Quote:
Originally Posted by j4mes_bond25 If a person learns a word incorrectly, then says it wrong for decades, is it impossible to train the brain or tongue to pronounce the word right? |
Yes, this does influence someone's pronunciation. I've got the same problem, actually, with pronouncing
character. For some reason I still say
tʃærəktər instead of kærəktər and the English teacher I had three years back taught me how to pronounce it... It's automatism, probably. When you get used to something it's hard to let it go, especially when you don't have time to think (i.e. while speaking).
Another explanation might be the accent. Sometimes it's hard for people from a particular area to pronounce something the way it should be pronounced, just because it has never been pronounced like that in their area or by their ancestors. I remember something from the Billy Elliot musical: the actors have to fake a Geordie accent and are taught to say
somthin' instead of
something. It's just... normal, in some areas, to mispronounce words.