Pronunciation Poise: Comptroller
The word "comptroller" means someone who audits accounts and supervises finances, and it possibly has the trickiest pronunciation in English. Think you know how to say it?
What's the traditionally correct way to pronounce "comptroller"?
kun-troll-ur
kump-troll-ur
komp-troll-ur
komp-trawl-ur
And the correct answer is the first one, "kun-troll-ur." The confusing spelling originated from 15th century scholars who tried to respell French loanwords with purer Latin words. As a result of a mistaken association between "cont" and the etymologically unrelated word "count," which was sometimes spelled "compte" in Middle English, "comptroller" was created. Historically, "comptroller" was pronounced just like "controller," but as more people began to read, they saw the letters "mp" and started pronouncing them. Consequently, komp-troll-ur" has now become the most common pronunciation, but "kun-troll-ur" is not incorrect and is still considered the traditionally correct pronunciation.