# Pronunciation Pitfalls



## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

I'll bet that just about everyone here has felt this embarrassment.

You're familiar with a word because you've seen it in print many times. You know what it means, and how to use it in a written sentence, but you've never heard it spoken aloud. When you say this word for the first time, you don't know how it's pronounced. So, you pronounce it the way it makes sense to you. And you get gales of laughter for your effort.

My Waterloo happened in the fourth grade. Each student was asked to stand and read aloud from a book. I read my passage clearly, and with feeling until I came to the word, "determined." Out it came as DEE-tur-mined. With stress on the first syllable, and a long "I" in the last syllable. The whole class burst into laughter. I wanted to hide under my desk!

Which word was your downfall?


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## Mish (Oct 15, 2015)

Aw, that's not too bad! 

Mine was thinking that Arkansas (pronounced like it's spelled) and ArkanSAW must be two different states but I couldn't figure out where ArkanSAW was on the map, even thought that's the one everyone talked about all the time. Second or third grade maybe? 

Oh, and "melee" still trips me up. Which you wouldn't think was a big deal if you didn't have a bunch of nerds for family like I do. Never fails to amuse the nerds.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Around here it happens with the names of some of the small communities.

This one gets outsiders all the time:
Conetoe

It's not Cone- toe.

It's "keh-Knee'-tah


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

Mish said:


> Aw, that's not too bad!
> 
> Mine was thinking that Arkansas (pronounced like it's spelled) and ArkanSAW must be two different states but I couldn't figure out where ArkanSAW was on the map, even thought that's the one everyone talked about all the time. Second or third grade maybe?
> 
> Oh, and "melee" still trips me up. Which you wouldn't think was a big deal if you didn't have a bunch of nerds for family like I do. Never fails to amuse the nerds.


Ummm. . . *blush*. What is the correct pronunciation of "melee", Please?


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## Mish (Oct 15, 2015)

nehimama said:


> Ummm. . . *blush*. What is the correct pronunciation of "melee", Please?


Well, in my world it's mel-EE. The nerds will tell you it's may-LAY. Nerds.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

Mish said:


> Well, in my world it's mel-EE. The nerds will tell you it's may-LAY. Nerds.


Oops! I thought it was may-LAY.. *Blush*!! Thanks for the education!


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## Mish (Oct 15, 2015)

nehimama said:


> Oops! I thought it was may-LAY.. *Blush*!! Thanks for the education!


No, you were right, my world is generally wrong lol


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

Mish said:


> No, you were right, my world is generally wrong lol


AArrgghh! Now I gotta go look it up!

Melee (/ ˈ m eɪ l eɪ / or / ˈ m ɛ l eɪ

Well, whaddya know??


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

It's easier to hear it pronounced:






Upstate New York is filled with towns with American Indian names, like: Canandaigua, Canisteo, Skaneateles, Canajoharie, it's endless...

https://www.newyorkupstate.com/road...at_20_hard-to-pronounce_upstate_ny_towns.html


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Sheesh- I've been in GA for almost 3 years now and still can't understand the supposedly English language here.


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## D-BOONE (Feb 9, 2016)

The words that usually trip up most men "I do"


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## poppy (Feb 21, 2008)

It's the same problem with kid's names today. You don't know how to pronounce most of them or spell them if you want to send a birthday card. There must be 20 different spellings for each simple name, especially girls names. Tiffany is just one example. Sometimes it has only one f and sometimes it ends in an I. I've seen it end in ie and with 2 n's. I'm never sure if the parents couldn't spell or they are just trying to be cute or different. I have a great granddaughter named Aahna. Everyone in the family pronounces it differently. I just call her Sis. That's a hell of a thing to do to a kid.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Typhuhknee


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Typhuhknee


Gesundheit


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Typhuhknee


Was that the second Soviet satellite after Sputnik?


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Okra was my downfall....with a lloooong "O"....ended up ooookrah.

Mon


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Typhuhknee


Definition and pronunciation, please!


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

I could pronounce words in the 4th grade that I can't pronounce now. Karma came back to bite me for making fun of the way my mom pronounced stuff. For instance answering the phone with "nyellow", having a mainTAINance man, and eating a feesh sandwich. Anyway I'll be talking along and suddenly stumble over a word that I can not for the life of me get to come out the right way.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Depot (dee-Poe)seems to mess up nearly as many people as corps.(core)
Near me The town of Pana and Pawnee And Oconee mess folks up.
Pay-naw pawn-knee and oak-a-knee.

