My thanks to "Seinfeld"

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TheParser

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Dear Fellow Learners of English:

1. I am 82 years old. My only language is (American) English. I learn something new about it every day.

2. Yesterday, I was watching an episode of the popular TV comedy show "Seinfeld." I was horrified when I discovered that all my life, I have been pronouncing the word "lithe" incorrectly. Of course, that is not a word that I have any reason to use much, but still …

3. I know that many of you are young and just starting your study of English, so I hope that you will check out the correct pronunciation of "lithe" on the Web. You never know when you may wish to use that word.

Best wishes
 
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emsr2d2

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I'd love to know how you've been pronouncing it!
 

TheParser

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I have been pronouncing it as if it sounded like "lee-th."

I am so happy that I have had very few occasions in my 82 years to use that word, thus saving me from announcing my ignorance.

Oh, I have just remembered the rule: The silent "e" at the end of "lithe" makes the vowel a long "i."
 
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Tdol

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Many British speakers were surprised when Stephen Fry pronounced valet as vallut in his Jeeves and Wooster, which was the pronunciation at the time. I was one of them.
 
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