Questions about vowels in English.
0
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4answers
142 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?
-1
votes
1answer
69 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
94 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
128 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
58 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
145 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 ...
-2
votes
2answers
133 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 ...
6
votes
2answers
5k 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
votes
1answer
85 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?
...
15
votes
4answers
1k views
New Zealand pronunciation of “women” vs “woman”
I have read in a number of places that the NZ pronunciation of "women" must be rather peculiar. Quoting from just one such place:
For some years I've noted the tendency of Kiwis to pronounce ...
6
votes
1answer
621 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
462 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
685 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
151 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.
...
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
1answer
129 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 ...
1
vote
3answers
975 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" ...
1
vote
2answers
166 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
101 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
412 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" ...
23
votes
2answers
2k views
What is the plural form of “zero”?
I tried looking on Google, but there are some fairly contradictory results.
I thought I'd ask you guys so we could get an authoritative answer on the subject!
17
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6answers
10k views
When is “Y” a vowel?
Today's XKCD got me thinking about when the letter Y is considered to be a vowel. I understand (perhaps incorrectly) that in words like bicycle and why it is a vowel. What about the word voyeur (as ...
0
votes
2answers
323 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?
2
votes
2answers
7k 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
561 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
...
2
votes
2answers
156 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: ...
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 ...
25
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 ...
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
188 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
198 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
273 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 ...
6
votes
1answer
167 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
252 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
294 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?
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 ...
8
votes
2answers
704 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 ...
11
votes
3answers
948 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 ...
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" ...
2
votes
2answers
293 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
1answer
828 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 ...
3
votes
4answers
14k 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 ...
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
705 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
2
votes
3answers
417 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 ?
2
votes
2answers
167 views
“Vowels have no attack”
What is the linguistic meaning of this sentence?
Vowels are always voiced, and have no attack of their own.
3
votes
2answers
208 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Online rhyme dictionary/rhyming resource that lists rhymes by vowel sound (assonance)
Anyone know of an online rhyming dictionary or rhyme resource that lists rhymes by vowel sound (assonance)? RhymeZone.com doesn't have such an option.
