Mr. Hauptman, I hear ya on mispronunciations. GAWD do I hear it–more than once a day in a good week! Don’t even think of trying to correct anyone, you’re being RUDE! Perfect example: In September, I evacuated to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Ike coming to Houston. In the 9 days I spent in the land of my birth (New Orleans), I managed to spend a fair amount of time and money at the Winn Dixie on Jefferson Highway, particularly during the day. (Our office was under suspended operations for 10 days.) There were two ladies doing product demonstrations of WD’s new frozen gelato dessert–pretty good, too! One lady was in the front of the store, one in the back. The lady in the back was pronouncing it “geh-LAH-dah,” and when I said “geh-LAH-to,” she actually told me I was wrong. I said, politely as I could, “no, it’s pronounced ‘geh-LAH-to.” (I watch a lot of The Food Network.) An elder customer looked me up and down and said, “Well, I guess if you’re Italian, you know how to pronounce it.” I said “thanks” and kept going. Thank heavens, they were not there the next time!