This week's programme looks at the results of a recent survey in which 3,000 British people were asked to pronounce some of the most difficult words in the English language. Yvonne and Callum try their luck at pronouncing a few of those words and achieve some rather funny results!

This week's question: How many sounds do experts say we need to be able to pronounce so that we can speak English clearly?

a) 44
b) 104
c) 400

Listen out for the answer to this question at the end of the programme!

Listen
	Problem pronunciation

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Vocabulary from the programme

pronunciation
the way a word, name or phrase in a language is said

mispronunciation
when a word, name or phrase in a language is not said correctly

statistics
facts which are found by carefully looking at information that's shown in numbers

Example:
Statistics show that 43% of those people questioned often correct other people when they mispronounce a word.

ethnicity
the type of race or cultural background someone comes from

Example:
All applicants will be considered for the job, regardless of ethnicity.

troublesome
something or someone that causes problems or difficulties

a phenomenon
something that is seen to exist or can be experienced as it's happening; can also be used to describe a person with extraordinarily great, good and unusual qualities

an anaesthetist
a doctor whose job it is to put people to sleep by using medication before an operation or surgery so that it is painless

remuneration
a payment for the work someone has done

tongue-tied
someone who is unable to speak properly because they are nervous

---

Extras
Download this programme (mp3 - 2.9 MB)
Programme script (pdf - 27 K)

Related Links

Pronunciation tips (BBC Learning English)
Why 'phenonemon' is the most troublesome word*

*The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites