I have come to learn that:

• the word among is pronounced amung; (2025-12-09)

• the word category is stressed on the first syllable (i.e., CAT-uh-GO-ree and not cuh-TEH-guh-REE);

• the noun chicken is, in fact, countable (i.e., you cannot, in fact, say ‘two chicken’ – I had also been of the faulty belief that the plural is differentiated through a vowel change, namely -uhn becoming -in—which I will stress that is, as we in the field like to say, horseshit);

• the word country is pronounced like cunt-tree (i.e., not count-tree);

• the word crooked has two pronunciations:

  1. monosyllabic (i.e., like ‘looked’) when it's a verb; and
  2. bisyllabic (i.e., CROOK-idd) when it's an adjective;

• the word cupboard is pronounced cubberd (i.e., not cup-board—obviously);

• the word ensign is pronounced like the name Henson; (2025-12-10)

• the word fish has two perfectly valid plural forms, each used in different circumstances; i.e.:

  1. two fish when they are of the same kind; and
  2. two fishes when they are different;

• the word iron is apparently—and this may well be deeply disturbing for fellow ESL'ers—seriously—pronounced like ‘I earn’!

• the words Monday and Sunday are likewise pronounced muhn- and suhn-day (i.e., not mawn- and sawn-day);

• the word monk is pronounced munk (i.e., not like ‘bonk’), and the same goes for monkey (but not for ‘donkey’);

• although the word respite can be pronounced as the sum of its parts, its proper pronunciation (especially within the US!) turns out to be like that of the word ‘cesspit’; (2025-12-11)

• the word southern is pronounced suth-earn (i.e., not south-earn—obviously).

• the word vegetable is pronounced vedge-tubble (i.e., not vedge-uh-tubble); and that

• the word vigor is pronounced vigger (i.e., not VYE-gurr).