These are mainly words that are borrowed from other languages, but are now commonly used in American English. The problem is when you just say these words without remotely even trying to pronounce them correctly, you sound ignorant and uncultured, but when you take a stab at the actual pronunciation, you sound overwhelmingly pompous.
The best example of this is the word milieu.
Seriously, try using it in conversation today. It is impossible to say it without sounding like Alex Trebek. And let's be real, every time Trebek makes is a point to say some word on Jeopardy with "correct pronunciation and inflection," I call him names. Intelligent-sounding names, but not nice ones. Because he sounds like a bombastic dweeb and nothing deserves name-calling more.
The problem is, I like the word milieu and I'm going to keep using it even though I'll probably giggle a little every time I do. It's just how I roll.
Yeah, this is the kind of blog post you get a 2:45 in the morning. I'll come up with something with social significance in the daylight.
Goodnight.
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