Cacoepist

/kækoʊˈɛpɪst/ noun

Definition

A person who speaks or pronounces words incorrectly or badly.

Etymology

From Greek kakos (bad) and epos (word, speech), with the agent suffix -ist. The word emerged in English linguistics to describe those with poor pronunciation or speech habits.

Kelly Says

Before modern speech therapy, 'cacoepist' was the term scholars used to describe anyone who mangled language—today we'd just say they have an accent or speech impediment, but this word reminds us that 'bad speech' is a judgment call.

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