From Zohran Mamdani's electoral victory to the drama of the Louvre jewel theft, staying abreast of this year's headlines has left many Americans grappling with tricky pronunciations. Both the name of New York City's future mayor and the renowned Parisian gallery feature on a catalogue of 2025's most butchered words.
Language education firm Babbel, alongside closed-captioning specialists The Captioning Group, unveiled their compilation of terms that proved most challenging for American news presenters, political figures and public personalities throughout the year. The list provides insight into the individuals and subjects that captured the nation's attention.
As Mamdani climbed the political ladder, the democratic socialist's surname frequently fell victim to verbal mishaps. When he assumes office in January, the 34-year-old will make history as the city's first Muslim mayor, first African-born leader and first of South Asian descent. According to Babbel, his name – correctly articulated as zoh-RAHN mam-DAH-nee – was typically botched when speakers mixed up the 'M' and 'N' in his surname. Mamdani has expressed tolerance for genuine attempts but takes issue with deliberate mispronunciations.
The theft of France's crown jewels from the Louvre in October left many people stumbling over the pronunciation of the world's most-visited museum. Babbel reveals the correct pronunciation is LOOV-ruh, with a particularly gentle emphasis on the 'ruh', which can prove tricky for English speakers. 'A lot of these words come from different languages, and so we have to adapt to a sound that we've never made before,' explained Esteban Touma, a linguistic and cultural expert at Babbel.
Other words on the US list include Acetaminophen (uh-SEE-tuh-MIH-nuh-fen), Alex Murdaugh (AL-ick MUR-dock), and Mounjaro (mown-JAHR-OH). Several words on the US list, including Louvre and Mounjaro, also made the UK list, compiled by Babbel in collaboration with the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters. Storm Éowyn, which wreaked havoc across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland in January, landed on the UK list, with the correct pronunciation being ay-OH-win.
