A frustrated boyfriend is sick of his girlfriend’s ‘quirky’ habit that sends him up the wall.
The man, 26, has been dating his 24-year-old girlfriend for just over a year and says they’re otherwise a perfect match.
But one thing is pushing him to the brink: her refusal to pronounce common words correctly, despite his repeated attempts to correct her.
‘It’s not like she’s joking or trying to be funny. She genuinely thinks she’s saying them correctly,’ he wrote on Reddit.
‘I’ve tried correcting her so many times, but it’s like it goes in one ear and out the other. Within minutes, she’ll go back to saying the wrong version again.’
While some people might let a little mispronunciation slide, he says the issue has become ‘unbearable’ because she repeatedly butchers even the simplest of words.
‘She says ‘Chick-fil-ee’ instead of ‘Chick-fil-A’, ‘liberry’ instead of ‘library’, and ‘cipatol’ instead of ‘capitol’.’
He added, ‘She always says words wrong, mixing up letters or replacing vowels with other sounds because she likes them better that way.
‘Sometimes it’s the same word, other times it feels like she just decides she doesn’t like how a particular word sounds on a particular day.
A frustrated boyfriend is sick of his girlfriend’s ‘quirky’ habit that sends him up the wall
But what really grinds his gears is when she mispronounces things that matter to him personally – like his hometown.
‘We’re in ‘Chiago’ instead of Chicago, where I grew up, visiting my family right now. It’s like she doesn’t even care,’ he fumed.
To make things worse, his girlfriend is a highly educated woman studying for her master’s degree while holding down a job.
‘I don’t think it’s a learning thing, either. She doesn’t have dyslexia or any speech issues; she’s just lazy about it, at least that’s how it feels to me.
‘She’s very smart, so I don’t get why this is so hard,’ he explained.
During their trip to Chicago for New Year’s, the girlfriend once again mispronounced the city’s name – this time in front of his family.
Later, she did the same thing with his favourite restaurant, and he finally snapped.
‘I lost my cool. I told her it’s frustrating that she can’t even try to get it right, especially when it’s stuff that matters to me. I know I probably sounded harsh, but I was just so angry.’
To make things worse, his girlfriend is a highly educated woman studying for her master’s degree while holding down a job
Now, his girlfriend is barely speaking to him, glued to her phone instead, and the man is second-guessing whether he overreacted.
‘I feel like a jerk because when we talk, it’s like I’m scolding a little kid – not a 24-year-old woman who should know how to pronounce simple stuff by now.’
Many shared their views on the matter online.
‘You weren’t wrong for correcting her pronunciation the first time. Maybe not even the second time.
‘You are wrong now because you kept picking and picking and picking at her, even after it became clear that she wasn’t interested in your help,’ one said.
‘If you don’t like how she talks, let her go so she can find someone who does,’ another added.
‘Why would anyone care that much about it? Also, so what if it isn’t intentional? Not everyone is going to pronounce words by the book,’ a woman echoed.
‘She’s doing this for attention,’ a man theorised.
A commenter said, ‘This would drive me nuts. As you said, she’s not stupid, but apparently has no issue looking that way, especially in front of family.’
