Questions about vowels in English.
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votes
1answer
54 views
Pronunciation of 'Commentary'
I hear sometimes a longer version (reading fully the ending '-tary), and other times a version as if ending in '-try'. Why is that? Are these choices a matter of dialect? What other examples can be ...
0
votes
4answers
301 views
What is THE shortest English verb?
I have heard that two letter verbs are the shortest verbs in English. Is this totally true? Are any of the letters official recognized as verbs?
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votes
1answer
80 views
Pronunciation of “Oceania” in British English
How is Oceania properly pronounced in British English? Is it /ˌəʊʃɪˈɑːnɪə/, or /ˌəʊʃɪˈɑːnə/? I know a lot of people who use the latter, but I have always been taught the former.
1
vote
1answer
100 views
Why are we supposed to say the “a” as an “e” in “any” and “many”?
I speak Australian English, but I seem to pronounce the words many and anything differently from how the vast majority of people here do so.
I pronounce it using an a sound rather than an e sound ...
1
vote
1answer
161 views
How to pronounce '-ing' followed by a vowel
I'm getting into English recently and I'm a little confused by the way people pronounce a word that starts in a vowel right after a word ending in -ing.
For example:
You have to bring it up now?
...
0
votes
1answer
61 views
“Boneular” vs. “bonular”
My knowledge in morphology and orthography is lacking. I would like to know how to spell the neologism boneular, from bone (or Backbone, a programming library used for creating Web applications) and ...
-1
votes
1answer
236 views
Where can I find a list of words whose pronunciation is irregular? [closed]
Most words in English follow certain rules of pronunciation for vowels (for example: "o" in a closed syllable is usually pronounced /ɒ/ while in an open syllable it's usually /əʊ/).
From time to ...
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votes
2answers
177 views
What are the most common letters used in pairs after others in the English alphabet? [closed]
I have a question which is somewhat similar to What are the most common consonants used in English? (on wikiHow). What are the most common seven letters that come second in pairs after consonants and ...
-2
votes
1answer
114 views
“Bazaar” vs. “bazar”
Which of bazaar or bazar is better to use for the domain name of specialised marketplace?
Both are available according to the dictionaries.
Any advice which of these two is better to use in the URL?
...
1
vote
1answer
539 views
difference between American and British /ӕ/ sound
When I presented British /ӕ/ sound to three Korean English-familiar persons online - they are doing answering English-related questions activities [case 1; case 2], and asked what sound it’s like /ӕ/ ...
2
votes
1answer
917 views
What exactly is the “schwa” sound?
What exactly is the "schwa" sound? As a non-native speaker, I hear this sound as not being a pure and clean sound. I mean I know that every vowel sound may vary depending on whether the syllable is ...
0
votes
3answers
188 views
Coining new words from existing ones: Duplicate last letter?
I am trying to invent a word by taking an existing word and turning it into a noun a person can be called who is interacting with an object.
The trouble I ran into was the initial word's ending.
...
1
vote
2answers
180 views
What is the i with a dot on top and dot on bottom called?
I was watching a foreign film and I saw a "i" with a dot on the top as usual and a dot on the bottom. What is it called and is there a way I can find it and type it?
More details:
It was a ...
3
votes
1answer
106 views
What is modifying the “i” in Thumbelina and Carolina to alter its pronuciation?
While helping my daughter read (she is 5) we encountered two names in a story, Thumbelina and Carolina. The way I've come to pronounce the last four letters of "Thumbelina" is "LEE NAH" and the same ...
2
votes
5answers
452 views
Can we call something a “word” if it doesn't have a vowel? [closed]
It seems self-evident to me, but in the heat of a Scrabble game (no surprise), my opponent claimed that "sh" was a word. I think it's a diphthong, but the printed dictionary definition of "word" ...
4
votes
0answers
51 views
Why do you write “receive” with “ei” but “retrieve” with “ie”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why is it true that “I before E, except after C”?
Both words are similar in pronounciation but different in spelling. How come that "receive" is written with "ei" but ...
