If you stumbled through 2019 trying to avoid discussions of current events, you’re not alone.
Loads of us feel the fear of sounding like a massive idiot, whether it’s admitting you don’t totally understand how healthcare works in the US or having no clue how to not mangle Greta Thunberg’s name.
Frankly, 2019 has been packed with important people and big news that feature tricky words – some harder to pronounce than others.
Language-learning app Babbel commissioned the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters to find the words even newsreaders found tough to pronounce correctly.
There’s no shame in making a blunder when it comes to pronunciation – as long as you try and will listen when you’re wrong.
But because we’re a competitive bunch, we’ve turned the year’s difficult words into a pronunciation quiz, inviting you to select the correct phonetic pronunciation of each one.
But first, let’s make sure we know what these words mean, as that’s quite important too.
The words people mispronounced in 2019:
- Chernobyl: The site of the biggest nuclear disaster in human history in 1986, and subject of a critically acclaimed HBO show that aired from May to June.
- County Fermanagh: One of six Northern Irish counties which has been the subject of Brexit and the Irish backstop debates.
- Eliud Kipchoge: Kenyan long-distance runner who, in October, became the first man in history to run a marathon in under two hours.
- Flygskam: Swedish term translated as ‘flight shame’, which has been used in conjunction with efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
- Gilets jaunes: Protest movement in France which marked its one-year anniversary in November.
- Greta Thunberg: Teenage environmental activist who led global school strikes and sailed the Atlantic over two weeks in August to speak at the UN climate summit.
- Joaquin Phoenix: Puerto Rican-born American actor who impressed audiences with his eponymous role in Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker’ in October.
- Prorogue: A temporary suspension of Parliament enacted by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister, which took place over two weeks in September and October after being called by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
- Siya Kolisi: Saracens flanker who captained South Africa to Rugby World Cup victory in November.
- Typhoon Hagibis: A category five hurricane that hit Japan in October, causing widespread destruction and resulting in numerous fatalities which interrupted the Rugby World Cup and Japanese F1 Grand Prix.
Now, on to the quiz:
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source https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/13/know-say-uks-mispronounced-words-2019-11893930/
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