4 ms·
> NEVER learn a new word without learning what is its sound. Would that I had learned this earlier. Native english speaker, but I grew up reading voraciously
by big_chungus 7y ago
> NEVER learn a new word without learning what is its sound.
Would that I had learned this earlier. Native english speaker, but I grew up reading voraciously from quite a young age. This meant that though I got a big vocabulary and context as to the appropriate uses of a word, I would have difficulty pronouncing them and often come up with something completely wrong. I'd go and look words up in the dictionary, as taught by my parents. Unfortunately, I was not aware of the meaning of the IPA symbols, let alone how to decipher them; they looked to me as foreign script might to another. It was rather amusing for friends and family, but rather humiliating for me.
- Wildgoose 7y agoOn the contrary. Mispronouncing a word shows that you learned it through reading and that is to be celebrated, not mocked. You should simply acknowledge this fact and make it a badge of pride.
- lozzo 7y agoWell said. I am not english but I get by but I struggled when recently used the word "chasm". I pronounced the 'cha' as in chat. Oh boy, was I wrong. So eventually, after spelling it out my listener got me. She is my wife and she smiled. She knew I had learnt it through reading.
- sateesh 7y agoWhile growing up much of my access to English was through written words (literature, newspapers, magazines etc.) so my English vocabulary grew primarily due to my readings. I do have run into a few minor troubles when I use some of the words I learnt so in my speech. Despite that, I think learning via reading has been a net gain for me. So I don't necessarily agree that one should never learn a word without learning how it sounds.