Stuff like this is why American English as a subject is a fraud .


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## Mish (Oct 15, 2015)

Oh I forgot this one. We always shout it when we're bringing in avocados off the tree:


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## Bob M. (Nov 5, 2018)

ambiguous subject at best. People have tried to make some counsel or book deciding such as the defining factor, and it just never will be, because language's only purpose is in conveying a idea between two entities. how they do so, is their prerogative. No one or group of no ones decide who owns language of any specific type. so tuh-mah-toh/tuh-may-toh/toe-may-toe / toe-mah-toe/toh-mah-toh/toh-may-toh/tuh-may-tuh/tuh-mah-tuh is subjective always with accents. We have sets of general basic standards, to which people generally apply, hence the name general standards, and that is that. General never applies to the specific, and hasn't for ever,unless you are a liberal.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

Bob M. said:


> ambiguous subject at best. People have tried to make some counsel or book deciding such as the defining factor, and it just never will be, because language's only purpose is in conveying a idea between two entities. how they do so, is their prerogative. No one or group of no ones decide who owns language of any specific type. so tuh-mah-toh/tuh-may-toh/toe-may-toe / toe-mah-toe/toh-mah-toh/toh-may-toh/tuh-may-tuh/tuh-mah-tuh is subjective always with accents. We have sets of general basic standards, to which people generally apply, hence the name general standards, and that is that. General never applies to the specific, and hasn't for ever,unless you are a liberal.


Geez, Bob! This was just s'posed to be a fun thread; not a language lesson.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

nehimama said:


> Geez, Bob! This was just s'posed to be a fun thread; not a language lesson.


Or a political one...


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Bob M. said:


> ambiguous subject at best. People have tried to make some counsel or book deciding such as the defining factor, and it just never will be, because language's only purpose is in conveying a idea between two entities. how they do so, is their prerogative. No one or group of no ones decide who owns language of any specific type. so tuh-mah-toh/tuh-may-toh/toe-may-toe / toe-mah-toe/toh-mah-toh/toh-may-toh/tuh-may-tuh/tuh-mah-tuh is subjective always with accents. We have sets of general basic standards, to which people generally apply, hence the name general standards, and that is that. General never applies to the specific, and hasn't for ever,unless you are a liberal.


 Come on Bob
Ya can’t bring politics into everything. And you sure can’t blame your personal bogeyman for everything.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Mish said:


> Aw, that's not too bad!
> 
> Mine was thinking that Arkansas (pronounced like it's spelled) and ArkanSAW must be two different states but I couldn't figure out where ArkanSAW was on the map, even thought that's the one everyone talked about all the time. Second or third grade maybe?
> 
> Oh, and "melee" still trips me up. Which you wouldn't think was a big deal if you didn't have a bunch of nerds for family like I do. Never fails to amuse the nerds.


I had a Chinese friend that said it that way too "Ark in sauce"

I might win the prize. I read a lot and often use words that I have not heard spoken. I just like new words, and have learned to live with embarrassment. I was in a meeting with our division president and his staff, and I used paradigm. I said "pair a dig em". I am always good for a laugh


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

nehimama said:


> Ummm. . . *blush*. What is the correct pronunciation of "melee", Please?


My daughter is a voracious reader and will also mispronounce words. We use https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melee to settle bets on pronunciation. Notice that little


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

HDRider said:


> I had a Chinese friend that said it that way too "Ark in sauce"
> 
> I might win the prize. I read a lot and often use words that I have not heard spoken. I just like new words, and have learned to live with embarrassment. I was in a meeting with our division president and his staff, and I used paradigm. I said "pair a dig em". I am always good for a laugh


OMG! I love this! At one time, I thought that was how it's pronounced!

I got zinged not too long ago for "co robe er rate".


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## Bob M. (Nov 5, 2018)

you people need to learn what politics are before you start claiming anything is political. saying something is liberal has absolutely nothing to do with politics at all, seriously...take some time and learn to understand this. see...nothing to do with politics at all...ya...really.
and sorry, I thought it was a light hearted reply. most of the issue is really as much *enunciation *as *pronounciation* anyways. Sorry, I thought I was conveying that....not being 'political'....


lib·er·al
*Dictionary result for liberal*
/ˈlib(ə)rəl/
_adjective_

1.
open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.
"they have more liberal views toward marriage and divorce than some people"
2.
(of education) concerned mainly with broadening a person's general knowledge and experience, rather than with technical or professional training.
synonyms: wide-ranging, broad-based, general, humanistic
"the provision of liberal adult education"
_noun_

1.
a person of liberal views.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Thats Not the way YOU use it.
LOL and in a way thats what this thread is about the personal spin we put on things.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

*Tatitlek* /təˈtɪtlɪk/ (Alutiiq: _Taatiilaaq

During the Exxon Valdez _oilspill many reporters would not or could not correctly report this vilage as closest to or most affected because the didntwas to say Ta-tit-lick.


