Mispronounced in Your Head - Neatorama

The question at reddit is: Which words did you mispronounce for years because you'd only seen it in writing? Some of the answers include

Hors d'œuvre
Paradigm
Epitome
Hyperbole
Draught
Meme
Segue
Macabre
Hermione

Are you sure you know how to pronounce these words aloud? Do you have any other examples of words you were surprised to hear pronounced for the first time? Link -via The Daily What

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The bus drivers on my route in Chicago retinely announced the street named for the great German thinker Goethe as "GO-thee."

For years I would leave the bus mumbling "Gerta, Gerta, Grrrrrrrrr."

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In 5th grade, I corrected someone as they tried to read the word "melancholy" which I knew from reading "Alice in Wonderland" but had never heard pronounced. I thought it was "mel-ANK-o-lee" and my 5th grade teacher (not a very patient person) made a very sharp, snotty comment which made me blush with shame. How was I supposed to know it was "melon-collie"?

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In France, it's Ver-sigh. In Kentucky, it's Ver-sales.

In Italy, it's Mi-LAN. In Tennessee, it's MY-lan.

In Greece, it's ART-imus. In Kentucky, it's Ar-TEE-mus.

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Growing up in West Texas, we lived on Illinois ave. For the longest, I always pronounced it with the 's' sound at the end, presumably the way others in my redneck family did, as 'ill i noise'. Thankfully, my wife corrected me.

While in Dallas, she often heard radio broadcasters mention 'ver say les' ave, for 'Versailles'. Things are different in Texas.

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Oh and a friend of mine annoyed me recently talking about "dax-and" ... umm, dachshund is clearly from German, so why rape it with bastard anglicized pronunciation?

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