»assuage

I think I have been mis-pronouncing assuage, but I am not certain. Instead of \uh-SWAYJ\ or \ə-ˈswāj\ I have been eliding the sw sound entirely \ə-ˈsāj\. I think; I am not sure. I know for certain that I did not properly pronounce cooperate when I first saw it (in second grade, I thought that two os together indicated a diphthong, a long sound. I still write coöperate in defiance of the lack of separation most editors have. Similarly, I had the emphasis in esophagus as equal on all syllables.