Iguana Teach You A Language Lesson

This was back in 2002 when I was in eighth grade. My science class had a pet iguana that lived at the school. He had free range of the classroom. My teacher was retiring and wouldn’t be able to care for him anymore. She brought him to a pet store that promised to find a good home for him. The name of the pet store has been changed.

Classmate: “What pet store did you bring him to?”

Teacher: “A place called Renault’s Pets in [Local City].”

It bugged me because she pronounced it “Rey-nawlts” when it’s actually pronounced “Rey-nose”.

Me: “That’s not how you pronounce that name.”

Teacher: “Yes, it is. How else would you pronounce it?”

Me: “‘Rey-nose’.”

Teacher: “You’re wrong.”

Me: “No, I’m not.”

Teacher: “Don’t talk back. It’s ‘Rey-nawlts’.”

Me: “You’re saying it wrong.”

Teacher: “What makes you the expert?”

Me: “My great grandfather opened that store in the early 1940s.”