English in a job interview - pronunciation and consistency

English is one of the most popular foreign languages we learn. It is difficult to do without it working in COMPANIES related to IT, or on vacation. Wherever we need it, it’s hard to disagree with the fact that it’s better to own it well than to do so. This series of articles is created to introduce you to the most popular language errors heard in interviews and daily work. In this article, we will see how important the consistency of the language used is and how good our pronunciation is. Please note that I am writing this from the perspective of an active programmer, not a language expert, so any additional comments or examples in the comments are welcome. I also encourage you to read the previous and next article in this series.
Well, here we go!

 

Consistency

When learning English, we should choose one of the leading routes: either we focus on the British or American varieties. Personally, I prefer the latter option. Mixing these two varieties is not a glaring mistake, but with english knowledge at a certain declared level, it is fitting to continue to learn the pronunciation and spelling of one of these two leading varieties of English. Although consistency in this matter seems trivial and seemingly unnecessary, in my opinion a variation of language should be presented in the coding guidelines for your project. There is nothing worse than a class with two methods:

Color getColour();
void setColor(Color colour);

Just remember to define color values accordingly later. The following are the correct values:

setColour( Colour.Grey );
setColor( Color.Gray );

And that’s just one of the differences that sometimes occur in your code.

 

Pronunciation

English, unlike Polish (with minor exceptions), has no close link between how a word is written and how it is pronounced. This depends on many factors. Among other things, the origin of a word or its evolution. An example of this is the pronunciation of the sound „i”. All of the following words, Each, Need, and Very, contain the sound represented by the letter „i”, but this is not directly suggested. The pronunciation of words in English must unfortunately simply be learned. Below you will find some examples of mis pronunciation, which is sometimes heard in meetings with the client, interviews or even in everyday work. In this section, let me write down baaardzo approximate pronunciation using <> . This is only intended to make a difference in the pronunciation of individual words. For the correct pronunciation, click the word that you want. This will open the pronunciation page in the new 🙂

A little more technical:

1. Scheduler – we start with an example of how choosing an English language variant matters. The pronunciation of this word drastically depends on the language variant you choose. I recommend you just open its pronunciation and listen to both versions.
2. Optimization – here, too, there are minor differences depending on the chosen variant of the English language, but they are not so clear. Either way – <optimizejszyn>and not <optymalizejszyn>.</optymalizejszyn> </optimizejszyn>
3. Tear is very often confused in pronunciation with the word tear. No wonder, since seemingly these two words are identical. It should be remembered, however, that the word tear we read <tir>and the word tear: <ter>.</ter> </tir> Keep this in mind the next time you write automated tests.
4. The debugger <dibager>reads, as in the attached pronunciation.</dibager> We don’t say that <debadżer>word.</debadżer>
5. Breakpoint – we <brejkpoint>read, not <brekpoint>.</brekpoint> </brejkpoint>
6. Mutable – that is, simply variable. This is a keyword found in some programming languages. We read it simply <mjutybol>
7. Label – we <lejbel>read , not or <label>whatever.</label> </lejbel>
8. Queue – the word puzzle. We have already heard many versions, including <kłełe>i <kjuju>.</kjuju> </kłełe> We read this word simply <kju>.</kju> Same as the letter „q”.
9. Deque – that is, double ended queue we read the same as the word Deck – that <dek>is, simply , and not <dekju>for example.</dekju> </dek>
10. Query – in English query, or query. We do not read this <kwery>word, a <kueri>.</kueri> </kwery>

A little less technical:

1. Be careful when you ask for a kola-flavoured drink in English. Coke is easy to pronounce with something you wouldn’t want to ask for while in a roadside bar in Mexico. For example, Cock (cock).
2. The word Ultimate is almost always read incorrectly. Why? Most of us say this <altimejt>word.</altimejt> This form is incorrect because the word belongs to a group of words for which the ending in the <mejt> pronunciation has been reserved for verbs.</mejt> An example of this is the word Estimate, for which the <mejt>ending in the pronunciation is used only in the verb – this estimate reads <tu estimejt=””>.</tu> </mejt> The rest of the forms we read with a <met> short at the end.</met> Please the rule applies to the word ultimate. Just the word does not appear in the verb. So when we read them with a <mejt> tip, we use a word that simply doesn’t exist.</mejt> The correct pronunciation is <altimet>.</altimet>
3. Fallout – that is, radioactive fallout we read basically as if the vowels „a” and „o” turned into places, and so <folaut>.</folaut>
4. Can’t/Count – The difference in pronunciation between these two words is particularly audible in the American english language.
5. Want/Won’t – with the first one, want it, we don’t have any problems. The second, a form shortened from will not, reads <łant>not like the first, but with such <łąt>a deep „a”.</łąt> </łant>
6. Basic/Basically – in both of these words you will most often hear „z”, which there in pronunciation should not be. The words read sequentially <bejsik>and <bejsikli>.</bejsikli> </bejsik> Just like that 😉
7. Island – I encourage you to listen to the pronunciation. This word should be <ajlend>read.</ajlend>

As you can see, it’s not just exotic words that we can say wrong. Often, even the most popular ones cause us a problem that is hard to notice, because quite a few people do not attach too much importance to the correct pronunciation. It’s also easier for me to sometimes say „like everyone else”, but it’s good to know how to do it correctly if any of us were lucky enough to work with native speakers 🙂

I made a mistake! What do I do? How to live?

First of all, do not panic, and try to fix it. I hope this article has made you pay more attention to consistency in the use of English. If he also allowed you to correct the pronunciation of at least one of the words we’ve touched on here, his mission has been accomplished.

Or do you know any additional incorrectly pronounced words? Send them to us. We are happy to add them to our collection. Also, remember that it’s not about being super correct in pronunciation. We will never match the pronunciation of a person for whom English is their mother tongue, but by pronouncing them a little more correctly we reduce the chance of misunderstanding. Well, we’ll fall out more pro on the conversation!