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## colourfastt (Nov 11, 2006)

Mish said:


> Well, in my world it's mel-EE. The nerds will tell you it's may-LAY. Nerds.


Following the proper spelling, mêlée, it should be pronounced "meh-lay".


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

colourfastt said:


> Following the proper spelling, mêlée, it should be pronounced "meh-lay".


Yep. French.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

colourfastt said:


> Following the proper spelling, mêlée, it should be pronounced "meh-lay".


Lol there’s no such thing as proper spelling. 
Besides which word are you trying to spell ? His or yours.......
Welcome to English 101.......


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

Here, melee is pronounced me lee. As in I am Me. My name is Lee.
Anybody that don't like it can back their butt on up the driveway.

"Never ridicule a person who mispronounces a word. That means he learned it by reading." Some Famous Person.


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## rkintn (Dec 12, 2002)

Not too long ago, DD was talking of joining the military. One of the jobs she was interested in was Navy Corpsman...which she pronounced "corpseman". Tickled me to no end LOL not to mention gave me great material to aggravate her with


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Teej said:


> and eating a feesh sandwich. Anyway I'll be talking along and suddenly stumble over a word that I can not for the life of me get to come out the right way.


My FIL said "Feesh" and "Boosh" (Bush/Busch) and "paid the IN-surance".
My mother pronounced Iowa "I-oh-way" and "warsh the windahs". A burger was a " hambooger".
Wife in grade school pronounced magician as "Magic-Kan".


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

Momma had me saying ain'ts for ants and aunts. Paints for pants. Tor till ers for tortillas.
Texas towns. Waxahachie is Waux a hatch ie, not Wax a hatch ie, Midlothian, not Middle o thian, Mexia is Ma hay a, or Ma hair. Navasota is Nav a sot to locals. Irran Is Ira ann. Borne, Grune, other German towns are not spelled as pronounced.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

living in urban chicago and rural virginia accents play a big roll in how things are pronounced ; When out of a road construction job during ray gunomics depression ,a buddy of mine from chicago and i got a job in mobile Alabama .after working there 6 months with brick masons a new boss asked me what i had been doing i told him "cleaning the tootin " seems . in my workin buddys chicago accent toothing (The bricks at the edge of a wall ) was pronounced tootin and how he'd tought me , and the bricklayers had been haveing the laugh on us "yankees" for months , and my town in virginia "honaker " pronounced HO NA KER by locals when pronounced hon aker by me will get you a "ya'll aint from round here are ye "


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## Bob M. (Nov 5, 2018)

HDRider said:


> I used paradigm. I said "pair a dig em". I am always good for a laugh


Words like paradigm, being pronounced the way they are is what throws it all up into the air almost for everyone. you look at 'digm' and wonder how it comes to sound like 'dime'. even if they spelled it ,paradime, paradyme or paradym even it'd be better imo.


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

We are heavy book readers here also. Know what the word means, how to spell it, just say it wrong. We still tease eldest daughter about the word steak , she kept saying steek. 

For my dad is it adobe acrobat reader, he keeps saying adobe abrocrap reader. First time he was talking about it I couldn't figure out what program he was talking about and wanting help with. 

For me is was quinoa. Every one was talking about this great new grain and asking me if I had tried it or ever heard of it. I would say no, but have you tried quinoa(I would make the Qu sound) a lot of people are talking about online and they say it pretty healthy. I must admit on that one it took me a bit to figure that I was talking about the same grain.


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

This reminds me of the joke about how you pronounce DaimlerChrysler. The Chrysler is silent.


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

Ziptie said:


> We are heavy book readers here also. Know what the word means, how to spell it, just say it wrong. We still tease eldest daughter about the word steak , she kept saying steek.
> 
> For my dad is it adobe acrobat reader, he keeps saying adobe abrocrap reader. First time he was talking about it I couldn't figure out what program he was talking about and wanting help with.
> 
> For me is was quinoa. Every one was talking about this great new grain and asking me if I had tried it or ever heard of it. I would say no, but have you tried quinoa(I would make the Qu sound) a lot of people are talking about online and they say it pretty healthy. I must admit on that one it took me a bit to figure that I was talking about the same grain.


