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The words we've been saying incorrectly in 2024

Sabrina Carpenter, Paris Olympic mascot, a private jet, Kamala Harris, Ncuti Gatwa. getty/BBC

You will probably have heard the names Kamala Harris and Chappell Roan a lot in 2024.

But have you been saying them correctly?

The United States Vice President and the new pop sensation are two of the names on the list of the most mispronounced words of the year.

Language learning firm Babbel reveal the list alongside captioning company The Captioning Group released a list of words news presenters, politicians and other public figures in the United States couldn't quite say accurately this year.

So how DO you say these names and the other mispronounced words?

Read on to find out.

PA Media

The Olympic mascot of the Paris Games was a phryge pronounced FREE-je. They were made to look like a Phrygian cap which was a commonly seen accessory of the French revolutionaries.

According to linguists, (people who study language and words), it is unsurprising many of the words on the list are not said correctly by English speakers in the UK and the US, because they are not English words.

Did you know, people are used to shaping their mouths in a certain way to speak their own language so it can be tricky to change those habits to say words or names in other languages.

This is why many of the words on this list are not English words. Here are some of the top ones:

  • US Vice President Kamala Harris pronounced "COM-a-la HA-rris"

  • Sabrina Carpenter's hit single Espresso is pronounced "es-PRESS-oh"

  • Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa is pronounced "n-SHOO-ti GAT-wah"

  • Singer-songwriter Chappell Roan pronounced "CHAP-uhl ROHN"

  • Spider-Man, actor Zendaya pronounced Zen-DAY-uh

  • The mascot of the Paris Olympics, Phryge pronounced FREE-je.

  • Flygskam - A Swedish term made popular by climate activist Greta Thunberg which translates to "flight shame", highlighting those who take multiple non-eco-friendly private jets, is pronounced FLEEG-skam.

But are there any words you have found tricky to pronounce? Or words you would like to know how to say?

Let us know in the comments section below and perhaps your fellow Newsround readers could help you out!