I’m a language expert and here’s how to say the famous places you’ve been pronouncing wrong
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Hear how to REALLY pronounce place names around the world: language expert reveals the correct way to pronounce these famous destinations
Mastering the correct pronunciation of places abroad can be tricky – and some destinations trip people up more than most.
Fortunately, there is help from a language expert from Babbel, a language app and online learning platform.
Babbel Live teacher Esteban Touma spoke to MailOnline Travel via Zoom to clear up confusion over some commonly mispronounced place names.
In the resulting video, Touma, who is originally from Ecuador but lives in the US and specializes in teaching Spanish, shows how certain places should and shouldn’t be pronounced.
Watch the video and scroll down to see the phonetic do’s and don’ts written out. Are you guilty of mispronouncing any of them?
Cannes, France
Don’t say “Con,” “Conz,” or “Con-es.” Do say “Can”.
Yosemite National Park, USA
Don’t say “YOH-se-might.” Do say “Yoh-SEH-muh-dee” or “Yoh-SEH-muh-tee.”
River Thames, London
Don’t say “Thaymz.” Say “Temz.”
Louvre Museum, Paris
Don’t say “LOOV,” “LOO-vray,” or “LOO-ver.” Do say “LOO-vruh”.
Versailles, France
Don’t say “Ver-SALES” or “Ver-SAY lesson.” Do say “Vair-SIGH.”
Ibiza, Spain
Don’t say “Ih-BEE-za” or “Eye-BEE-tha.” Say “Ee-BEE-tha.”
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Don’t say “Doo-BAY.” Just say “Doo-BYE.”
Seoul, South Korea
Don’t say “SEE-ole” or “See-ULE.” Do say “Sole.”
Worchester, England
Don’t say “WAR-box-er” or “WAR-cess-ter.” Do say “WUSS-tuh” or “WUSS-ter.”
Reykjavik, Iceland
Don’t say “RAKE-juh-vick.” Do say “Rake-yah-vick.”
Phuket, Thailand
Don’t say “Foo-ket.” Just say “Poe-ket.”
Yosemite National Park in the US is often mispronounced “YOH-se-might” – but it’s actually pronounced “Yoh-SEH-muh-tee”
Originally from Ecuador but based in the US, Touma specializes in teaching Spanish
Oaxaca, Mexico
Don’t say “Oh-AX-uh-cuh.” Do say “Wuh-haa-kuh.”
Budapest, Hungary
Don’t say “boo-da-plague.” Do say “Boo-da-pesht.”
Brisbane, Australia
Don’t say “Bris-bane.” Do say “Bris’bn”.
Iraq
Don’t say “Eye rack.” Just say ‘uh-touch’.
Kyiv, Ukraine
Don’t say “Kee-ev.” Do say “Kee-yiv.”
Djibouti, East Africa
Don’t say “De-ji-boo-tee.” Just say “Yes-boo-tee.”
Colombia
Don’t say “Co-luhm-bee-ah.” Do say “Co-LOHM-bee-ah.”
Sri Lanka
Don’t say “Shree-Lanka.” Say “Sree-Lanka”.