I love this post!! Firsrt, I wondered about the "heavy book readers" Were the readers heavy, or did they read heavy books?? 
I always read quinoa as Quinn(the eskimo) Noah(maybe an eskimo, too, or a Hittite or something)
Still read it that way. Not a clue what it is, but it has a funny name.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

I know some one who thought facade and "fa-kade" were 2 different words.
Years ago, My brother was a big Star Trek The Next Generation fan, but I had never seen the show.
He loaned me a couple of paperbacks with STTNG stories, and after I read them, I said something about the captain, Jean-Luc Picard and he and his wife laughed at me.
I thought it was pronounced like it sounds, like "Gene Luck Pickerd". Now I know it's all French sounding.


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## Mish (Oct 15, 2015)

The last two posts are so serendipitous.

Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) talking about quinoa.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

Another one that I'd read but never heard out loud until just a few years ago is hyper-bowl


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

you folks wouldn't want to hear me talking. I drop my H's something awful. then I put the H where it shouldn't be. I try but it just doesn't work for me. for instance I don't dare say Hassel . at least I try not to. I was at the lawyer's office last week and I said without thinking ( this is such a hassel).I'm probably even spelling that wrong but in any case. I knew immediately when they both looked at each other what I had done.) I just hate it but there are some words I just shouldn't be let loose on. I'm mostly on pins and needles trying to be careful except with other Newfoundlanders and they talk worse than I do especially when we talk fast~Georgia


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

This is really a fun thread. Thanks to all who contributed.


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

Clem said:


> I love this post!! Firsrt, I wondered about the "heavy book readers" Were the readers heavy, or did they read heavy books??
> I always read quinoa as Quinn(the eskimo) Noah(maybe an eskimo, too, or a Hittite or something)
> Still read it that way. Not a clue what it is, but it has a funny name.


It means we will only read books that are 15.6789 oz or more.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

GTX63 said:


> My FIL said "Feesh" and "Boosh" (Bush/Busch) and "paid the IN-surance".
> My mother pronounced Iowa "I-oh-way" and "warsh the windahs". A burger was a " hambooger".
> Wife in grade school pronounced magician as "Magic-Kan".


I've heard Iowa pronounced that way many times. I myself was guilty of warsh and hambooger until I moved to the city and eventually started saying it the way everybody else did. Even though I now say wash it's still a wash rag instead of a wash cloth. Nothing to do with pronunciation but we always had dinner and supper not lunch and dinner. Now I use lunch and dinner interchangeably but the evening meal is always supper. 

No one pronounces Louisville (KY) right unless in the area and/or are a native.


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## Bob M. (Nov 5, 2018)

you folk pronounce it looey's ville and not lou iss ville?

I imagine some people pronounce isis as is is instead of eye sis too.


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## tiffanysgallery (Jan 17, 2015)

Lul-a-vul 
but don't pronounce the 2nd 'l' in "lul", sounds like "loo" 

Any other way then we know people are from out-of-state


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

Being Texan every word is a struggle. We make up words because of it. 

"Are you finished with that?"

"Nachette"

My struggle is with French words. I can do the Indian words pretty good. Years ago I was taking my wife on a surprise trip to 

Va cherry

She laughed at me because it was pronounced va suree. Vacherie La. Hey, I wasnt that far off.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

Cornhusker said:


> Another one that I'd read but never heard out loud until just a few years ago is hyper-bowl


This was a real conversation over dinner a couple months ago, "Pix, most statements made by ***** are hyperbowl." I told him it's pronounced hi per ba lee, and we laughed. I can't pronounce apocalypse most of the time, I know how to pronounce it, it just doesn't come out right.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

tiffanysgallery said:


> Lul-a-vul
> but don't pronounce the 2nd 'l' in "lul", sounds like "loo"
> 
> Any other way then we know people are from out-of-state


We were watching Andrew Zimmern last night and he was in Louisville, and carefully stated how it was to be pronounced.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

tiffanysgallery said:


> _*Lul-a-vul *_
> but don't pronounce the 2nd 'l' in "lul", sounds like "loo"
> 
> Any other way then we know people are from out-of-state


 Aint that one of those carpenter thingies with the bubbles in it?


