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Show PRONUNCIATION x IS SOCIAL DISGRACE YOU'RE not liable to a jail sen. fence for committing the crime; (on won't be fined or even censoied by the law; but society, in its own intolerant way, will take care of you. You will receive a penalty more painful than sitting in a jug: you will be banished socially. The crime? Mispronunciation. "Nothing in all the world is so betraying as mispronunciation," writes Archibald Rutledge in the February Good Housekeeping. "If a speaker fumbles for the right word, we have a fellow sympathy for him; if a writer misspells one, we feel a personal jolt; but when someone mispronounces a word, we are embarrassed by him and for him." Mispronunciation can be traced directly to one of two reasons: carelessness care-lessness or ignorance. Correct pronunciation can be acquired, says Mr. Rutledge, by listening to those who are considered con-sidered authorities, and by reference to the dictionary when in doubt. Below is a test of twenty words on which "even the fairly well-educated is likely to stumble". Count 5 for each word pronounced correctly. Over 60 is fair. Over 80 is excellent. ex-cellent. 1. Quintuplet 11. Alias 2. Respite 12. Heinous r 3. Penalize 13. Coupon 4. Incognito 14. Mausoleum 6. Ignominy 15. Mischievous 6. Flaccid 16. Robust 7. Formidable 17. Corral 8. Theatre 18. Secretive 9. Indictment 19. Condolence 10. Poignant 20. Khaki |