Name: Omicron. Age: The new and potentially more virulent Covid-19 variant was first detected in South Africa at the end of November. Young, then. Omicron, right? Right, but why are you saying it like that: OM-i-cron? Because that’s how it’s written. Is it wrong? Well, there’s some debate about it. One thing for certain is that it’s among 2021’s most commonly mispronounced words. The US Captioning Company, which provides subtitles, has identified the words and names that have proved hardest for newsreaders and other people on TV to pronounce. And how are they saying “Omicron” should be pronounced? The language app Babbel has provided what it says are correct pronunciations, and it is saying: “OH-mee-kraan” or: “AH-muh-kraan”, depending on whether you’re from the UK or the US. Really? My old Collins Dictionary says it should be “əˈmaikrən”, which, if you’re not familiar with the phonetic alphabet, is (a bit) more like: “er-MAI-krern”. Like I said, it’s contentious. And, more importantly, contagious. Exactly, I’ve been saying it like “Oh my God”, but “Oh my Cron”, because I’m scared it’s coming for me. Go on then, what else is on the list? Billie Eilish – pronounced “EYE-lish” – you knew that, but not everyone on American TV did. And Glasgow, which they say is pronounced: “GLAHZ-go”. Unless you actually come from Glasgow, of course. Well, quite. Then it gets a bit trickier. Stefanos Tsitsipas (STEH-fuh-nohs TSEE-tsee-pas), has caused problems for tennis commentators as well as opponents. Then there’s dogecoin (DOHJ-coin), the cryptocurrency favoured by Elon Musk. And cheugy (CHOO-gee) … Cheugy? What’s a cheugy? You’re a cheugy, look it up. Last year’s list included the infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci (FOW-chee) and the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, which Babbel said was pronounced: “CAW-ma-la HAIR-iss”. CAW-ma-la? Sounds like a parrot. To be fair, she doesn’t agree, says it’s more like “KAH-ma-la”. And obviously if she was actually from Harris, in Scotland, she wouldn’t say “HAIR-iss”. People get cross about (mis)pronunciation, no? Yes. Another survey this year, by the agency Perspectus Global, found that “specifically” and “probably” are two of the most annoying mispronounced words. I’m finding the word Perspectus quite annoying. But in which annoying way do people mispronounce “specifically” and “probably”? “Pacifically” and “probly”, two syllables. Also “expresso” for “espresso” and “artic” for “arctic”. Unless they mean artic, of course. What does artic mean? An artic is a kind of lorry. Short for articulated. Do say: “Former culture secretary Jeremy HUNT.” It has proved a tricky one for British newsreaders, though there is probably (three syllables) other stuff going on there. Don’t say: “It’s all Greek to me.”