Say it Right

One of the things that make the English language so very difficult is the spelling and pronunciation of certain words. In a simple language, such as Spanish for example, whenever you see a vowel, you know how it's said. Your aeiou's will always sound the same. This is not the case with English though. In English, there is an 'uh' sound which any vowel can make. Commun-uh-cation. Is that an i? Is it an e? Nobody knows.

Not only can these cause problems with spelling, but also with reading. When you read a book, and come across a word that you are unsure of how to say, sometimes you will just come up with a way in which you think it is said. And so, you continue to read, pronouncing it one way in your head over and over again. And to you, that is the way the word is said.

But it's not.

One day you hear somebody talking, and they say your word. But it's not your word. They stressed the first syllable instead of the second, and they made the i sound like 'ee' instead of 'eye'. It's all so very wrong. That's clearly not the right way to say it. Not wanting to comment though, you let it slide.

But then a few weeks later, you hear another person say it wrong. Now you've got to ask yourself, "Are they all wrong, or am I just wrong?". You know that logically, it must be you that's wrong. And that's when you whole world shifts slightly. Everything you know is false.

And I get that. It's rather horrible to have to alter your views on life so drastically. I understand the pain of that. There is one case though which I do not understand. I will not sympathize with you if you mispronounce this word in such a aweful way. You have no excuse to say it.

Melk.

How hard can it really be to say the word 'milk'? I mean really! It's not some uncommon word that you've never heard before in your life. It's not a super long word that's easy to misspeak. It's not as though there's another word spelled like it that is pronounced as such. It's 'silk', not 'selk'.

What's even worse is that you have surely been told by now of how you are saying it in such a cringe inducing way. You must know that you are making people's ears bleed. And yet, you are selfish enough to continue on with your horrid ways. All because, like the rest of us have at some time or another, you do not wish to have your world shaken just a little. Well get over it.

You may be under the impression that it's just one of those words where it has become somewhat acceptable to say it differently. You know, like the whole tomato thing, but I assure you, it's really not.

So please, if you feel the sudden urge to blatantly utter words so incredibly falsely, don't.

Thank you kindly!