The minefield of French pronunciation
Some things take longer to sink in than others. While I may now be able to speak the lingo with a reasonable level of confidence in some departments (grammar, fluency and vocabulary for example). I still lack the experience to ensure the words come out as intended, or as they should. Successful pronunciation of an unfamiliar French word depends a great deal on having heard it before, much in the same way it does in English. Simply reading the word in black and white is no guarantee that the subsequent attempt at verbalisation will be anything close to the word that French ears would expect to hear. There are of course rules to follow, and you can more often than not grasp shape of the word in your mouth proficiently enough for a native Francophone to understand what it is you are trying to say, and hopefully correct you. Bizarrely until recently I had managed to go some five years pronouncing the word for alcohol entirely incorrectly without anyone bothering to point out that I had got it subtly, [...]