Yesavage and Quebec among Canada’s most mispronounced words

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Trey Yesavage may have become a household name after the rookie pitcher helped the Toronto Blue Jays reach the playoffs, but that doesn't necessarily mean people know how to pronounce his last name correctly.

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The starter “Jays” was just one of more than a dozen words that Canadians had trouble pronouncing, a list that also included the French Canadian province and its largest city.

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Experts analyzed Google search data between January 1 and November 12, using clues such as “how do you pronounce”, “pronunciation” and “how to pronounce” to identify the most problematic words.

According to researchers at the online tool Unscramblerer.com, there were 139,200 searches for how to correctly pronounce the ever-annoying word “Worcestershire sauce.”

Mispronouncing the delicious condiment used in meat dishes and for dipping some sushi (try it if you don't believe us) is nothing new and remains the most difficult term Canadians encounter.

(That's “WUSS-ter-sheer”, FYI.)

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In second place was the adorable “croissant” (krway-SAHN) with 86,400 searches, followed by the adorable dachshund (DAKS-hund) in third place.

Charcuterie boards (shar-KOO-too-ree) remain a popular party item, but that doesn't necessarily mean Canadians know how to say it: 82,600 people are learning how to pronounce it.

Rounding out the top five is “schedule” (SKEJ-ool), which has generated 74,400 searches and is also considered the most mispronounced word in Ontario.

Other products that made the list include “gyro” (YEE-roh) with 71,000 searches, “acai” (ah-SIGH-ee) with 70,900 searches and “cocoa” (kah-koh) with 65,000 searches.

“Quebec” (kuh-bek), “Qatar” (KAH-tar), “Montreal” (mon-tree-awl), and “Indigenous people” (uhn-di-juh-nuhs) also posed pronunciation problems for Canadians, as did “niche” (NEESH).

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The female name “Aoife” was also on the list, but its Scottish, Irish and Gaelic roots understandably cause some confusion about how it is pronounced (EE-fah).

“Exposure to new words through media, music, pop culture and social platforms creates curiosity,” a spokesperson for Unscrambler.com said.

“People often look up pronunciation if there is a gap between how a word or name is spelled and how it sounds,” they continued.

“Correct pronunciation is strongly associated with perceived intelligence and competence,” they added, noting that “the desire for correct pronunciation is a mixture of avoiding social embarrassment and simple curiosity.”

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Here are the most mispronounced words in Canada with pronunciation:

1. Worcestershire sauce (13,9200 searches) – WUSS-ter-sheer.
2. Crescent (86,400 searches) – Krwah-SAHN.
3. Dachshund (84,000 searches) – DAX hound.
4. Meat snacks (82,600 searches) – Shar-KU-tuh-ri.
5. Schedule (74,400 searches) – SKEJ-ool.
6. Gyro (71,000 searches) – YEE-ro.
7. Acai (70,900 searches) – A-SIGH-ee.
8. Quebec (67,200 searches) – cook-back.
9. Aoife (66,000 searches) – EE-fa.
10. Cocoa (65,000 searches) – cocoa.
11. Qatar (58,800 searches) – KAH-tar.
12. Nice (41,200 weeks) – NOST.
13. Montreal (28,700 searches) – mon-tree-awl.
14. Indigenous people (20,400 churches) – un-judhi.
15. Yesavage (10,800 searches) – YESS-uh-vij.

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Here are the most mispronounced words based on province/territory pronunciation:

· Yukon Territory – Worcestershire sauce (WUSS-ter-sheer).
· British Columbia – First Nations
· Nova Scotia – Aoirse.
· Prince Edward Island – Etobicoke (oo-taw-boo-kow).
· Ontario – Timetable (SKEJ-ool).
· Alberta – Worcestershire sauce (WUSS-ter-sheer).
· Northwest Territories – Charters (Shar-Ku-tuh-ri).
· Manitoba – Vaza (waaz).
· Saskatchewan – gnocchi (no-ki).
· Newfoundland and Labrador – Croissant (for son)
· Nunavut – Acai (A-SIGH-ee).
· New Brunswick – Qatar (KAH-tar).
· Quebec – Montreal (mont-tree-awl).

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