Hold the Fort! (commonly mispronounced words)

Many words are mispronounced so often that their correct pronunciation seems strange because it's unfamiliar. Eventually these mispronunciations make their way into the dictionary as accepted and even preferred! My mother used to say, "Right is right if no one is right!"



Here are a few words that are commonly mispronounced:


cache - "cash," not "cashay" - something hidden away-   a cache of food for an
                emergency  (There is a word pronounced "cashay," which is spelled
                "cachet" and means "prestige.")

covert-  related to "cover" - first syllable sounds like "kuv" - hidden - covert
                operations

err- sounds like "fur," not "air"- to make a mistake

forte- sounds like "fort," not "fortay"- a strong point

harass- stress on the first syllable, not the second- "HAR as"

lingerie- ends with  the sound "ree," not "ray"

reprise- rhymes with "please," not "prize"

schism- has no "k" sound- is pronounced "sism"