0
votes
1answer
207 views
/u/ and /uː/ in pronunciation
What is the regularity of appearance of /uː/ and /u/ (or /ʊ/ in RP)? How can I be most sure deducing from spelling alone, that, say, "ooze" is pronounced /uːz/ and "wool" as /wul/? I know that English ...
5
votes
1answer
213 views
What do the letters ï and ô mean? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the distinction between “role” and “rôle” [with a circumflex]?
What is the significance of the “ô” character in “rôle” in this work?
What is the standard rule ...
0
votes
2answers
339 views
Long vs. short vowels in English words of Latin origin
Is there any way to determine if a vowel is short or long in English words of Latin origin? I've noticed that u is usually long in Latin words (e.g., Jupiter) but what about other vowels?
6
votes
1answer
179 views
Sound changes of “wild” and “wilderness”
I'm having a heated a discussion with a friend and we cannot really get on the same level.
In the original pronunciation of the word wild, the "i" was the short sound that we have in the word ...
2
votes
2answers
170 views
Pronunciation of Bank, Tank, etc.: Bay-nk, Ray-nk or Baen-k or Raen-k?
What is the standard US pronunciation for words such as the following:
Bank
Rank
At least in my dialect of US English (Inland Northern), the following seem like close transcriptions:
Bank: ...
1
vote
0answers
27 views
Words using all possible vowels [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is there a word that contains all the vowels?
Is there a word in English that contains the 5 letters that are exclusively vowels (a, e, i, o, u) as well as the 3 letters ...
26
votes
7answers
2k views
How are 'marry', 'merry', and 'Mary' pronounced differently?
The way I pronounce these words is the same. Similarly for other words like these: I pronounce ferry and fairy the same, carrot and caret. Yet, dictionaries show different pronunciations for these ...
2
votes
2answers
313 views
Pronunciation of “catch”
I was curious about the different pronunciations of the word catch; more specifically, the difference between /kætʃ/ and /kɛtʃ/.
The Oxford dictionary lists both pronunciations as correct; is this ...
3
votes
1answer
322 views
Pronunciation of “Nevada” [closed]
People in the state of Nevada insist that it should be pronounced /nəˈvædə/ (with the vowel of TRAP)—this "issue" always comes up during campaigns—while much of the country typically pronounces it ...
2
votes
1answer
131 views
Waiteen for waiting
While it's reasonably common for people to drop the g in words such as waiting, hating, and dating, I seem to be stumbling upon a number of Americans additionally drawing out the final syllable of ...
2
votes
2answers
8k views
How do we differentiate long vowels from short vowels in English
I was finding a school for my toddler. I saw this new theory called long vowels and short vowels
The teacher talk about apple, which she read something like "eiple" and the hat, which she claims use ...
0
votes
1answer
620 views
Why does a silent “-e” at the end of a word lengthen vowels?
There's a common pattern in English spelling where "short" vowels are pronounced as "long" vowels with the addition of a silent "e" at the end of the word.
E.g.
bit → bite
mat → mate
pet → pete
...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Any rule for pronouncing “e”?
I hear three different sounds for the letter e in precious, bean, and Peru.
Is there a rule that covers the different pronunciations that a written letter e can represent in speech?
2
votes
4answers
753 views
Why is “go” spelled with the same vowel as “do” and “to” since it is pronounced differently?
These two-letter words ending in -o are pronounced with the vowel /oʊ/: bo, go
ho, jo, lo, no, so, and yo whereas do and to are pronounced with the vowel /uː/. Is there an explanation for the ...
6
votes
1answer
675 views
Variations in the pronunciation of “ea”
Perhaps this is more of a Linguistics question, so I apologize if this is not posted in the right place.
Why is it that these words in English sound so different?
earth = /ɜrθ/ “urth”
hearth ...
3
votes
4answers
15k views
How Many Diphthongs Are There In English?
I was talking to a person who said that there were only two. I think she said that the "ou" in house is one of the two.
I told her that the way the letter "i" is pronounced is a diphthong, and she ...
6
votes
2answers
6k views
Is “imbedded” a valid spelling of the word “embedded”?
