The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations: The Complete Opinionated Guide for the Careful Speaker Paperback – February 22, 2006

I love this book. If you're looking to end an argument about punctuation (or start one) or for some linguistically fascinating reading this book is tops. I would like to give it 5 stars but it just doesn't contain some words that would seen obvious to myself and others. Still a great book to gift certain people.*update*Some people seem to be complaining about the pronunciations he suggests for words that are not American English. Like Newfoundland. He gives the American English pronunciation. In one of his books he explains that his view is when in America, use American pronunciation. He doesn't have a problem with people using other pronunciations this is just his opinion. Like ahn-velope instead of in-velope. One is based on the original French pronunciation. I suppose that it should be expected that pronunciation sticklers would find something to complain about in a book about pronunciation.

You'd be surprised at how many words you could be mispronouncing. Highly recommended for everyone, but especially those who speak for a living (actors, voice actors, public speakers, etc.) Be educated and be better.

If you care about how you sound and the way you come across to other people, you'll want this book. It's a reference you'll want in whatever room you're in. You'll discover everyday words that are being mispronounced by newscasters and, more likely, by you. At least I did. And I'm a writer who prides herself on knowing words well! This book is for the American. It gives American pronounciation that is accepted by the educated class. It disdains words that are used for effect. And if a word is right in the UK but not America it will tell you so. Words like Missouri, Vase, the days of the week, yesterday, rather, begin and hundreds more are explained. You will learn the background on the usage. You will learn how to correctly pronounce February. Now that's a challenge! This is a terrific book and I highly recommend it. If I could give it more than five stars I would! Buy it!!

I'm a stickler for accurate pronunciation. I cringe at mispronounced words, and I will (gently) correct those who are around me when something grates on my ear. I have found this book to be a great arbiter of what is and is not standard American pronunciation. If people don't believe me, I use this book to buttress my case. I respect the author's views so much that on the (rare) occasion when I am wrong, I will change my position. Obviously, not everyone will agree with the author and pronunciation and usage do gradually shift over time. That having been said, this is one of the easiest and most interesting of the many books on the subject to read.

I bought one for myself and later bought this one as a gift for my sister-in-law. This book is very funny and is great entertainment for people who like language or literature. It is a perfect gift for someone who likes to speak well or even someone who speaks publicly alot like a teacher, professor, trainer, doctor, nurse, manager, pilot, principal, courier, taxi driver, etc. It's a great addition to anyone's library and would be perfect for home-schoolers. There have been many studies that show those who speak well are more successful in life. That means you need to have a great vocabulary and pronounce your great vocaulary correctly! If you want to get ahead, you have to speak well. This book is helpful in that respect.

This is a compact easy to use book which can be used to settle many an argument. In many instances however it has the capacity to shake the reader's self confidence badly when it upsets his/her habits of many years. Then of course there are the odd pronunciations used by United States dwellers that are quite foreign to those of us in the Antipodes. This is what makes life interesting of course, and I would certainly recommend this little volume which is guaranteed to provide much browsing pleasure.

This is a great source for discovering the proper pronunciation of popular words in the English language. Many people don't realize they are pronouncing some words incorrectly. If you enjoy language and are a person who attends to fine details when it comes to the contemporary use of language, you will enjoy this source.As a curious person who enjoys language, I found this book enlightening.

Written with total snobbery and inconsistency (e.g. arguing for preserving a foreign pronunciation in some places but not in others), but still a fantastic resource. He does an excellent job of offering info from a variety of sources.

Prompt service. Really pleased with my purchase.