Technical questions about the sound patterns of English.
20
votes
2answers
1k views
Why do written English vowels differ from other Latin-based orthographies?
Written English vowels differ from other Latin-based orthographies. Consider what the written vowels in the romance languages represent. Also, for example, consider this simple comparision between a ...
23
votes
3answers
2k views
Why did only English undergo the Great Vowel Shift, making pronunciation stray so far from spelling?
Lots of people have wondered why English seems to be one of very few languages with such irregular spelling, far from its pronunciation. The answers include the Norman invasion, and the Great Vowel ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
Sounds of the letter a
How can I know, precisely, when to differentiate the sounds of the letter a, like in: apple and vault?
8
votes
5answers
946 views
Are there any “-nk-” or “-nc-” words in English where there isn't a “ng” before the “k” sound?
In words like think and lank, we actually seem to be saying "thing-k" and "lang-k." Can anyone thing-k of any words or rules for sound use where this doesn't happen?
3
votes
2answers
4k views
Semi-vowels in English [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When is “Y” a vowel?
Why are 'w' and 'y' called semi-vowels in English?
8
votes
5answers
2k views
How can I practice differentiating between the “æ” and “ɛ” sounds in English phonology?
For a non-native English speaker like me, it's always been hard to sound æ and ɛ differently. For example, "salary" and "celery" are two words that I tend to pronounce identically.
Is it OK to go on ...
9
votes
5answers
347 views
How is the pronunciation of r before th? Specific case: “north”
Some consonants such as n,d,t are usually alveolar in English, except that they are replaced by dentals when they are before dental fricatives (th): tenth, said this, in the….
What about "r" before ...
7
votes
1answer
454 views
How did the “double consonant to shorten vowel” thing come about? (“furry” vs. “fury”)
In English, a doubled consonant most commonly means "shorten the previous vowel", where "shorten" means map phonemes like this:
[aɪ] -> [i]
[oʊ] -> [ɔ]
etc
For example, fury is pronounced [fjʊri] ...
9
votes
3answers
622 views
“nt” pronounced as “n” in American English (as in “Internet”): what is it called?
I know that pronouncing "t" as "d" is called a flap t, but is there a name for pronouncing "nt" as "n" in some words, as is common in American English?
Examples:
"Internet" is pronounced as "inner ...
0
votes
0answers
106 views
Reform of English writing?
As is commonly known, English is quite notorious for having a writing system that is far removed from the actual way it is most commonly pronounced. I understand that there are important historical ...
