How do you pronounce embarbussament? And xiuxiuejar? We have taken to the streets in search of the word that Catalans find most difficult to pronounce in Catalan and these have been 2 of the words that have quickly come to mind of many Catalans.
Yes, xiuxiuejar (whisper) and embarbussament (tongue twister) can be difficult to pronounce because of the combination of sounds and the succession of complex syllables. In fact, tongue twisters in Catalan take advantage of many of these combinations, such as: “Setze jutges d’un jutjat mengen fetge d’un penjat”.
But, on this basis, we have gone a step further and asked an Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT, based on this combination, which other words would be difficult to pronounce in Catalan. This is the short list it has provided us with, where none of them detracts from the other.
- Xerraire – (talkative) – because of the initial x and the strong r.
- Trinxeraire – (vandal or rebel) – because of the mixture of tr and x.
- Espiriflant – (very elegant or presumptuous) – by the combination of spir and fl.
- Escarrassadament – (with much effort) – because of its length and complex structure.
- Desvergonyidament – (shamelessly) – for the combination of ny and dament.
- Aixafaterrossos – (clumsy or clumsy person) – because of the x and the mixture of unusual syllables.
- Grapalludejar – (to grope clumsily) – because of the sequence llud.
And you, what other words do you have trouble pronouncing in Catalan? Leave them in comments.