Over my voiceover career I’ve run across variations of pronunciations that are sometimes unique to areas of the country. As an example, I have pronounced the word, “ROOFING” as “Ruffing”. I’m sure you’d say, “No, no, no…it’s “ROO (long O) FING”. A word like that, I get. Or “ROUTE 66” is said two ways, “ROOT 66” or “ROUT 66” (Like “about”). Or “DATA” as DAY-TA or DAD-DUH.
However, there are several words I hear over and over again that I feel are just voiced improperly. Like OFTEN. The “T” is silent. You wouldn’t say SOFTEN. (pronounce the “T”) It’s properly spoken, “OFF-EN” Or how about, INTERESTED. It should be spoken as a 3-syllable word. IN-TRESS-TED. Not, IN-TER-EST-ED. Granted it may be subjective to you, but how many times have you heard the state Illinois voiced as, ILL-IN-OYE’s, instead of ILL-IN-OYE? There are so many of these words that I, as a voice actor, must say properly for not only the area, but the industry.
What words have you run into like these?