'Valentimes Day': 25 annoying mispronunciations that might drive you up the wall

Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor

Aug 24, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

There comes a time in every parent's life when they need to tell their child that they're pronouncing "library" incorrectly. It can be really cute when a little kid mispronounces things, but they can't be a cute kid who can't say their "Rs" forever. They need to grow up sometime; otherwise, they'll be an adult who is much maligned for their incorrect pronunciation of things.

Whether you think it's moral or not, we are all judged by the way we speak. That's why parents spend thousands of dollars a year for a speech therapist to shame the lisp out of their sweet little boy. I'm not saying you should code-switch or try to sound like a news anchor from Nebraska so you come off as neutral as possible. I wish we could celebrate all ways of speaking equally, because no way of talking is inherently better than another, despite what I said 20 seconds ago about kids who don't pronounce their "Rs." People who study Linguistics think that there's no one "correct" way of speaking. English teachers believe the exact opposite. The general population is much less forgiving of differences in speech, especially ones that are perceived as "wrong." The people in this thread are perfect examples of that.

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