Tagged Questions
2
votes
2answers
99 views
Character vs Charm - Pronunciation
Is there a rule to understand how the group "Cha" has to be pronounced?
"Character" sounds with a hard first syllable, while "Charm" sound softer, but I don't find how to tell which sound to use ...
6
votes
1answer
126 views
Where does “wicked” get its /ɪd/ from?
There are three ways I know to pronounce the -ed at the end of an adjective:
/t/ as in cracked.
/d/ as in lined.
/ɪd/ as in naked
I realise naked is a special case because, as etymonline states, ...
2
votes
1answer
176 views
Pronunciation of onomatopoeia, pharmacopoeia, etc
Words such as onomatopoeia and pharmacopoeia incorporate the Greek suffix -poeia, meaning to make or to prepare. Wiktionary's provided etymology for onomatopoeia reads:
From Ancient Greek ...
-2
votes
1answer
501 views
What is the origin of the “should of” instead of “should have” mistake? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How did the use of “could of” and “should of” originate, and is it considered correct?
Recently, I tend to stumble a lot over the mistake that people write should of ...
5
votes
1answer
91 views
How did “invoice” end up with an 's'-sound?
The Etymonline entry for invoice states (source):
apparently from M.Fr. envois, pl. of envoi "dispatch (of goods),"
Although my French is pretty poor, my understanding is that the 's' is silent. ...
6
votes
2answers
235 views
When does the name prefix “Mc” take stress?
Mc (or Mac) is often used as a prefix in Gaelic-derived names.
In one class containing most such names, prefixing Mc does not affect the position of the accent somewhere on the base name. Thus Mc is ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
How did the pronunciation of the word “derby” evolve?
Brits say "dar-bee" for both the town and the race, but Americans pronounce it as it's spelled.
Did Brits used to say "der-bee" too and that's why it's spelled that way but they changed over time?
...
5
votes
1answer
404 views
Why is the verb form of “record” pronounced [ri-kawrd] but the noun form is pronounced [rek-erd]?
Is there a different origin of pronunciation style for record as a verb and as a noun?
Fun fact: in OS X, if you type say "this record" and say "record this" — the text to speech system picks up the ...
5
votes
2answers
263 views
The term 'vocal fry': where does it come from?
On a recent Language Log posting Vocal fry: "creeping in" or "still here"?, Mark Liberman discusses an (also) recent article about the phenomenon of 'vocal fry' and shows how it has been around for ...
8
votes
2answers
935 views
What makes a word offensive? [closed]
Whilst I was sat on the bus yesterday, I overheard a group of teenagers discussing various things. As per the usual social requirement at that age, every 5th word was an expletive. Not exactly the ...
4
votes
2answers
851 views
Origin and pronunciation of “Thawte”
Working in the IT industry I often have to use the word Thawte - the name of a company and its certificates. What is the origin of this word and its correct pronunciation? Does it have its own meaning ...
11
votes
1answer
600 views
Why isn't “muscle” pronounced “muskle”?
It comes from the Latin musculus (meaning mouse) and Latin has only hard c's. The "c" has somehow become soft or silent during evolution. Why did this happen?
Also, if muscle is pronounced mussle, ...
7
votes
2answers
311 views
Where did “sorry” get its vowel sound?
Sorry has two pronunciations in my dictionary: ˈsärē and ˈsôrē. The first is the one I am interested in because, as someone pointed out to me, the or pattern in English is nearly always pronounced as ...
6
votes
2answers
370 views
Why is “eye” pronounced so strangely?
This is either a spelling or a pronunciation anomaly; I'm not sure which. Why is "eye" pronounced as the letter "I"?
2
votes
2answers
364 views
How is “winded” pronounced in “he winded a horn”?
Either "wɪnd" or "waɪnd" is acceptable, according to Dictionary.com, but merely being acceptable doesn't satisfy me. "Wɪnd" seems better to me, due to the connotation of blowing wind, etc, but ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Why is “bade” pronounced “bad”?
Dictionary.com doesn't even allow for the pronunciation "beyd", which is how I thought it was pronounced until very recently. Forbade is similarly pronounced, though the dictionary generously gives ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
Why is “plaid” pronounced “plad”?
