Why can’t people pronounce “especially”?

[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.

[Anonymous]

I say Especially close to “ex-specially” I blame it on the 90s Nickelodeon casts.

Breakfast is - breck-fuss-t ..add a hard t

[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.

Are you racist?

NP. White people say this.

Also say impor-ant. Moun-uhn. Foun-uhn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because some people have difficulty with it. Like ask, library, and breakfast.

It's not like they're saying a totally different, unrecognizable word. You know what they are saying and you're choosing to get huffy about it. Chill.

Wait, how do people say "breakfast"?

Breffus, yo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say Especially close to “ex-specially” I blame it on the 90s Nickelodeon casts.

Breakfast is - breck-fuss-t ..add a hard t

I usually don't say it with three syllables, but ok.

[Anonymous]

This bothers me too. It’s manly heard from people who grew up lower class.