19. Mispronounciation Madness- Part I (UNDOUBTEDLY and MRS.)

Hey, all of you Grammar guys and gals once again! I hope you're all enjoying yourself and becoming better speakers and users of the Southern version of the language of our ancestors every day. Keep practicing on those rules that have given you trouble and soon you'll be impressing all of your friends.

Today, we'll take a look at a few words commonly heard around Columbus County that are mispronounced much TOO MUCH! If you've never heard them mispronounced, I'm going to guess you're new to our area. Never fear, the first time will come. Let's see if we can clear up the problems with just a little effort. These are easy.

1. The first one of these words is the word "UNDOUBTEDLY".

Now as you can see, the word ends with "...eDly", not "...eBly".

Here's a common way this word is used:

"Buster undoubteBly felt sick after eating five cat head biscuits with butter and molasses."

Obviously, you can see (and I hope hear) that the word is NOT undoubteBly, but undoubteDly.

If you've ever fallen into the trap of mispronouncing this one, PUH -- LEEZE say you won't ever do it again! If a poor English teacher hears it, he or she might have a major ear shut down.

2. The second of today's commonly mispronounced words is "MRS."

Lots of folks have no problem correctly pronouncing this, which should sound like this: "MIZ - IZ", or even "MIZ" as we Southerners like to shorten it. Both are correct. Really! Some, though, pronounce "MRS." as follows:

"MIZ - RIZ."

Oh, the horror! Please remember that the "R" is silent in this word, so MIZ-RIZ is NEVER correct!!

We hear this a lot. Here's a typical sentence where this error might appear:

"George was so ugly Mrs. Jones had to borrow a baby to take to church."

We just need to remember that we are not speaking of MIZ-RIZ Jones, but MIZ - IZ Jones.

Ok, Everyone -- and I hope this is all nice and cleared up. You won't make these errors again now, will you?

Have a wonderful week and much peace and happiness to you all. I'd love to hear from you! GG