Fun with words

Here's a dilemma I've never quite unraveled - if you know that the correct way to do something is one way, but that's not the way everybody else does it, do you still do it the correct way? Okay, that's confusing. How on earth would you know what I mean by that? Sorry. Allow me to elaborate.

I'm a bit of a word nerd. I like words a lot. It's not like I would sit down and read a dictionary. But if I hear a new word, I will go look it up (my Momma raised me well), especially before I go use it myself. And if I'm not sure how to pronounce it, I won't even attempt it. But there are some words that are fairly common usage, that for one reason or another I know are commonly mispronounced. Like:

• Forte: When you mean loud it's for-tay, but when you mean "a personal strength", it's fort.
• Fillet: It's usually confused with filet (pronounced fil-ay), which is for meat, rather than fillet (fill-eht), which is for fish.
• The Dutch cheese gouda is pronounce gow-da, rather than goo-da (of which I was informed by a reliable source who was standing in a windmill and wearing wooden shoes at the time).
• The you pronounce the final "g" in VanGogh in the Dutch manner, rather than saying VanGo like he was some sort consonant droppping Frenchy (also pointed out by the wooden shoe sporting, and slightly cranky, Hans).

Would I ever correct someone for saying these things wrongly? Nope (my Momma raised me quite well). But, I always hesitate before saying them myself. Should I pronounce it the right way, and then have to explain myself when somebody attempts to correct me (other people's Mommas appear to have fallen down on the job), and sound like a real uptight snoot? Or just say it the wrong way? Which totally goes against my natural fussbudgettiness. I could potentially take aside each and every person that I ever come into contact with and privately have a detailed rundown of commonly mispronounced words (hitting liberry and aks along the way) before we ever have to use them in conversation, but I doubt everyone would find that conversation as amusing as I would.

For the most part, I ditch the schoolmarm routine, and just say things wrong, even though it does twist my drawers just a little. Goo-da is just as tasty as gow-da, after all. I may be uptight when it comes to this kind of thing, but that can just be our little secret.