Stupid words

I've always considered myself to be a guy with a pretty decent vocabulary. When I speak, people can easily grasp what I'm attempting to tell them, and I can throw in a 25 cent word here and there to look like a smart guy.

However, every now and then a word comes up and bite me. For years, I could not say "specifically". The word just would not leave my mouth without being first transmogrified (told you about those 25 cent words) into something like "specsdklfahgkl;jsdhgfdshg;lrsl". After attempting to say specifically I would spend the next 30 minutes attempting to free myself from my tongue, which had invariably wrapped itself around my head and lodged its tip in my nose.

Then there was album. Growing up, I heard "alblum"... so that's what I said. I was around 32 when someone (thanks Shannon) finally said "you know it's pronounced "album". I didn't believe and had to look it up. I still like my word better. The extra L makes the world roll off the tongue MUCH easier. Album has a choppy, staccato feel to it that just doesn't seem right. Way too Latin.

And today I was stabbed in the back by remuneration. Once again, for some reason I've always heard "renumeration" so that's what I said. So, when I thought I was asking for payment, I was actually asking to be counted again. Apparently, this error is more common than the album one, but it still makes me feel like one of those "wai u gotta b hatin' on me" types.