7 Most Hard-to-Pronounce Words in the English Language
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VIVA – English is an international language that is commonly used by many countries. Unfortunately, there are still many people who can't speak English because the language is difficult or the pronunciation is too hard to say.
There’s no shortage of hard words to pronounce in the world. The English language has beauty to it, but admittedly, it’s filled with some confusing grammar rules and words that make us fumble our speech. It’s a real triumph to say these tough words correctly (and even spell them correctly) on the first try.
Well, here are some English words that hard-to-pronounce, as quoted from various sources.
1. Rural
If you look at the arrangement of the letters, many might think that this word is easy to say. Try to pronounce this word now. How is it? Is it hard or easy? Rural means a rural area with agriculture as the main activity, including natural resource management and settlement.
2. Sesquipedalian
Originating from 17th century Latin that literally means 'a foot and a half long', the meaning of this word is anticlimactic. People think it means something mysterious and interesting. But no, sesquipedalian means 'long' or 'wordy'.
3. Antidisestablishmentarianism
For most people, it's the longest word they know. For others, it's a bona fide tongue twister at a whopping total of 28 letters and 13 syllables, (It means being opposed to the withdrawal of state support from an established church).
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4. Onomatopoeia
Referring to words that are similar to sounds or noise, this word is often used for the phrase 'boom' or 'buzz'. While similar words are very short, onomatopoeia is strangely long and difficult to pronounce. The origin of this word is similar to a phenomenon, it dates back to the late 16th century through a mixture of late Latin and Greek.
5. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
No, the above is not a sentence, but a word. The easiest way to pronounce this word is by singing or breaking it down into small parts. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious when translated means something very good. This word first appeared in 1964 in the movie Mary Poppins.
6. Worcestershire
This word is neither a noun nor a verb, but the name of a county in mid-west England and also the name of a unique sauce for food and drink, sometimes called Worcester sauce. To give a hint on how to pronounce it, the first 'R' in the word isn’t considered.
7. Colonel
Now we’re getting into everyday words that don’t exactly roll off the tongue. Case in point: colonel. This 16th-century word, derived from Middle French, is pronounced: “ker-nul.” The first “o” sounding like an “e,” the “l” sounding like an “r” and the second “o” being completely put the brain through the headache.
