LnR 116 (Casual Language) Desert/Dessert  (Replay from 2 1/2 years ago)       

A: Teacher, how to pronounce this word?

B: This one, with two s's, is pronounced "dessert". It means sweet food after dinner.

A: Oh, like ice cream or chocolate cake?

B: Exactly. As a matter of fact, that's what we usually had for dessert when I was growing up. Though sometimes Mom made us have fruit instead of cake or ice cream.

A: And what about this word?

B: It's pronounced "desert". Like the Sahara Desert in northern Africa. Are there any deserts in your country?

A: No, but we have lots of hills and mountains.

B: That's nice. By the way, please don't call me "Teacher". Use my name, Miss Buswell. But don't call me only "Buswell", because it's not nice to call a lady only by her last name.

A: Oh, I didn't know that. In my language, we call our teachers "teacher" or "professor".

B: Oh, I see. Also, it's bad grammar to say, "How to pronounce." You should say, "How do you pronounce".

A: OK, thanks. I learned a lot with this question!