Vice President Kamala Harris and breakout pop star Chappell Roan were among the most talked-about individuals in 2024, but their names were frequently mispronounced. A list released by Babbel and The Captioning Group highlighted the words that posed challenges for news anchors, politicians, and public figures in the U.S. throughout the year.
The list not only sheds light on the most mispronounced words but also serves as a reflection of the year's prominent topics and personalities, spanning from pop culture to politics. Linguistic and cultural expert Esteban Touma from Babbel emphasized the value of looking back at the events that transpired over the year.
Chappell Roan, known for hits like “Good Luck, Babe!”, garnered significant fame in 2024 and received six Grammy nominations. The correct pronunciation of her name is CHAP-uhl ROHN, not SHA-pel ROW-an. Similarly, during her presidential campaign, Kamala Harris' great-nieces clarified that her first name is pronounced COM-a-la.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's last name continues to be a challenge for many, prompting his campaign to create materials with the pronunciation “Boot-Edge-Edge” during his 2020 presidential bid. Other words on the list include the Dutch Kooikerhondje, Zendaya, Shein, Speculoos-3b, Phryge, Semaglutide, and Barry Keoghan.
Nancy Niedzielski, chair of the linguistics department at Rice University, noted that most mispronounced words are non-English, making it understandable why they pose difficulties in the U.S. She emphasized the importance of hearing the words spoken correctly for accurate pronunciation.
Several words from the U.S. list also appeared on the U.K. list, compiled with the assistance of the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters. The U.K. list featured terms like flygskam and the Chagos Islands. Touma, a native Spanish speaker, highlighted the significance of persisting in trying to pronounce challenging words, acknowledging his own struggles with certain pronunciations.
As people navigated the pronunciation of Chappell Roan's name amid her rising music career, Touma underscored the role of attempting to understand and pronounce unfamiliar words as a means of fostering mutual comprehension.