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

Good thread, it made me look up how to pronounce Echota. Drive by there often and wondered how to say it.
https://gastateparks.org/NewEchota


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

mreynolds said:


> *Being Texan every word is a struggle*......... _*Years ago I was taking my wife on a surprise trip to
> 
> Va cherry
> 
> She laughed at me because it was pronounced va suree. Vacherie La*_. Hey, I wasnt that far off.



Aint that a strip club down the *GAL* so *VAST* shes a* TON* way?


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

How did the* OKIEs* wind up in *FINN* *OKIE* ?


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

I have had fun of my pronunciation of breakfast. I don't hear it but i think it comes out brak fust


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Think thats bad? Its so flat here that we have a *Embarass*ed river

Its not far from *COLE*slaw county or the Kawasaki or cowasucki river (kaskaskia)


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

I read Robinson Crusoe in the second grade and really enjoyed it. When the teacher asked me about it I found out I had pronounced it *Is Land* all the way through, and my lovely Mrs. DeGraw corrected that for me.

BTW - Mrs. Degraw could write beautiful cursive with both hands at the same time. Her teacher did not like lefties.


That sure would have helped me in my elementary career of writing sentences. "I will not talk in class" 100 times many times over. I actually wrote them in my spare time and stored them so I could go out and play when they were done.


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## JohnP (Sep 1, 2010)

I had no idea how legume was pronounced for a long time. Didn't know if it was leg-oom or le-joom


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

AmericanStand said:


> Aint that a strip club down the *GAL* so *VAST* shes a* TON* way?


French is a beautiful language but those poor souls just don't know how to spell.


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

Bob M. said:


> I imagine some people pronounce isis as is is instead of eye sis too.


I thought it is pronounced "was was".


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

IndyDave said:


> I thought it is pronounced "was was".


That's supposed to be the new name.


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## sweetbabyjane (Oct 21, 2002)

Thames River (pronounced tems), and faux (pronounced fo). I have been an avid reader all my life, but it took saying these things out loud and, of course, in front of others, to learn the correct pronunciation. Especially faux. When I said faux, as in rhymes with hawks, my co-worker laughed so loud everyone in the office had to come see what was going on. Then she loudly corrected me in front of everyone. Thanks a lot, Dawn!


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## Falfrenzy (Aug 20, 2018)

As a young child I thought Khaki was pronounced " ka-hee-key. My family got a laugh out of that. Of course when as the baby of 3 kids, I heard "Go ask your brother/sister" whenever I had a question. And my brother and sister resented me for apparently always getting away with stuff they got punished for. And I recall a few occasions hearing "You'll figure it out when you're older". Thanks a lot for nothing!
So adversarial on both sides. So I didn't ask questions much and made lots of mistakes. 

So I take the time to answer in great depth and ensure my daughter's comprehension of any question she asks me. It shocks me how smart she is, but YouTube didn't exist when I was a kid, and the watered down programs on network TV were about worthless in the early 80s. No cable TV in my household growing up. 

Sorry for the rant.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

pecan. Such a simple word really but my best friend is from Texas and we argue all the time about how to say it. At first she laughed hysterically at my pronunciation but now she gets annoyed. It may just be possible that I do it on purpose. I found a map on how pecan is pronounced in the US. Now that is being very thorough.

https://www.farmflavor.com/at-home/...n-mapping-food-dialect-trends-across-the-u-s/


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## rkintn (Dec 12, 2002)

Puh-kahn and aunt should sound like ant lol


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

rkintn said:


> Puh-kahn and aunt should sound like ant lol


Nut uh. Pee-can and aunt should sound like ant.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

HDRider said:


> I actually wrote them in my spare time and stored them so I could go out and play when they were done.


That's thinking ahead for sure!


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

rkintn said:


> Puh-kahn and aunt should sound like ant lol


Oh no, not the great PEE-CAN PUH-KAHN debate!


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## colourfastt (Nov 11, 2006)

South (French) Louisiana: puh-con ... with almost no "N"; think French pronunciation.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

HDRider said:


> That sure would have helped me in my elementary career of writing sentences. "I will not talk in class" 100 times many times over. I actually wrote them in my spare time and stored them so I could go out and play when they were done.


BRILLIANT!!!


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

according to my sil : meringue was merj in goo .
what made it even more humorous was that she considered herself super intelligent ..


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

How we pronounce words really does depend on where we live. My husband and all the people from the area where his family settled pronounce it as X-scape while everyone I know from just 50 miles away pronounces it ES-cape. 

