Questions tagged [pronunciation]
for questions about the sound, stress, or intonation of spoken words.
2,795 questions
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Is the "u" in "menstruation" fading away?
When I was younger, I think I always heard the "u" in "menstruation" as a distinct syllable with long "u". But these days the "u" is pronounced with very little ...
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Was the silent 'e' in "nine" ever pronounced? In Old English, the word for "nine" was "nigon", with no 'e' at the end
Was the silent 'e' in "nine" ever pronounced? In Old English, the word for "nine" was "nigon", with no 'e' at the end. But, in Middle English, the word for "nine&...
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*an unitary operator* or *a unitary operator*
This is related to the question that I asked in English language and usage community: about whether there is a dialectal difference among the native English speakers in pronouncing the u of words like ...
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*an unitary operator* or *a unitary operator* [duplicate]
The rule that I usually use in such cases is that *an* precedes a vowel sound, while *a* is used before a consonant sound. I understand sound as different from letter - conventionally u would be ...
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Is "bedsit" more commonly primarily stressed on the first or second syllable?
Bedsit is one of those Britishisms that seem mildly extremely amusing (in a way that's not at all intentionally offensive, insulting, derogatory, incendiary) but not too out of the ordinary, so I just ...
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How are decimal numbers read or pronounced in different locales (different decimal separator)?
In the USA we use a period (dot) as the decimal separator. The word "point" is normally used for the decimal separator when reading such a number. For example, a number such as 3.14 would ...
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Gemination of plosives in final positions following a consonant
Whenever a plosive like p,t,k follows a consonant in the final position, it is always released or else it can't be heard at all. For example: lamp, act, thank, etc. Yet in the word lamppost, the first ...
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Right pronunciation of 'the east'? [closed]
What should be the right pronunciation of 'the east'- is it 'di east' or 'da east'??
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Are there any English words where the W grapheme represents a /v/ sound?
I noticed that Wladimir Klitschko's first name is pronounced /ˈvlæ.dɪ.miə(ɹ)/, similar to Vladimir.
It appears the W grapheme is representing the /v/ sound here. This is new to me and I was wondering ...
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2
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Are there any English words where the EA grapheme represents a schwa sound?
There are many graphemes that can represent the schwa sound, several of which start with an E:
EI as in FOREIGN
EO as in SURGEON or DUNGEON
I am curious if the grapheme EA can also represent a schwa ...
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How are words ending with "-edly" pronounced?
I knew that "-ed-" in supposedly and assuredly are pronounced out as a syllable unlike when they don't have "-ly". I found a list of words ending in "-edly" (1), and ...
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Y'all pronounced as "yah"
I grew up in Texas, and I've heard and often said "yah" instead of y'all. I've never seen it listed as an alternative word to y'all.
Has anyone else heard this pronunciation? I cannot seem ...
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Pronunciation of Emma and Emma's
According to Wiktionary, Emma is pronounced as /ˈɛmə/ but I tend to hear it sounding more like /ˈɛmɑː/. However, when it comes to pronouncing Emma's, I hear it like /ˈɛməz/ and I hear a clear schwa ...
FinAnalyst
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Pronunciation of "there, their and they're"
I know that the words there, their, and they're are homophones, but I can't help but think that their has a slight /j/ between /e/ and /r/ (/ðer/).
This thought didn't just come to me out of nowhere- ...
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Is there a regular phonological explanation for the diphthong in the infinitive of the verb "to say" becoming a monophthong in "he says"?
The infinitive form shows a diphthong /seɪ/, while the typical pronunciation of the third-person singular "simple present" form has /ɛ/ as the nucleus /sɛz/. Wiktionary suggests that the ...
2
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1
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Why does the word "experience" have a different initial vowel from that in "expert" and "expertise"?
In American English, the pronunciation of the words "experience", "expert", and "expertise" can be transcribed as /ɪkˈspɪr.i.əns/, /ˈɛk.spɚt/, /ˌɛk.spɚˈtiːz/ respectively....