Why is there an 'ai' in plaid if it is pronounced "plad"? That's a word that used to trip me up when I was a little tyke. (This time, unlike my previous question, I hope I'm right in saying that ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Why is “great” pronounced as “grate”, but spelled with “ea”?
Great is one of the few common English words in which "ea" is pronounced /eɪ/ (ay). Why is this pronunciation associated with this spelling?
As an aside, I remember from researching for my answer to ...
7
votes
1answer
2k views
2
votes
3answers
943 views
Why is “bream” pronounced as “brim”?
Every time I catch an Acanthopagrus australis, commonly known as a yellowfin bream, I wonder why its name is prounced "brim", (as in the same way you would pronounce the brim of a hat).
...
3
votes
2answers
353 views
Origins of English Double-C Pronunciations
Looking into Pronunciation of double consonants, turned up an apparent rule for pronouncing a double-C in English that seems to parallel the Italian rule for pronouncing a single C. If the "cc" is ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Is the -re “supposed” to be silent in the pronunciation of “macabre”?
Is the "-re" supposed to be silent in the pronunciation of the word macabre? I'm aware that dictionaries give two pronunciations, \məkäb\ and \mekäbrə\, but is one of them just a fixed "error" of the ...
5
votes
3answers
451 views
What was the original sound of rh?
The subject more or less says it all. I would like to know how rh (as in rhythm) was originally pronounced. It is listed as being something which was originally present in Latin, but, in Latin, "h" is ...
7
votes
1answer
461 views
Bow vs Bow - etymology of the differing pronunciation
OED states that both "a bow" as in the weapon and "to bow" or "a bow" as in to incline at the knee share a common etymology:
Etymology: Common Germanic: Old English boga, corresponding to Old ...
17
votes
2answers
2k views
Is the “-b” to be pronounced in the word “limb”? What about “thumb”? “Crumb”?
I'm confused about the differing pronunciations of words that end in "-b". For example, I remember being told by some of earliest teachers that the "-b" in limb was meant to be silent, and one ...
-5
votes
2answers
263 views
Does the word “amen” have anything to do with men? Which is the correct pronunciation?
I don't understand how the word amen was coined by breaking it down to what I presume to be its constituents, a- and men. It seems to be a phrase of affirmation — I don't see what men has ...
14
votes
3answers
548 views
Why is “Chop Gate” pronounced so strangely?
I was passing through the hamlet of Chop Gate (in North Yorkshire) the other day, and heard it referred to as "chop yat" (tʃɒp yæt). This source here concurs with that pronunciation.
Does anyone know ...
1
vote
3answers
1k views
Different ways to pronounce “augh”
In the word laugh, it is pronounced "aff".
In the word naught, it is pronounced "aw".
Are there any other ways to pronounce "augh"?
Bonus points for etymology explaining from where these ...
6
votes
2answers
357 views
Pronunciation: ‘lousy’ vs. ‘mousy’. Why?
Inspired by comments on Proper use of the word “lousy”?:
The word lousy is traditionally pronounced with a /z/ sound, as though it were louzy.* Contrastingly, the word mousy is always pronounced ...
20
votes
7answers
4k views
Why is “primer” pronounced with a short “i” sound?
This word—used to mean an elementary textbook, not a painting material—annoys me to no end. Does anyone know why, exactly, "primer" is pronounced with a short "i" sound? I don't know why, call it ...
20
votes
6answers
6k views
Why is the “ph” pronounced like a “v” in “Stephen”? Is this the only word like that?
While I know how my name is pronounced, I've run into many non-native english speakers who have stumbled over this unique exception to English. Even in the female name, "Stephanie", the ph is ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
Why does “ow” have two different sounds
Why is it that the "ow" in now makes the aʊ sound while "ow" in snow makes the oʊ sound? Has this always been, was it spelled differently and then changed, or was it spelled this way but the sound ...
20
votes
4answers
3k views
Why are there two pronunciations for “either”?
A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with an individual who told me that pronouncing the word "either" is wrong when pronounced like \ˈī-thər\ instead of \ˈē-thər\ , but I didn't argue the point ...
