Have you ever been told that a certain word you use is correctly pronounced in a different way? And what about those words with more than one pronunciation — does it matter which one you use? Will your pronunciation sound silly? This installment in the best-selling
100 Words series
,
100 Words Almost Everyone Mispronounces
, settles the score on 100 controversies and misconceptions about words with difficult or slippery pronunciations. Selected by the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries, these words are tongue twisters of a different kind. Each word is presented in dictionary format, with a note explaining the pronunciation problem, how it arose, and why it is controversial. Does the word dour rhyme with sour or tour? Which syllable is properly stressed in harass and desultory? Is there a final ay sound in cadre, forte, and lingerie?  Why do people put an extra syllable in words like mischiev(i)ous and triath(a)lon? Should it bother us when presidents and generals say nucular? Fun to read and informative as well,
is bound to appeal to anyone who doesn’t want to be the center of attention for the wrong reason.