Top mispronounced words across U.S. revealed: Are you saying them wrong? CT has a sweet one.

By Kaylee Remington, cleveland.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. — From “gyro” to “Worcestershire sauce,” Americans have a long list of words that trip them up, according to a new nationwide analysis of Google search trends.

Experts at Unscramblerer.com examined search data between Jan. 1 and Oct. 27, of this year, for phrases like “How do you pronounce” and “How to pronounce,” identifying the words most often mispronounced in every U.S. state.

The most searched-for pronunciation nationwide was “gyro,” the Greek sandwich, with more than 312,000 searches. Following closely were Worcestershire sauce, acai and Qatar.

Certain words proved difficult in several states. “Paczki,” a Polish pastry, topped searches in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, while “Worcestershire sauce” baffled residents of Alabama, North Dakota and Rhode Island. Meanwhile, exotic or foreign terms like “Aoife” in Arizona and “Nguyen” in Oklahoma highlighted regional challenges with international names.

Experts said the mispronunciations reflect both cultural exposure and phonetic irregularities in English. Words borrowed from other languages, such as French, Polish and Hawaiian, frequently appear on the list.

America’s most mispronounced words by state with pronunciations:

·Alabama – Worcestershire sauce (WUSS-ter-sheer)

·Alaska – Saoirse (SUR-sha)

·Arizona – Aoife (EE-fah)

·Arkansas – Laufey (LOW-fay)

·California – Kali Uchis (KAH-lee OO-chees)

·Colorado – Qatar (KAH-tar)

·Connecticut – Sfogliatelle (sfo-LYA-tel)

·Delaware – Mauve (MOHV)

·Florida – Staphylococcal (STAFF-uh-loh-KOK-ul)

·Georgia – Sza (SIZ-uh)

·Hawaii – Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (HIP-oh-pot-oh-MON-stroh-ses-kwip-uh-dal-ee-oh-FOH-bee-uh)

·Idaho – Kefir (KEE-fer)

·Illinois – Yuengling (YING-ling)

·Indiana – Paczki (POONCH-kee)

·Iowa – Dachshund (DAKS-hund)

·Kansas – Louvre (LOOV)

·Kentucky – Chamomile (KAM-uh-meel)

·Louisiana – Oaxaca (wah-HAH-kah)

·Maine – Qatar (KAH-tar)

·Maryland – Omniscient (OM-NISH-unt)

·Massachusetts – Jhostynxon Garcia (JOS-tin-son gar-SEE-uh)

·Michigan – Paczki (POONCH-kee)

·Minnesota – Thyme (TIME)

·Mississippi – Chinoiserie (SHIN-wah-zuh-ree)

·Missouri – Aurelia (aw-REEL-yuh)

·Montana – Dachshund (DAKS-hund)

·Nebraska – Bolognese (boh-luh-NAYZ)

·Nevada – Macabre (muh-KAHB)

·New Hampshire – Gyro (YEE-roh)

·New Jersey – Primeval (pry-MEE-vul)

·New Mexico – Gif (JIF)

·New York – Tzatziki (tsat-SEE-kee)

·North Carolina – Raleigh (RAW-lee)

·North Dakota – Worcestershire sauce (WUSS-ter-sheer)

·Ohio – Paczki (POONCH-kee)

·Oklahoma – Nguyen (WIN)

·Oregon – Bibimbap (BEE-bim-bap)

·Pennsylvania – Jhoan Duran (JO-an duh-RAN)

·Rhode Island – Worcestershire sauce (WUSS-ter-sheer)

·South Carolina – Chose (CHOZ)

·South Dakota – Derecho (duh-RAY-cho)

·Tennessee – Gyro (YEE-roh)

·Texas – Staphylococcal (STAFF-uh-loh-KOK-ul)

·Utah – Qatar (KAH-tar)

·Vermont – Montpelier (mont-PEEL-yer)

·Virginia – Adolescence (ad-oh-LES-ens)

·Washington – Primeval (pry-MEE-vul)

·West Virginia – Acai (ah-SIGH-ee)

·Wisconsin – Paczki (POONCH-kee)

·Wyoming – Mayonnaise (MAY-uh-nayz)

Researchers examined Google Trends data from January 1 through October 27 of this year for the words most commonly associated with searches such as “How to pronounce” and “How do you pronounce” as part of the study.

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