I was raised by parents who spoke many languages. My Mom learned English in Britain and people often referred to her as the English girl. I guess they were not as tuned in to the French accent as I was. If you want to learn another language I think it is very important not to be afraid to mimic. Children aren't which is why they learn new languages so quickly. I was always a good mimic - which got me into a lot of trouble as well as helped me with languages. 

Most of my childhood was spent in a very immigrant rich area so there were many very different, interesting and extremely funny pronunciations of English words. But then again when they tried to teach me words in their languages it made them laugh a lot as well. I think that it is very important not to mock people but you can have fun. As I entered my teens my parents constantly volunteered me to write letters, fill out forms, etc etc for our neighbours and help them practice their English and French. Serves me right for always getting 100% in English and French.

I do think that it is very important for people to always continue to learn (and especially correct pronunciation and grammar) their language whether it is a first or other language. My parents never stopped learning all of their languages. I rather like Melania Trump but her laziness with English really annoys me. Bad English is not a dialect.


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## tiffanysgallery (Jan 17, 2015)

Irish Pixie said:


> We were watching Andrew Zimmern last night and he was in Louisville, and carefully stated how it was to be pronounced.


Google says there's is a city of Louisville that pronounces its name Lou-iss-vill, but it's located in Colorado. It may be that people, in general, get Louisville, KY and Louisville, Co confused.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

emdeengee said:


> How we pronounce words really does *depend on where we live*.


That's very true..... North of Virginia, they say "Yankee".
The proper preceding "Damn" is silent.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Bearfootfarm said:


> That's very true..... North of Virginia, they say "Yankee".
> The proper preceding "Damn" is silent.


In some places it is one word


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

HDRider said:


> I read Robinson Crusoe in the second grade and really enjoyed it. When the teacher asked me about it I found out I had pronounced it *Is Land* all the way through, and my lovely Mrs. DeGraw corrected that for me.
> 
> BTW - Mrs. Degraw could write beautiful cursive with both hands at the same time. Her teacher did not like lefties.
> 
> ...


I don't remember the book title, but guilty on Is Land.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I once heard someone say *Jah* lop en o, heavy emphasis on the J.

My big slip was photography, of course it's supposed to be pronounced *photo *graphy. I was about 10 at the time.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

In my early first career, I messed some things up during the rip and read newscasts without much time to practice always.

It tells how long ago it was I was still in high school working at a radio station. When I got to "Detente" I had a stumble on the air. Clearly, I was not a student of French Language. You know how it is when you know you're not supposed to laugh and can't stop laughing?

Then there was reading lots of sports of the day about outstanding tennis star Martina Navratilova. It took a long time for "Martina" to roll off my tongue.


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

emdeengee said:


> I was always a good mimic - which got me into a lot of trouble as well as helped me with languages.


Does that mean you learned to curse fluently in 16 languages at a tender age?


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

Bob M. said:


> you folk pronounce it looey's ville and not lou iss ville?
> 
> I imagine some people pronounce isis as is is instead of eye sis too.


loo-AH-vul and you have to say it fast.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

IndyDave said:


> Does that mean you learned to curse fluently in 16 languages at a tender age?


Not in 16 but at a tender age. Kids always pick up the worst words no matter the language. I had quite a few curse words in three languages and some single beauties in several other languages. I have not had use of most in decades but I was very surprised when watching a foreign film to instantly pick up on the curses even though they were not in the sub-titles. 

The first engineering job my Dad had after immigrating to Canada and while still learning English took him away from home for four months and into the construction camp of a dam. When he returned his English had improved as he studied all the time but my Mom nearly passed out at all the swear words he had learned. She had a hard time taming him back. Years later he always had half a dozen to a dozen University students working for him over the spring and summer months. They all copied his English curses as the words were incredibly funny and interesting with his Hungarian accent. A few years ago while waiting to catch my flight I heard a man say - yaysus creest - turned around and it was one of my Dad's students but 30 years older.


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## snowlady (Aug 1, 2011)

Yose-might like Yose-might Sam. Got told it was Yo-sem-i-tee in front of the whole sixth grade class.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

snowlady said:


> Yose-might like Yose-might Sam. Got told it was Yo-sem-i-tee in front of the whole sixth grade class.


LOL! Thank you so much for adding to the discussion.


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

Dam it you flatlanders, it's Bang-or, Maine. Not Bang Her!


