I’m a language expert and here’s how to say the famous places you’ve been pronouncing wrong

Mastering the correct pronunciation of places abroad can be tricky – and some destinations trip people up more than most.

Thankfully, help is at hand from a language expert from Babbel, a language app and online learning platform.

Babbel Live teacher Esteban Touma spoke to clear up confusion over some commonly mispronounced place-names.

In the resulting video, Touma, who is from Ecuador originally but is based in the U.S and specialises in teaching Spanish, can be seen breaking down just 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 ‘Kan’.

Yosemite National Park, the U.S

Don’t say ‘YOH-se-might’. Do say ‘Yoh-SEH-muh-dee’ or ‘Yoh-SEH-muh-tee’.

River Thames, London

Don’t say ‘Thaymz’. Do 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-les’. Do say ‘Vair-SIGH’.

Ibiza, Spain

Don’t say ‘Ih-BEE-za’ or ‘Eye-BEE-tha’. Do say ‘Ee-BEE-tha’.

Dubai, UAE

Don’t say ‘Doo-BAY’. Do say ‘Doo-BYE’.

Seoul, South Korea

Don’t say ‘SEE-ole’ or ‘See-ULE’. Do say ‘Sole’.

Worcester, England

Don’t say ‘WAR-chest-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’. Do say ‘Poo-ket’.

Yosemite National Park in the U.S is often mispronounced as ‘YOH-se-might’ – but it’s actually pronounced ‘Yoh-SEH-muh-tee’

Touma, who is from Ecuador originally but is based in the U.S, specialises in teaching Spanish

Oaxaca, Mexico

Don’t say ‘Oh-AX-uh-cuh’. Do say ‘Wuh-haa-kuh’.

Budapest, Hungary

Don’t say ‘Boo-da-pest’. Do say ‘Boo-da-pesht’.

Brisbane, Australia

Don’t say ‘Bris-bane’. Do say ‘Bris’bn’.

Iraq

Don’t say ‘Eye-rack’. Do say ‘uh-raak’.

Kyiv, Ukraine

Don’t say ‘Kee-ev’. Do say ‘Kee-yiv’.

Djibouti, East Africa

Don’t say ‘De-ji-boo-tee’. Do say ‘Ja-boo-tee’.

Colombia

Don’t say ‘Co-luhm-bee-ah’. Do say ‘Co-LOHM-bee-ah’.

Sri Lanka

Don’t say ‘Shree-Lanka’. Do say ‘Sree-Lanka’.