One of my life mottoes is: I’d rather reveal my ignorance than keep it.
Lately I learned that I was pronouncing two words wrong, and I was delighted to know how to say them correctly. Those words were Spokane as in a city in Washington state and shitake as in mushrooms. I love it! I love not revealing my ignorance about those words ever again.
Bad grammar and bad spelling are both a pain to witness. But I think that hearing mispronounced words is most painful of all. When you don’t know how to use a certain word, you can (almost) always substitute it with another. But when you mispronounce the word you chose to use, it’s more distracting than using the wrong word.
So says she who speaks far more than might be wise, and frequently reveals her ignorance in the process.
Tis a Gift to Receive 
…love it…Love your honesty and your motto! I totally know what you’re talking about. Took me a while to learn some of the words of cities in Washington since I’m living here and that was one of them. It’s funny but I was just talking a day or two ago to one of my siblings about pronouncing words words wrong and how that is one of the things that I can personally do something about. If I don’t know how to say it, ask, or look it up. Anyway, just found it interesting to see someone was thinking down those same lines…
I feel like a child introduced to a new toy box! I don’t want to go “home”. Your blog is lovely and captivating;do I dare put my bookwork on hold and let my coffee get cold?
Interesting! Now I’m curious they are pronounced. 🙂
Anita, educate us since it is too far to walk to the bookcase. Spokane, I had learned earlier is pronounced with a short o sound only to hear someone from Washington say it with the long o sound. Maybe she was a transplant like I am.
Betty, stay sitting. That’s what Google is for!!
Google to the rescue. So much for my memory. It’s the long and short of it alright, but lets get it on the right syllable. 🙂 Thanks, Anita, I think I CAN say it correctly now.