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Is this pronuncation of "serious" or "series" correct? [closed]
Merriam-Webster says that the pronunciation of "serious" or "series" is
ˈsir-ē-əs
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/serious
But I do not make the si sound ("sin")...
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Is the /jʊɹ/ phoneme being streamlined to /jɚ/ in General American?
The following words have the UR and URE graphemes representing the /jʊɹ/ phoneme.
uranium
security
curious
Europe
fury
mural
cure/pure/demure
failure
tenure
figure
But for many of the above words, ...
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How to pronounce sixth as sikst-th? [duplicate]
According to BBC and Merriam-Webster, sixth can be pronounced as sikst-th. But how? It seems quite impossible to me to pronounce k, s, t, th, 4 consonants in a sequence.
0
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American pronunciations of "practice" [duplicate]
American Pronunciations of "practice"
Oxford advanced American English: /ˈpræktəs/ https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/practice_2
Oxford advanced ...
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What is the ‘‑ht vs ‑th’ grammar or spelling rule? [duplicate]
Some words end with ‑th while others end with ‑ht. For example:
Height, weight, thought, drought, sleight, sight all end with ‑ht.
Length, width, breadth, depth, wealth, girth, dearth all end with ‑...
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Is the a in artistically, logically, etc. silent?
Some websites claim,
A is silent when it comes before ‘lly’ – artistically, logically, musically, naturally, romantically, stoically.
Isn't there (at least) a (lightly) pronounced ə in each case?
...
user472896
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Pronunciation of (King) Leir in Early Modern English
Shakespeare's King Lear may have used the anonymous play King Leir as a source. Lear is pronounced /lɪər/ in present-day English and I assume that Early Modern English used essentially the same ...
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How does one pronounce Pompey?
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, a general during the last years of the Republic:
Some folks are under the impression that the standard English version of his name, Pompey, is pronounced "POM-pee," ...
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3
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Colander pronunciation
My mother always pronounced colander "culander" and corrected me if I pronounced otherwise. No change in emphasis, just the second letter sound. Does anyone else pronounce it thus, or is our ...
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A or an hexadecimal number? [duplicate]
From what I know, in English, the rule is that before a word starting with h, we use the article "a". So I would imagine that the correct way is:
"a hexadecimal number"
Searching ...
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What's the accent in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary?
Can someone please clarify if the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary uses General American English accent?
I assume it uses General American English accent which is the accent I am learning. But ...
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Why was "London" pronounced "Lonnon"?
Samuel Rogers (1856):
It is curious how fashion changes pronunciation. In my youth every body said “Lonnon,” not “London:” Fox said “Lonnon” to the last; and so did Crowe.
Richd. Welford (1899):
”...
user472896
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Is glottal stop before last syllable becoming much more common? (NA English) [closed]
What is the more accepted and common pronunciation in the US?
(< = glottal stop)
Word: Accurate
Pronunciation: "<Ack your rut", or "<Ack your <ut"
Word: "Higgens&...
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What does the lady say at the begining of this video? [closed]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSZ_t35cTKI
What does the lady say in this videos? first 10 seconds
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Is it common to pronounce "machinations" with /sh/?
In the show The Sandman, Ep7, a character speaks "machinations" with a soft /sh/, as "mash-in-ay-tions":
You seek to snare him in your machinations again?
I expected the "ch&...
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Does the letter C by itself make the sound /kə/ in any word besides Cthulhu?
Cthulhu has two common pronunciations:
/kəˈθuːluː/
/kəˈtuːluː/
In both cases, the grapheme C represents the sound /kə/.
I can not think of any other word where the grapheme C represents the sound /...
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Why does Oxford American English dictionary use "y" symbol instead of "j"
Oxford American English dictionary uses "y" symbol instead of "j" in their pronunciation guide. Most other dictionaries use j. So are there any differences between the 2 symbols or ...
