The spelling of the word "laduke" is a bit deceiving. Despite the presence of the letter "u", it is actually pronounced as "la-dook" ([ləˈduːk]) with an elongated "oo" sound. This can be explained through the IPA phonetic transcription system, which helps to accurately represent the sounds of words in language. Although the spelling may lead one to believe it is pronounced differently, the correct pronunciation of "laduke" is "la-dook" ([ləˈduːk]).