So y’all know how ‘pronunciation’ is spelt ‘P R O N U N C I A T I O N’, right? Well, I didn’t know till I was in S.S. 2, when I was in a spelling bee competition at school. I always thought it was ‘P R O N O U N C I A T I O N’. Tears. I didn’t want to believe it o, I looked up the spelling in the dictionary, and I was shook.
After learning the proper pronunciation, my brain automatically set the spelling of ‘pronounce’ to ‘P R O N U N C E’, as per ‘pronunciation’ is coined from ‘pronounce’. I had that spelling etched in my brain till I left secondary school, and entered uni.
During my summer break after 100 level, I was at this woman’s shop, and I was having a conversation with her daughter. I don’t even remember how the argument started, we just found ourselves arguing over the correct spelling of ‘pronounce’. The little girl kept screaming, ‘P R O N O U N C E’, and I was telling her, ‘P R O N U N C E’. Her mom’s attention got drawn to us, and she told her daughter, “Listen to aunty, she’s an undergraduate o.” I can’t even lie, I felt so fly.
The little girl did not want to accept defeat o, she asked to me to check the dictionary on my phone for the spelling. I was so confident that I was right, so I checked fast fast. imagine my dismay when I saw ‘P R O N O U N C E’. I’d been schooled by an 8-year old. When she asked me what I saw, I just told her to forget it, and I went to get biscuits for her.
I’m not proud of what I did. I’m still learning to admit when I’m wrong, lol. Don’t be like me, please.
Moral lesson: Be absolutely sure of something before arguing, please. These kids are very smart, and also impressionable. If you’re in a position to impart knowledge, impart (the right thing, o.)
Oyinda Loves Books 