A part of learning..... totally embarrased

Correct Pronunciation

I wince each time I hear English words being incorrectly pronounced. But I have accidently pronounced Pontellier as "PON TE LIAR".... during my class ....arghhh I am so embarrassed. Not just once but more than twice untill my tutor couldnt take it anymore... She laughed to her heart content... May be this what people used to say...making a mistake is a part of learning.

I am not ashamed to say that I correct my students each time they make such mistakes, so much so that they become very aware of the importance of correct pronunciation.

This morning , my friend at school asked me, "How do you pronounce QUIXOTE?"

I remember those days when I was young, I pronounced it as kuizot. That's typical of me, then I also pronounce "debut" as dibat, actually its pronounced as day beu.

So I told my her , its pronounced as key ho tay.

QUIXOTE is a name of a person, but now has become an english word QUIXOTIC pronounced as key sot tik.

QUIXOTIC means extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable. (Source: The Random House College Dictionary)

Some teachers at my school, have "sambil lewa' attitude towards pronunciation. They couldn't care less whether they got it right or not. This should not be the case. If in doubt - ask. never be too proud to ask.

Silent alphabets are the culprit most times, for example SUBTLE.. I have heard many people pronouncing the silent "b" far too often. Foreign words assimilated into English also can play havoc with one's pronounciation. They may be part of the English language, but they still maintain their originality. Thus they should be properly pronounced as they would in their respective tongues.

PS: I used to pronounce Alfonso d'Albuqueque as Alfonso di Albukuekue and Don Quixote as Don Kisot. The teachers were no better..they didnt correct me either.

Actually, today we are suppose to read out our position paper's draft... I am happy because I went just what I expected. Superb ...except the pronouncing part...lol