Saturday, 22 November 2008

Assumption

When I was a child, books were my companion. I read many different books, over and over. And, like most children my age, I received magazines such as, Your Big Backyard, and Ranger Rick. My brother received a boy scouts magazine, Boy's Life, which I also read when I could get my hands on it.
Now I am older and married. An adult, perhaps?

Once in awhile, Joel and I will be having a conversation, which comes rarely, but it is a good thing for married couples to do. Sometimes, there will be some disagreement on how a 'word' is pronounced. Usually Joel is the winner on this one. My defense? I usually have never heard the 'word' spoken out loud before. I had always read it in books and sounded it out the way my childish brain thought was the way it sounded.

I will give you some examples:

Brooch (an elegant sort of pin that ladies wear on their throat). Now if you were 10 years old how would you sound this out? Exactly. Broo-ooch. Can you hear the laughter the first time I attempted to say this out loud? No dear, it's 'Broach'.

Another one: Hors d'oeuvre Again, imagine an English speaking only, no French experience except for her name, trying to sound this one out! Would you like to know how I spoke it to Joel for the first time? Literally: Hors di-vores. I was quite shocked that I had been pronouncing it in my head so wrongly for so long!!

There are many other words but these are the two that I can think of right now.

So I mentioned that I looked at Outdoor Magazines. I've seen many different animals in pictures, but hardly in real life. Last night, Joel and I finally watched 'March of the Penguins' for the first time.
Imagine my shock when I saw the little 2-4 foot penguins walking around the cameramen when for almost 20 years I had thought these Emperor Penguins were at least six feet tall!!

Photography can be very deceiving.

5 comments:

  1. I know what you mean, Renee. I just learned a couple of years ago that a couch with a bed in it is a "hide-a-bed". Makes sense, you hide the bed inside the couch. I had spelled it Haida bed... because everyone knows West-coast Canadian aboriginals slept on pull-out couches.

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  2. Hee hee, I'm the same way! How about "orchid". I had always thought it was pronounced as it is spelled: or-chid...I was greatly embarrassed to find out I had been saying it wrong for quite a little while. or-kid that's ridiculous! And how are we supposed to teach our children to read?!

    Thanks for the smile!

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  3. You make me laugh Renee! I use words that are similar to the word I am looking for...like lurch and lurk(they may not be spelled correctly). I still get a hard time from Mark about a skunk "lurching" around our apartment complex we lived in when we first got married.
    Love you
    Kelley

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  4. Isn't it wonderful to know that we are not alone?

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  5. Hahahaha!!! I miss you Renee!
    Love Beth

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