Âé¶¹´«Ã½

Why do I need to be able to pronounce a word to recall it? (Part 2)

One reader recalls a mispronunciation of ambivalent that caused much embarrassment in a statistics class

9 August 2023

Close up to the dictionary definition of Phlegmatic; Shutterstock ID 1188169102; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Shutterstock/Contimis Works

When I read a word that I don’t know how to pronounce, I can’t remember it. Why do I need to be able to pronounce a word for my brain to recall it? (continued)

Garry Trethewey
Arkaroola, South Australia

Most people who wrongly remember my name, Garry, call me Harry, Larry or something similar. They sound the same.

But a significant number of people call me Greg, which sounds nothing similar.

I have thought about their process: a leading capital “G”, a middle bit with an “r” and a vowel, and a final letter with a dangling tail. So I…

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