I’m a language expert and here are the places around the world you’ve been pronouncing wrong – and how you should ACTUALLY say them
Mastering the correct pronunciation of places abroad can be tricky – and some destinations trip people up more than most.
Thankfully, help is at hand from a language expert from Babbel, a language app and online learning platform.
Babbel Live teacher Esteban Touma spoke with MailOnline Travel over Zoom to clear up confusion over some commonly mispronounced place-names.
In the resulting video, Touma, who is from Ecuador originally but is based in the U.S and specialises in teaching Spanish, can be seen breaking down just how certain places should – and shouldn’t – be pronounced.
Watch the video and scroll down to see the phonetic do’s and don’ts written out. Are you guilty of mispronouncing any of them?
Cannes, France
Don’t say ‘Con’, ‘Conz’ or ‘Con-es’. Do say ‘Kan’.
Yosemite National Park, the U.S
Don’t say ‘YOH-se-might’. Do say ‘Yoh-SEH-muh-dee’ or ‘Yoh-SEH-muh-tee’.
River Thames, London
Don’t say ‘Thaymz’. Do say ‘Temz’.
Louvre Museum, Paris
Don’t say ‘LOOV’, ‘LOO-vray’ or ‘LOO-ver’. Do say ‘LOO-vruh’.
Versailles, France
Don’t say ‘Ver-SALES’ or ‘Ver-SAY-les’. Do say ‘Vair-SIGH’.
Ibiza, Spain
Don’t say ‘Ih-BEE-za’ or ‘Eye-BEE-tha’. Do say ‘Ee-BEE-tha’.
Dubai, UAE
Don’t say ‘Doo-BAY’. Do say ‘Doo-BYE’.
Seoul, South Korea
Don’t say ‘SEE-ole’ or ‘See-ULE’. Do say ‘Sole’.
Worcester, England
Don’t say ‘WAR-chest-er’ or ‘WAR-cess-ter’. Do say ‘WUSS-tuh’ or ‘WUSS-ter’.
Reykjavik, Iceland
Don’t say ‘RAKE-juh-vick’. Do say ‘Rake-yah-vick’.
Phuket, Thailand
Don’t say ‘Foo-ket’. Do say ‘Poo-ket’.
Yosemite National Park in the U.S is often mispronounced as ‘YOH-se-might’ – but it’s actually pronounced ‘Yoh-SEH-muh-tee’
Touma, who is from Ecuador originally but is based in the U.S, specialises in teaching Spanish
Oaxaca, Mexico
Don’t say ‘Oh-AX-uh-cuh’. Do say ‘Wuh-haa-kuh’.
Budapest, Hungary
Don’t say ‘Boo-da-pest’. Do say ‘Boo-da-pesht’.
Brisbane, Australia
Don’t say ‘Bris-bane’. Do say ‘Bris’bn’.
Iraq
Don’t say ‘Eye-rack’. Do say ‘uh-raak’.
Kyiv, Ukraine
Don’t say ‘Kee-ev’. Do say ‘Kee-yiv’.
Djibouti, East Africa
Don’t say ‘De-ji-boo-tee’. Do say ‘Ja-boo-tee’.
Colombia
Don’t say ‘Co-luhm-bee-ah’. Do say ‘Co-LOHM-bee-ah’.
Sri Lanka
Don’t say ‘Shree-Lanka’. Do say ‘Sree-Lanka’.
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