I sort of new the c was supposed to be soft, as I've seen it written as açai too, but I couldn't make that work with the other letters, because it would never have occurred to me that the 'i' was EE. Now I know, and I'll probably get corrected by everyone else who has been saying it wrong too. ;-)
This made me think about words that I've read but never heard in real life.
For the longest time as a teen and even as a young adult, I pronounced the word epitome as EHPEE-Tome in my head when I was reading. I had heard the word in real life but never connected it to the printed word. Does that make any sense?
Yes - it not only makes sense but I was saying the same thing last night to BFF and MT: I read Turmeric for years in my head as too-MARE-ic without hearing it said aloud often enough to make the connection between the two. I still can't say the word properly without pausing significantly beforehand to mentally check myself. :P
8 years ago
Respite and debacle are on my epitome list. There were others but it is a long time since I have been a teen.
My disconnect between written and pronounced came with the word that is said "ah-rye". I heard it said a number of times over the years, but I must have been into my 30s before I connected it with the written word that I had always mentally pronounced "orry"! (And I still have to stop and think before saying the "e" at the end of "facsimile" - despite all those years of Latin).
For the longest time as a teen and even as a young adult, I pronounced the word epitome as EHPEE-Tome in my head when I was reading. I had heard the word in real life but never connected it to the printed word. Does that make any sense?