Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher among holiday hotspots that tourists mispronounce

The popular Clare destination has just been named on a map of place names that people always pronounce wrong - alongside Montreal, Phuket, and Dubai.

The language learning platform Preply used Google search data to reveal a list of the most mispronounced places on the planet, analysing 68 different holiday hotspots in the study.

Amy Pritchett, Learning Success Manager at Preply, said: “There's nothing more embarrassing than arriving at a new holiday destination and mispronouncing its name in front of a local—especially if you butcher the regional accent.

"To avoid that awkward encounter, we've researched the most commonly mispronounced places, so you never have to worry about these tongue twisters again.

“When you learn to say these place names correctly, I encourage you to sound like a native—or at least a savvy tourist.”

The study concluded that most people incorrectly pronounce the Cliffs of Moher as the phonetic “Mohair”, when it should sound more like “More”.

“Cliffs of Mower? Cliffs of Mohair? Cliffs of More? The Cliffs of Moher are pronounced “more” you don't say the “h,” a bit like “mower” without the strong “w” sound,” Preply added.

Topping the list as the most mispronounced place in the world is Cannes in France.

Many tourists make the mistake of enunciating the “s” at the end of the word, which is rarely done in French.

In second places is the River Thames in London, which is often mispronounced as “Thaymz” when it should sound more like “Temz”.

Preply said: “Historians believe that King George I of Great Britain, who was the first to rule from a royal house of German origin (The House of Hanover), was unable to make the “th” sound in “Thames” and instead pronounced it as “Temmes.”

“No one was willing to correct the king, so it has been called the River “Temz” ever since.”

Other tourist hotpots on the list include Laos, the Louvre in Paris, Ibiza, and Yosemite National Park in California.