‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Slam Show Over Pronunciation Controversy
Are Jeopardy!‘s rulings on pronunciation becoming too inconsistent? That’s what some viewers think after last Thursday’s (July 18) episode when a contestant was ruled incorrect for a slight mispronunciation of the word “wagyu.”
The contestant in question was Meredith Miller, a labor economist from Arlington, Virginia, who was attempting to answer a clue under the “Some Hats, Some Cattle” category for $1,600.
The clue read, “The name of this cattle breed prized for its marbled beef literally means ‘Japanese Cow.'”
Miller buzzed in and answered, “What is Way-gu?”
Host Ken Jennings took a brief pause before responding, “Mmm, no.”
After Miller’s fellow contestants didn’t buzz in, Jennings revealed the correct answer. “So close, Meredith,” he said. “You didn’t have a ‘Y.’ Wagyu.”
This ruling dropped Miller into third place with $400, and she ultimately finished the episode in last place.
“The pronunciation of Wagyu was close call – maybe too close?” wrote one Jeopardy! viewer on X.
“Oh give it to her,” said another.
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Another added, “I can’t believe Jeopardy docked someone for pronouncing ‘wagyu’ like someone from Iowa; I would have picked up my podium.”
“Are you kidding me… No one knows how to pronounce that word and you know what she meant…” one commenter wrote.
“Hey Judges!!…Tell Ken Jennings that Meredith was right!!…it’s Wagyu and not pronounced Wygu!!!” said another.
The controversy led to a post on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum about the game show’s rules when it comes to pronunciation.
One user wrote, “The issue with the word Wagyu the other day made me think, I know Jeopardy is extremely particular about pronunciation, changing the sound in a word no matter how subtle it may be makes the difference between a correct and incorrect response. Some sounds however are similar enough that they would sound functionally identical when spoken at a normal cadence, words that end with M and with N for example.”
“Does the show encourage or require contestants to do their best to clearly enunciate syllables for this reason?” the fan continued. “I know sometimes where there is obvious ambiguity over pronunciation, the host will ask the contestant to repeat themselves, but would it be more beneficial for a contestant to not enunciate so clearly? I don’t mean you should give each response as though you have marbles in your mouth, but speak clearly enough so that your response is understood but not so clearly that the judges can distinguish the difference between what sounds you are speaking?”
According to former contestant and fan favorite Luigi de Guzman, “In the morning rules briefing, they say something like if you make a good faith effort to pronounce it as it looks like it would sound from how it reads, you should be OK.”
One commenter replied, “Remember when Austin Rogers responded as SHERBERT but Alex [Trebek] ruled him incorrect. I know there is no second R but I’m with Austin: That’s how we say it in the South. But toe-may-toe v toe-mah-toe IS just regional pronunciation differences.”
“Wagyu was a tough one,” added another. “As a barbecue hobbyist, I hear the word a lot and almost everyone falls into either the ‘wagoo’ or ‘way-goo’ trap. It’s one of those words that seems to have developed a few different regional pronunciation variations, and if you live in a certain area, the only way you might ever hear it is the “wrong” way.”
Miller herself responded to the thread, writing, I’ve only ever heard it pronounced the way I said it, born and raised in the DC area… Spelling it, knew it was ‘wagyu’, always heard it pronounced “way-goo”. Obviously now I know how to pronounce it and will do so moving forward.”
This isn’t the first time Jeopardy! has been hit with a mispronunciation controversy. Earlier this month, there was a debate after a contestant was deemed correct for a common mispronunciation of the word “larynx.” And last May, all three contestants were ruled incorrect for not pronouncing Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s name correctly.
What do you think about Jeopardy!‘s rulings on mispronunciations? Should the show give more leeway? Let us know in the comments below.
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Comments are closed on this story.
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I have a solution. Stop using answers where you know there is going to be a problem, either over pronunciation or whatever. Millions and millions of possible answers and Jeopardy has to make everything so confusing and pick those kinds of answers. No wonder so many contestants get knocked out of possibly winning a round.
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Many people learn from reading, may never actually heard the words said.
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Pronunciation of words is a difficult subject indeed. I would hate to be a judge in that respect.