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## Mish (Oct 15, 2015)

The first time my Midwestern momma visited me in Southern California, I had grabbed a bunch of touristy brochures for her to pick out some things to do.

The first thing she wanted to do, being an animal lover, was visit the aquarium in La Jolla. She didn't believe me when I told her it's actually pronounced La Hoy-a and she called it La Jol-la the rest of the time she was here, ignoring the weird looks from everyone. Her lack of trust hurts.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Mish said:


> Well, in my world it's mel-EE. The nerds will tell you it's may-LAY. Nerds.


Depends on where you grow up, I'm from MN originally and its pronounced Me-Lee in the gaming circles there.


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

mnn2501 said:


> Depends on where you grow up, I'm from MN originally and its pronounced Me-Lee in the gaming circles there.


I always said may-lay but I have never said Jag-u-are


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

I think you have to be accommodating and flexible because many words originate in one language but are adopted in other languages and they do have the right to adapt the word to their language.

FOY- er and FOY-yay.

I once had an interesting discussion about the pronunciation with a French friend. She does speak perfect English. Every time someone would say FOY-er she would correct them with the French pronunciation FOY-yay which of course was annoying. My opinion is that if you are speaking English you should pronounce the word as pronounced in English. If you are speaking French then it would be incorrect to use the English pronunciation.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

mreynolds said:


> I always said may-lay but I have never said Jag-u-are


May-lay and Jag-wire for me.


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

Had neighbors from England. When her parents came to visit they would stay a month or longer. It was hilarious to hear the mother say something in an English accent and finish with "ya'all" with a perfect Texas accent.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

Our caller ID voice today pronounced Paoli (PAY-oh-lee), which is a town near here, Pally. Whoever programmed that voice doesn't know how to pronounce much of anything. You have to hear her announce something several times along with looking at the screen to actually read the words and eventually you'll be able to recognize who's calling.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

gilberte said:


> Dam it you flatlanders, it's Bang-or, Maine. Not Bang Her!


You do it your way, I'll do her my way.


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## ydderf (Dec 15, 2018)

Was watching a British scientist on TV last night. He pronounced geyser as if it were spelled geezer. I've always thought of Yellowstone's geyser pronounced as if it were spelt guy-ser.


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> You do it your way, I'll do her my way.


I see what you did there!


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

ydderf said:


> Was watching a British scientist on TV last night. He pronounced geyser as if it were spelled geezer. I've always thought of Yellowstone's geyser pronounced as if it were spelt guy-ser.


We always pronounced it guy zer


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## Mish (Oct 15, 2015)

British people pronounce a lot of things strangely. My husband is addicted to British TV shows and I just shake my head when someone pronounces fillet as fil-lit or escapees as es-COP-ees. It's almost like they do it on purpose.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

I don't pay much heed to people pronouncing words differently than I do. A lot of the words are pronounced the way it is where they are from or a family trait.
what I DO object to is mispronounced words on the TV news.. those people are making a living with the language, at least do it correctly..
the latest example with our local news gal is the word
5th, fifth, not fith .. it is a commercial so it is repeated several time a day.
LOL, I should talk, if you ever heard me speak you might shake your head.
I type more correctly than I do when I am talking.
but I say (as SO she ets), not (as SO ****ts) as my friend's family does..
......jiminwisc.....


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

While watching a British show it took me awhile to realize that al a min yum was aluminium.


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## ydderf (Dec 15, 2018)

In '72, when I was 21, I was chasing a girl in California her, her family and her friends all got a laugh from the way I pronounced out,about or trout. Often when meeting someone new I was asked to say out,about or trout.

On the other hand many US TV stations look for Canadians to be news announcers because of our accents.


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## colourfastt (Nov 11, 2006)

mreynolds said:


> I always said may-lay but I have never said Jag-u-are


I only say "Jag-u-ar". Then again, I also say "shed-u-le".


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## colourfastt (Nov 11, 2006)

roadless said:


> While watching a British show it took me awhile to realize that al a min yum was aluminium.


 "Aluminum" is a relatively recent Americanism. My late grandfather was born in 1915, and when he was in school in the 1920s he was taught to say "aluminium" and did so the rest of his life. Also, "Aluminium" has the edge in scientific writing even in North America


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

when I was in metals shop in high school, 
there was a boy who said lalullamum and lalollium.
the teacher told him that if he could pronounce both words correctly by Friday, he would raise his grade from a B to an A..
On Friday the boy stood up and said
A lu me num La no lee um , now give me my A..
true story..

schedule, she doo lee 
asparagus, ass per grass


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

Here lately I've been used to pronouncing it lamina.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

We had/have lots of English, Scottish, Irish, Australian, New Zealand and, just recently, South African friends, acquaintances and co-workers. You adapt every quickly to different word usage, pronunciation and accents. And if you watch a lot of programs from all of these countries your ears get attuned to the accents. Lots of Australian helicopter pilots work with my husband. On nearly every flight one pilot loves to put back on a heavy accent and use Aussie words just to see the look of confusion on peoples faces. 