I have seen this used on our marketing materials:
The technology imbedded in this solution will help improve productivity.
I was going to flag it as a spelling error, however Googling provided ...
1
vote
3answers
1k views
Do Americans pronounce “Ellen” and “Alan” in the same way?
Do Americans pronounce "Ellen" and "Alan" in the same way? I am especially concerned with the first vowel.
EDIT:
Here is a quote that may be a case in point:
Being a Brit also, the names "Ellen" ...
2
votes
1answer
329 views
Why is it 'speaking'/'speech' instead of 'speeking'/'speech' or 'speaking'/'speach'?
Why is it speaking/speech instead of speeking/speech or speaking/speach?
4
votes
1answer
861 views
Distinctive features of English diphthongs
I am looking for a table of distinctive features for English dipthongs along the lines of that available for other vowels here. I don't trust my purely book learned linguistic skills to produce an ...
2
votes
3answers
422 views
French speaker here- How to pronounce “ r ” and “ l ”?
I'm a French speaker and actually I have some problems with the sounds l , r and o in lawyer. Do you have some advices for me on how to place the tongue and so on ?
8
votes
3answers
1k views
Pronunciation of vowel in vague as [æ] instead of [eɪ]
I have a friend who pronounces the vowel in plague, vague, and bagel as [æ] instead of the standard [eɪ] (so plague rhymes with flag, for instance). Interestingly, he apparently can't tell the ...
2
votes
2answers
304 views
Can vowels be combined in English without forming diphthongs?
Usually all combinations of vowels in English function as diphthongs. Are there any combinations of vowels in English that do not function as diphthongs? if there are no such examples - I would be ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Longest English word without a vowel sound
I am not an English student, by discipline I am physicist, so am asking this question in innocence.
I searched Google for the longest word without a vowel sound and I get these results:
The ...
2
votes
2answers
170 views
“Vowels have no attack”
What is the linguistic meaning of this sentence?
Vowels are always voiced, and have no attack of their own.
7
votes
2answers
320 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 ...
14
votes
1answer
388 views
Is the pronunciation of the letters “Y” and “I” supposed to be identical?
My son and I were reciting the Spanish alphabet recently. "Y" is i griega, which means "Greek i." This got me thinking about the English letter Y and its function in our alphabet.
All of the words ...
15
votes
4answers
1k views
Pronunciation of “er” in “farmer” vs. “earth”
I'm confused about the difference in pronouncing "er" in words such as "farmer" and "earth". I hear them the same, but they have different phonetic symbols. Is there any difference in pronouncing "er" ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
Why doesn't “ninth” have an “e”, like “ninety”?
Is it just because "ninth" has only one syllable? That wouldn't make sense, though, because saying "NINE-ith" wouldn't be worse than saying "NINE-e-tee". If we were used to "nineth", we would have ...
3
votes
2answers
210 views
Why do “able” and “haste” have long a's?
(There are others, such as table, paste, and baste.) The rule I've heard is that a vowel is made long when succeeded by a consonant and then another vowel. Some words treat double consonants as a ...
1
vote
0answers
67 views
“An” versus “a” before a bracketed word that starts with a vowel followed by a non-bracketed word that doesn't start with a vowel [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“A/An” preceding a parenthetical statement
Which of the following is right/preferred:
The request is fulfilled by an (ideally) close by node.
or
...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Are W and Y vowels? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicates:
When is “Y” a vowel?
Is the 'w' in 'cow' a vowel or a consonant?
Are W and Y vowels? I learned it depends on the conditions. But I don't ...
8
votes
2answers
742 views
Is the 'w' in 'cow' a vowel or a consonant?
Is the w in cow a vowel or a consonant?
Assuming it is considered a vowel, would it likewise be so in how?
I learned that the vowels are "a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y."
If w can be a vowel, what ...
14
votes
2answers
1k views
Why did 'y' disappear as an internal vowel in English spelling?
Why did the character 'y' disappear in favor of 'i' in English spelling? I've often noticed this replacement when merchants try to sell or advertise something as archaic or old-timey, writing wife as ...
