not the type to call people out for it), but they unknowingly make themselves look foolish.

Answer 5

Yes.. Always, if it's in public.



If it's a friend or family member who has asked you to mention it to them, that's fine, although of course you should always tell them in private - never in front of anyone else.



Embarrassing someone in public is very rude, cruel and arrogant.

Of course you can stop doing it - just DON'T!

Answer 6

Yes, it is rude. You have chosen to forget that pronunciation of a particular word is regional. As an example many people pronounce Himalayas "him- a -lay as" while in other regions the word is pronounced as "him-all-ee-yahs". In Canada the word lieutenant is pronounced as left tenant while the Americans say loo- tenant. The important thing is that you understand what the person is saying.

Answer 7

Yes, it is rude to correct other adults in front of other people.

Answer 8

You can stop yourself, but you like to feel smarter than others. It's rude.

Answer 9

English classes just aren't what they used to be. Because of ethnic dialects, ignorance, and foreign origins, more and more people don't have a good grasp of normal American English.



If you feel you must correct someone's mispronunciation, it would be much nicer to do it in private as soon as you have the opportunity.

Answer 10

yeah unless they mispronounce your name, keep it to yourself. It is rude and condescending

Answer 11

Yes, it is rude, one day someone will punch you on the nose, what has it got to do with you how people talk?

Answer 12

When i speak french i am glad if i m corrected if i mispronounce a word. French is not my mother tongue.

Answer 13

Yes, very rude. Nobody cares about your pet peeves, they are your problem and no one elses, and they do not excuse your rudeness.

Answer 14

I'm with you! Especially when somebody lazily says "vetrins"

instead of "Veterans"

Correct away!

Answer 15

depends on how you do it, if youre nice about it i dont see anything wrong with it

Answer 16

yes it is but what can you do?