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Another situation that bothered me was an answer given during Final Jeopardy. The correct answer was " Berry Gordy" , but the contestant spelled it "Barry". The judges ruled against her saying there could be another Barry Gordy. Thought that was silly reasoning, especially since some answers you can barely read.
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I think spelling it would be a good backup.
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I think they should give more leeway on pronunciation - regardless of whether you are a champion or not. They seem to give champs a break more than new contestants. Example: Issac Hirsch answered “what is Astro Zeneca” for one of his answers. KJ asked him to repeat his answer and he then said “what is Astra Zeneca” and was given credit for it. But then regular contestants lose out on words like “waygu”. It’s really not fair.
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Ken may be the "G.O.A.T. at JEOPARDY!, but he can still be wrong!For example: ONE of my own "pet peeves" is mispronounced words, such as Poinsettia ! Recently Ken did NOT penalize the contestant for pronouncing it Poinsetta > WITHOUT SECOND "I" !!This faux pas seems to happen frequently !One last tip for KEN : LIGHTEN-UP !!(you're taking some of the class out of the game!).
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I was taken back by the Waygu ruling. The larynx, (which was pronounced larnyx), ruling which was generous is how it should be.
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Sometimes the ruling seems unfair, as IK think it was this time. Especially as local pronunciations may vary.When in doubt ask for the spelling.Though I think that any of the contestants would have had a hard time with the spelling of Solzhenitsyn
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In reading these comments on yet another Ken Jennings blunder, I reflect on the notion you never had this type of backlash when Alex was here. Jennings snaps at contestants every episode. He is degrading in near all his side comments, not with the goal of supporting the contestants, but steadfastly spatting commentary meant to ridicule. I can barely watch this show after never missing a broadcast before the Jenning’s ego arrived. How long is his contract? Jeopardy producers can do so so much better. Kevin A. York, PA.
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This makes me crazy. Especially when the Jeopardy crew themselves don't seem to know how to say the word, "orangutan ". I've seen them rule contestants correct when they have added a "g" to the end of "orangutan ". That is incorrect yet they constantly accept it as a correct answer. This inconsistency makes me nuts! There's no g at the end of orangutan folks. Somebody tell the Jeopardy folks! They don't seem to respond to my emails.
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Oh yeah, and it’s not marscapone or chipoltee
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In the case of wagyu, I agree that Ken should have accepted the slight mispronunciation. However, overall I find he gives more leeway about minor errors in wording and pronunciation than his predecessor. Much as I respected Alex, he came across as a bit pedantic at times. It was especially noticeable when he would correct contestants on their pronunciation of foreign words, particularly in French and Spanish. I believe he was fluent in both and liked to make a show of it by telling us how to say the word, compete with an affected accent.
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Contestants should be allowed to spell the word as well as say it. If either is correct, they get it right. They're are just too many variations of pronunciation.
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She was incorrect.
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Just the other day I heard Ken Jennings himself mispronounce xiphoid process!
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Funny that there was no uproar a few years ago when a contestant was penalized for saying "Gangster's Paradise" instead of "Gangsta's Paradise" in reference to the Coolio song. People seemed to collectively feel he needed to pay more attention to detail when that is purely an accent issue, not a pronunciation issue. This is evident in the fact that if races had been reversed, and the person speaking AAVE had pronounced "Gangster" as "Gangsta" he would not have been penalized. The same goes for any non-rhotic speaker who omits an "R" sound.
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You should put that pet peeve out to pasture, because BOTH pronunciations are correct.
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I have quit watching Jepardy, one of my favorite television programs (and the auxillary programs that are on all networks) because Ken Jennings and his conceited, condescending attitude.
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It seems ever since Ken took over there have been way too many of these instances. Sure, there was also the occasional one with Alex but no where near the amount since his death.Truth be told I was never in favor of Ken taking over. I actually like Mayim better and the producer who got fired for something he said 20 years ago. The world is totally upside down.
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And I just found out the sherbert I've been enjoying all these years is actually sherbet.wonder if. My stomach knew the difference
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I would have guessed Kobe so I wasn't even in the ballpark
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