<p>A recent study has identified some words that are commonly mispronounced’ and some of the ‘most irritating’.<br>In a study of 2000 participants by Perspectus Global, 35 per cent said that using ‘pacifically’ instead of specifically’ was the most annoying verbal error. <br>‘Expresso’ and ‘espresso’, ‘nucular’ and ‘nuclear’ and ‘Artic’ and ‘Arctic’ were all deemed some of the most annoying. Sixty-one per cent said they found it irritating when people mispronounced words. But only 35 per cent said they would correct a friend and 65 per cent would be too embarrassed. Twenty-five per cent said they had argued with friends, colleagues, or family members over the correct pronunciation. Just 10 per cent of people said they would be happy to correct a stranger.<br>Dr Alex Baratta, a senior linguistics lecturer at Manchester University, said: “In some cases, a word may change its pronunciation, or end up with two existing pronunciations, based on what might have started out as an error.</p>