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Cot caught merger - /ɔɪ/ or /ɑɪ/ in boy, choice...?
Here is the pronunciation guide from Oxford American English dictionary:
Some speakers only use the sound /ɔ/ when it is followed by /r/ (as in horse /hɔrs/) and use /ɑ/ in all other words that are ...
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Possibility of a near-cure or peer-pure vowel merger in American English
I am a young speaker from Chicago with, I think, a relatively nonspecific General American accent. I’ve noticed something interesting with the vowels in the NEAR and CURE sets. These vowels can be ...
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Is Evelyn pronounced variously based on gender?
When I first read Evelyn Waugh's books decades ago, I assumed the author was female. I subsequently found out Evelyn can also be a man's name in England. But today I found out that Evelyn Waugh's ...
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"bus" and "cut" pronounciations? [duplicate]
So there are words that use "bus" but where this group of letters is pronounced differently:
busy - "bizzy"
bus/bust - "bas/bast"
Case 2: Similarly with "cut" ...
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Pronunciation of ss as s and lack of sh?
I've been hearing some British and Irish actors and presenters pronounce ss like s instead of sh, so tissue sounds like tisyu rather than tishu for example. I also heard someone pronounce appreSEEate ...
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CH/J sound and the position of the tip of the tongue
Question about American English:
According to these YouTube videos (Example 1, Example 2, Example 3), to make the CH-/J- sound, we place the tip of the tongue on the alveolar ridge behind the top ...
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How do you pronounce "figure it out" quickly? [closed]
It it pronounced "figurtitout" or "figurtout"? which one is more natural/correct? I always try to go for the first but I find it harder to pronounce than the second one (Cuz I hate ...
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How to pronounce "de Morgan" in "de Morgan's Law" or "Augustus de Morgan" in British English?
How to pronounce "de Morgan" in "de Morgan's Law" or "Augustus de Morgan" in British English? As you may know, "de Morgan" occurs frequently in mathematics and ...
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'Divers' and 'diverse'
While the accepted answer to the question What does the term 'divers places' mean? states that:
Divers is an archaic spelling of diverse
I disagree. The words are not interchangeable. I have ...
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Which phoneme/sound is unpronounced in ”prompt”?
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/prompt_1?q=prompt
Is the British pronunciation artificial, or is it really how people in England speak on a daily basis? The three ...
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Why are the words “geography” and “geomancy” stressed differently?
Geography is stressed on the 3rd last syllable while Geomancy on the 1st and 3rd. Why is this the case? Is my guess true that a word having entered the English language for a long time would tend to ...
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Is /ʌ/ really a stressed schwa, appearing only in stressed syllables?
If /ʌ/ occurs only in stressed syllables, why does punctilious /pʌŋkˈtɪliəs/ have it in an unstressed syllable? Same with upbraid /ʌpˈbreɪd/.
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Did “find” rhyme with “joined” in the 18th century?
I notice that in Alexander Pope's poem, An Essay on Criticism (1711), lines 669-70, there is the following couplet:
In grave Quintilian’s copious works we find
The justest rules and clearest method ...
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Why is ‘Gentiles’ considered a two-syllable word?
When I say the word Gentiles I make three specific vowel sounds. I posted a poem in a writing group recently and everyone gave the feedback that a particular line was missing a syllable, when in my ...
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Did the words "come" and "home" historically rhyme?
The third stanza of the hymn Amazing Grace is
Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
In this hymn ...
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Which English is spoken in continental Europe? British, American , or its own version
Many Europeans speak English. What version is this English? is it British, American or its own continental English? If it's continental English which does it most closely resemble, British or American,...
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Why is 'e' pronounced like 'a' in some words?
I'm not a native English speaker and I have noticed that 'e' in some words are pronounced like 'a' by native speakers sometimes. For example, "Texas" sounds like "Taxes", or "...
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