Is 'r' in Br/Amr pronunciation of 'Arjmand' (Persian word) silent?
(In other words, how is this word pronounced in Br/Amr English?)
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1Arjmand is not an English word, so I can only guess how it's pronounced in English. The 'r' should be silent in the British pronunciation (because the Brits drop all 'r's after vowels), but maybe not in the American pronunciation.– Peter ShorCommented May 29, 2011 at 23:37
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@Peter Shor, Thanks, that's what I'm looking for (how En speaker pronounced it).– Ali ShakibaCommented May 29, 2011 at 23:56
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However, Britains will also have different pronunciations of non-English words than Americans, from counties formerly of the British Empire. In these cases, the British pronunciations are usually closer to the native pronunciations. See, American vs British pronunciations of Pakistan.– SamCommented May 30, 2011 at 4:48
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@Sam: On the other hand, Americans pronounce Spanish words more accurately that Brits (for example, you put the accent on the wrong syllable of orégano) . It just depends on which foreign countries you interact with more.– Peter ShorCommented May 30, 2011 at 11:14
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@Peter, I never said that I was British or American:), and I don't deny there are some foreign words that Americans pronounce more accurately than Brits. But Oregano comes to english from the latin origanum, through italian origano, which is pronounced more like the Brits do.– SamCommented May 30, 2011 at 12:55
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2 Answers
It depends whether or not you are speaking American English or British English.
American English uses the rhotic 'r', while British English 'r' is non-rhotic.
For example, rhotic speakers say "barn", and 'r' has a strong nasal sound, whereas non-rhotic speakers say "barn" pretty much like "bahn".
So "Arjmand" could be pronounced "Arjmand" or "Ajmand"
answered Jun 2, 2011 at 11:03
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Oh, thanks! I think that's why I wasn't able to guess what to go with (as non native En speaker). There is also a Wikipedia entry about it: Rhotic and non-rhotic accents Commented Jun 2, 2011 at 11:42
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So, is the non-rhotic accent something that the British worked out to avoid being harangued for pronunciation of 'r' in French words? Commented Jun 2, 2011 at 11:56
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I have no idea. I think it was just the natural way they spoke. Commented Jun 2, 2011 at 11:58
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Actually, there are large swaths of the USA that are non-rhotic as well. See the maps at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents . The little areas on the East Coast may look small, but contain most of the east coast Megaopolis.– T.E.D.Commented Jun 2, 2011 at 18:13
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Much of Northern England is rhotic too. I, as an Irish non-rhotic speaker, am odd. I blame my English parents and BBC Radio 4.– TRiGCommented Jun 16, 2011 at 20:50
Well, this is actually a bit of a misguided question, as that isn't even how the name is "spelled" in Persian. They have their own alphabet. If someone decided to write the word as Arjmand, they presumably picked the letters for the benefit of English speakers, and presumably meant it to be pronounced roughly as written.