It is quite amazing how some people can so easily drop their original accent. So many Australian and British actors in US TV and films and you would never know it.

Spelling is also something that is different in English speaking countries. Also French countries.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

roadless said:


> While watching a British show it took me awhile to realize that al a min yum was aluminium.


Yeah, you'd think the British would learn how to speak English


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

emdeengee said:


> It is quite amazing how some people can so easily drop their original accent. So many Australian and British actors in US TV and films and you would never know it.


I saw some TV talent show the other night that had a country singer from Mongolia.

He sounded like he could have been raised in Alabama, but doesn't speak nor understand a word of English. 

His interpreter said he had no idea what the song he sang was saying.


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## ydderf (Dec 15, 2018)

I hate hearing are instead of our. Or runnin instead of running


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## ydderf (Dec 15, 2018)

I have a friend named Jarl pronounced yarl. if someone calls him jar-ll he inevitably responds with jes.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

In grade school we sang and prayed in Latin.
I didn't have a clue what I was saying or singing.
I doubt many of the kids did..


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## ydderf (Dec 15, 2018)

when I was young most of a church service was in Latin. Pure boredom. The elders sure enjoyed it though.


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

ydderf, You would hate being in Texas, We are notorious for dropping g s.


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

ydderf said:


> I hate hearing are instead of our. Or runnin instead of running


Texas is not a potential vacation spot for you. Fair warning.


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

Worcestershire. Go ahead, I dare you.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

gilberte said:


> Worcestershire. Go ahead, I dare you.


Ha Ha Ha! Good one!


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## Grafton County Couple (Sep 20, 2018)

Wooster-shear


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

gilberte said:


> Worcestershire. Go ahead, I dare you.


 wooster-shure


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

Lea & Perrins


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

gilberte said:


> Worcestershire. Go ahead, I dare you.


wor ster sher


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

My husband gave up. He calls it wooster- shire -sheer sauce.


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## snowlady (Aug 1, 2011)

Wursch te shire


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## ydderf (Dec 15, 2018)

I had someone ask me the other day if English was spoken in Belize I said yes it was but it didn't sound anything like we hear here. things like jaNET emphasis on the last syllable, a Spanish influence, instead of the Janet we hear here.


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

I had Hispanic kids calling me Meester often with no surname. I was upset at first for lack of respect. Then realized they were saying Senor . Hardest part of teaching them was rearrangement of sentences, adjective comes first in English, second in Spanish.


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## Mish (Oct 15, 2015)

My husband said his most embarrassing moment was calling roll off a list that people had signed their own names on previously, in high school immediately after he had moved from WI to CA. He thought someone was being funny because they had written their name as Jesus. Which is the way he called the name out, like it was spelled. To uproarious laughter.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Mish said:


> My husband said his most embarrassing moment was calling roll off a list that people had signed their own names on previously, in high school immediately after he had moved from WI to CA. He thought someone was being funny because they had written their name as Jesus. Which is the way he called the name out, like it was spelled. To uproarious laughter.


When I first moved to Houston, working in IT, on personnel reports, I was reading one and hollered out to one of my programmer buddies, "hey, look how many people work here named Jesus!". The Texicans got a laugh


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

Mish said:


> My husband said his most embarrassing moment was calling roll off a list that people had signed their own names on previously, in high school immediately after he had moved from WI to CA. He thought someone was being funny because they had written their name as Jesus. Which is the way he called the name out, like it was spelled. To uproarious laughter.


This reminds me of a time when I worked for the Department of Correction. We had a new officer named Puckett with whom I had not became acquainted. When the captain called "Puckett" at roll call, that's not what I thought he said!


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Wister


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

I spent the night at Gila Bend after roaming the Mojave,
I think.....


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

IndyDave said:


> When the captain called "Puckett" at roll call, that's not what I thought he said!


Did you think he meant "Poo-Kay?


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

Bearfootfarm said:


> Did you think he meant "Poo-Kay?


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