‘Yosemite’ is apparently one of the most mispronounced tourist destinations on the planet.
It joins other oft-mispronounced places like Phuket and Ibiza, according to language learning platform Preply.
Preply has crunched the Google search data numbers to reveal a list of the top place pronounciation errors.
How to pronounce your favorite vacation hotspot is more complicated than it should be.
US national park Yosemite was named on a map of place names that people always pronounce wrong.
- Yosemite National Park, US
Correct: yoh-SEH-muh-dee / yoh-SEH-muh-tee
Incorrect: yoh-SEH-mi-nee or YOH-se-might
- Edinburgh, Scotland
Correct: ed-in-bruh / ed-in-buh-ruh
Incorrect: ED-in-berg or ED-in-buh-row
- Cannes, France
Correct: KAN
Incorrect: CON / CONZ
- River Thames, England
Correct: TEMZ
Incorrect: THAYMZ
- Louvre Museum, Paris, France
Correct: LOO-vruh
Incorrect: LOOV or
- Versailles, France
Correct: vair-SIGH
Incorrect: ver-SALES or ver-SAY-les
However, if you ever end up in Versailles, Kentucky, stick with ver-SALES.
- Seychelles, East Africa
Correct: SAY-shellz
Incorrect: say-CHE-les
- Ibiza, Spain
Correct: ee-BEE-tha
Incorrect: ih-BEE-za
- Phuket, Thailand
Correct: poo-KET
Incorrect: FUE-ket
This name still gets giggles from school kids and mischievous adults.
- Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda
Correct: an-TEE-guh
Incorrect: an-TEE-gwah
- Dubai, UAE
Correct: doo-BAY
Incorrect: doo-BYE
Amy Pritchett, Learning Success Manager at Preply, said: “There’s nothing more embarrassing than arriving at a new vacation destination and mispronouncing its name in front of a local—especially if you butcher the regional accent.”
“When you learn to say these place names correctly, I encourage you to sound like a native—or at least a savvy tourist.”
