Feeling Good about Mispronouncing Words

Ever mispronounced a big word and felt embarrased when corrected? It happens to me more often than I'd wish. Dean Esmay, though, thinks its actually a good sign when someone does that:

Almost invariably, if a person uses a word in a sentence, and she mispronounces it, it means that she has 1) read the word at least once, and probably more than once, 2) correctly teased out the meaning from context, and 3) absorbed it well enough that she can properly use it in a sentence.

Given that the English language has hundreds of thousands of words--which is far more than most languages--should it not be considered a sign of erudition if someone occasionally uses a word and doesn't pronounce it right? Indeed, what else could it possibly mean, except that the person is well-read and is familiar with words she has never heard pronounced aloud?

This must mean I'm erudite. But wait. How do you pronounce that?

Posted in Personal and Miscellaneous.