Why can’t people pronounce “especially”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many people say “ex-specially”?

I want someone to do a PSA or YouTube tutorial coaching people on how to break it down and say it correctly.

Eh-specially.

No X.

I wish this didn’t bother me as much as it does.

It's the same reason people say expresso. It's called epenthesis. e + /sp/ is a spicy combo that's not very common in English, so speakers will shift to /ksp/ "ex" because it's easier to say and more familiar. English is full of these...feb-yoo-ary because "br" is a more challenging cluster. We learn words by ear first and sometimes those motor patterns become automatic long before spelling enters the picture.

I have a Master’s in Applied Linguistics, but this AI explanation (via Google search) covers it pretty well.

Especially" is frequently mispronounced as "ex-specially" (adding an 'x' sound) due to the high frequency of words starting with /ɛksp/ (like express or expect) in the English lexicon. The correct spelling and pronunciation start with "es-" (/ɪˈspɛʃəli/), not "ex-".
Key Points
The Error: Many people say "ex-specially" instead of the correct "especially".
Why It Happens: The English language contains hundreds of words starting with ex- (e.g., extra, except), influencing speakers to mistakenly apply this pattern to the /ɛsp/ sound in especially.
Correct Usage: Especially means "particularly" or "above all," used to single out one person or thing.
Related Errors: Similar mispronunciations occur with "espresso" (pronounced "ex-presso").

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many people say “ex-specially”?

I want someone to do a PSA or YouTube tutorial coaching people on how to break it down and say it correctly.

Eh-specially.

No X.

I wish this didn’t bother me as much as it does.

Therapy.

Not kidding. You are feeling enough of a need to be pedantic and condescending that you are posting on an anonymous forum about it. I get it, I do, but you should figure this out and work through it (not your feelings about the pronunciation of this particular word, but why you feel this way and what it says about you and how you get through the world).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many people say “ex-specially”?

I want someone to do a PSA or YouTube tutorial coaching people on how to break it down and say it correctly.

Eh-specially.

No X.

I wish this didn’t bother me as much as it does.

Are you racist?

?

No.

The person I constantly hear this from is my white neighbor. She’s from the Midwest and was raised in a solidly middle class/UMC suburb. Advanced degree. It’s weird that this is a mistake she constantly makes.

"So many people" then gives one safe example if a white, Midwest, middle class suburban person so we can all attack her.

Fwiw I’ve heard this mistake 3 times this week: my neighbor, my colleague, and earlier today on tv (which is what prompted me to post). All 3 are highly educated people who should know how to pronounce this word.

You have heard it three times recently because pronunciation evolves, and the pronunciation of "especially" is doing just that. Watch some of the reels/videos that are out there of ancient language specialists speaking the evolution of a particular word or phrase over hundreds or even a couple thousand years. It's interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many people say “ex-specially”?

I want someone to do a PSA or YouTube tutorial coaching people on how to break it down and say it correctly.

Eh-specially.

No X.

I wish this didn’t bother me as much as it does.

It's the same reason people say expresso. It's called epenthesis. e + /sp/ is a spicy combo that's not very common in English, so speakers will shift to /ksp/ "ex" because it's easier to say and more familiar. English is full of these...feb-yoo-ary because "br" is a more challenging cluster. We learn words by ear first and sometimes those motor patterns become automatic long before spelling enters the picture.

There is nothing *difficult* for English speakers in the the e + sp sound. It's uncommon so many people make the mistake, but it's not difficult to pronounce (unlike February).

[Anonymous]

I will axe my DH how he says eckseterra and asterik.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many people say “ex-specially”?

I want someone to do a PSA or YouTube tutorial coaching people on how to break it down and say it correctly.

Eh-specially.

No X.

I wish this didn’t bother me as much as it does.

It's the same reason people say expresso. It's called epenthesis. e + /sp/ is a spicy combo that's not very common in English, so speakers will shift to /ksp/ "ex" because it's easier to say and more familiar. English is full of these...feb-yoo-ary because "br" is a more challenging cluster. We learn words by ear first and sometimes those motor patterns become automatic long before spelling enters the picture.

There is nothing *difficult* for English speakers in the the e + sp sound. It's uncommon so many people make the mistake, but it's not difficult to pronounce (unlike February).

Disagree. It is relatively difficult. NP

[Anonymous]

The ones that drive me crazy are:

Bafroom (bathroom)

Wif (with)

Warter (water)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many people say “ex-specially”?

Don’t ax me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The ones that drive me crazy are:

Bafroom (bathroom)

Wif (with)

Warter (water)

Whom do you hang out with? Or, I should say, rather "with whom, do you hang?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I secretly find it cute when people mispronounce words like that because it is more like a dialect (like people in certain areas saying warsh instead of wash or dropping vowels) and I don't need to notify anyone else when I hear it, feel aggravated or start a thread

Op here.

Warsh doesn’t bother me.

Dialects are endearing.

But I just can’t write off “ex-specially” as a dialect.

To me it sounds like the mispronunciation of a child. We’ve all heard a 4 year old make such a mistake. It just sounds child-like more than anything else.

Ask yourself why you label some differences as dialects and some as mistakes. Is there a regional difference? Perhaps a racial or class difference? Your biases are coming out clearly in your post, even if you are blind to them.

Well said

[Anonymous]

Breffist
Birfday

[Anonymous]

asterix

[Anonymous]

Brofest

[Anonymous]

I like these regional variations. It's funny, when one PP asked about breakfast, I immediately thought of my southern in-laws who say Bre-fix. I have always thought that is super cute!

I admit I do relate to OP but it is with words like "realtor" and "nuclear." If I hear Nuke-u-lar, I immediately think of W. And Re-la-tor... I just don't get it. On an intellectual level, I get that it's the same linguistic phenomenon as our American pronunciation of "jewelry" as jew-le-ry but it's the unexpectedness of it.

Are these regional pronunciations?

[Anonymous]

Don’t be ridicilous.