Today, I have learned a lot of "big" words from reading so much, but can actually only pronounce about half of them correctly. FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, I found out that I have Dysarthria, a condition where you can't pronounce certain words. I can't even pronounce the condition. FML
Today, while reading out loud in front of my entire class and teacher, I learned that I can't pronounce the word 'success'. It came out as 'sex', and when I tried to correct myself more slowly (multiple times), it came out 'sexsex'. FML
Today, I was reading a picture storybook to a kindergarten kid. She could pronounce more words than me, and corrected me. I'm about triple her age. FML
Today, I learned that I've been saying a word wrong my whole life and all my friends have been too polite to correct me, when I found out that "Segue" and "Segway" are pronounced the same. FML
Today, I went to a fancy restaurant and couldn't pronounce any of the menu items. FML
Today, I found out that I've been pronouncing "quinoa" wrong for years. FML
Today, I have laryngitis and can’t speak at all. I went to make myself some breakfast and my mom kept asking me questions, to which I replied with nods and head shakes. She said, in a condescending voice, that I need to use my “big girl words” and will keep using her “baby voice” until I do so. FML
Today, I've gotten so used to people mispronouncing my last name, even after I correct them a gazillion times, I've lost the motivation to correct anyone on it anymore. At this point I'd probably faint from shock if someone who isn't related to me successfully pronounced it correctly. FML
Today, while not feeling well at work, I had to finish up some papers. I was so out of it, I couldn't remember how to spell my name. I had to improvise by pronouncing each syllable of my name out loud. My boss now thinks I'm a dumbass. FML
Today, I found out the German I've been learning for nearly a month is a dialect only spoken by people in a small area of the country. This means I'll need to re-learn most of what I thought I knew. FML
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Top comments
ActionFearo 39
I wish there was some device to pronounce words for us, maybe an online source of some mysterious origin, Idk. Guess we're out of luck for now.
christiee 10
I think anyone who teaches themselves new words by reading shouldn't be embarrassed by other people's reactions because they can't pronounce them correctly. At least those people are going out there and teaching themselves something new, and heightening your knowledge isn't something anyone should be making fun of.
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Comments (92)
shadypalmtree 20
hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
PoisonOrchid 21
This is one of the reasons I love my Kindle as much as I do. Hover over the word while I'm reading and a box pops up with a pronunciation guide and a definition. Don't have to go look it up and still get the information I want.
lwm 4
Just think. When you find a cute girl(/boy/etc) to date who also knows lots of words, you can romantically look up pronunciations together! ...hey, vocabulary is sexy. We both think so, anyway ^_^
blackonblight 33
Been there, done that. And pronunciation guides don't help because I can never keep the markup straight for what symbol is what sound in what exact dialect/accent. And heaven help words that are pronounced differently between British English and American usage.
Ilsimen 2
My mother in law is the same way. She does nothing but read in her spare time, and it's hilarious when she uses a word that she's only seen in print.
Zm90 5
don't worry i m weak in english :(
oatmeal96 10
#CollageLife
missnuthin 10
dictionary.com has a little speaker icon you can click to hear pronunciations.
adtrallday 5
but..you're from Tennessee...that's not possible for you to comprehend big words
bheaze 20
Well you haven't really learnt them then, have you?