Questions tagged [pronunciation]
for questions about the sound, stress, or intonation of spoken words.
2,198
questions
3
votes
1answer
69 views
Was the Queen's English as we know it artificially created?
There is a theory that American English is in fact a great deal closer in terms of pronunciation to the language Shakespeare spoke than the official British version, a.k.a. the Queen's English.
...
1
vote
0answers
86 views
How to pronounce the '/100 km'?
Hi, there!
When we describe the fuel consumption, how should we pronounce the '/100km'?
e.g: This car has a fuel consumption of 100 gal/100km.
Is it pronounced as 'per one hundred kilometers' or '...
3
votes
2answers
186 views
+100
Where in Ireland, if anywhere, at the time of James Joyce, would “hoe” and “whore” sound similar enough to pun?
Where in Ireland, if anywhere, at the time of James Joyce (1882 – 1941), would "hoe" and "whore" sound similar enough to pun?
This question pertains to Does Joyce, in Finnegans Wake or Ulysses, ...
0
votes
1answer
64 views
Why is pianist usually stressed on the /pi/?
"Pianist" is usually pronounced /ˈpiənɪst/, with /piˈænɪst/ as an acceptable variant only in the US and Canada, according to Wiktionary.
I'm not sure why the pronunciation /ˈpiənɪst/ would be more ...
2
votes
1answer
59 views
schwa before /r/
Right now, Wikipedia gives the pronunciation of Sirius as /ˈsɪriəs/, but in the past I've seen editors insist on /ˈsɪəriəs/. I take this to mean that it should sound like seer, which I at least ...
2
votes
0answers
79 views
Is [ʌ] a back vowel or a central vowel in GA English?
The IPA symbol /ʌ/ name is "open-mid back unrounded vowel" and the IPA vowel trapezoid shows it as the unrounded version of /ɔ/, but its sound in English sounds very different from [ɔ] to me. It ...
1
vote
0answers
72 views
Pronunciation of antifa?
I'm hearing all kinds of pronunciations for antifa :
ən'ti:fə
æn'ti:fə
'æntɪfɑ:
æntɪ'fɑ:
The word has recently become more prominent. Do fascists and antifascists say it in the same way? Any ...
0
votes
0answers
7 views
Why is the IPA for the Russian word “здание” is /ˈzdanʲɪje/ although people pronounce it like /ˈzdanʲɪjə/? [migrated]
Why is the IPA for the Russian word "здание" is /ˈzdanʲɪje/ although people pronounce it like /ˈzdanʲɪjə/? Do Russians pronounce the IPA letter "e" like "ə" if it is at the end of the words?
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Word something in “Happy” [closed]
In the song "Happy" (Pharrell Williams) the word "nothing" is pronounced like "nuhm-m". Why does it occur? I see many words when the sounds are different that the "right pronunciation" (that I hear in ...
3
votes
0answers
45 views
Pronunciation of Los Angeles with /g/ and not /dʒ/, /lɒs'æŋgələs/ as opposed to /lɒs'ændʒələs/
I remember reading in an early Michael Connelly novel from the late nineties a remark about how one of the characters pronounced Los Angeles with a /g/ sound, making it /lɒs'æŋgələs/.
So far as I ...
0
votes
0answers
31 views
Pronunciation of the word antisemitic [duplicate]
There seems to be two ways to pronounce antisemitic. I have always pronounced the syllable "sem" to rhyme with "them". I notice that many Americans make it rhyme with "him" and the following syllable "...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
On the velar nasal /ŋ/ sound followed by /k/
I'm a non-native speaker and I have always pronounced all words with syllables ending in 'n' followed by a /k/ sound with the velar nasal /ŋ/. For example:
think / increase (v+n) / income / ...
0
votes
1answer
53 views
How do you pronounce this phrase, “as for me”? [closed]
How do you pronounce this phrase, "as for me"? "æz fɔr mi", "æz fər mi", "əz fɔr mi" or "əz fər mi"?
10
votes
4answers
3k views
Spicket or spigot?
I recently was making a list and for the first time using a digital device, typed in what I grew up referring to an outdoor faucet 'spicket' as into my iPad.
My mother grew up in Utah and my father ...
4
votes
2answers
125 views
Can you link the [ʃ] sound and [s] sound?
How do you pronounce "English Speakers"? Do you treat sh and s as similar consonants?
0
votes
0answers
24 views
'Direction' Pronunciation [duplicate]
There are two ways to pronounce the word 'direction'.
dɪˈrɛkʃ(ə)n and dʌɪˈrɛkʃ(ə)n
Is one American and one British? If yes, please confirm which is which.
If not, what's the difference in usage?
0
votes
0answers
47 views
Change in pronunciation of “leverage”
Why have British people recently started pronouncing leverage as "levverage" (ie: the US pronunciation)? This is especially apparent now in reporting financial and political trends. I have spent my ...
5
votes
1answer
312 views
How do you pronounce the letter “t” before “h”?
How do you pronounce the letter "t" before "h"? For example how do you pronounce "What happened?"? Is it like "whadappened?"
-2
votes
2answers
66 views
What is it saying? [closed]
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kUhRiycleuqZOHp2kxiY4AU22fZKS_t1/view?usp=sharing
After "bunch of people", what does it sound like?
What's the way for me to fully understand what it's said? I can ...
0
votes
0answers
43 views
How do you pronounce the word “married”? [duplicate]
How do you pronounce the word "married"? Why do most people pronounce it like "mɛrid" or "mɛərid" even though IPA for it is "mærid"?
0
votes
0answers
42 views
Are the words “who” and “have” pronounced like /həv/ together?
Are the words "who" and "have" pronounced /həv/ together? For example how do you pronounce this phrase, "people who have family members"?
https://vocaroo.com/i/s0opK5B9gp9T
2
votes
0answers
93 views
“Sixty tray, all day” — what does that mean?
I've stumbled upon a very peculiar phrase in a comic I'm currently reading; here's the screenshot.
As can be seen, just before exiting the train some gangsta guy quips "Sixty tray, all day" to a ...
0
votes
2answers
132 views
Why is there a word for 'H'? [duplicate]
Why is there a word for the letter H, but not for the other letters?
In Lexico–formerly Oxford Dictionaries–for example, H = aitch, as in
‘drop one's aitches’
0
votes
0answers
47 views
How do you pronounce N°1?
AMC is a french designation, and I have seen N°2 and sorts of things in many places:
The official name however, assigned in 1931, is the AMC Schneider P
16. The P 16 was thus accepted as ...
10
votes
1answer
2k views
Why do American speakers pronounce “the” as “/ðə/” before vowels?
I learned that we have to pronounce /ðə/ before consonants & /ði/ before vowels.
For example, the /ðə/ car, but the /ði/ earth.
But it seems that a lot of American people pronounce the /ðə/ ...
1
vote
1answer
72 views
Is /ɑ/ a back or central vowel in GA English?
/ɑ/ is called open back unrounded vowel, however it appears in the center bottom of the vowel trapezoid of General American English at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_American#Phonology . Why?...
0
votes
1answer
67 views
Pronunciation of the phonetic symbol /ʌ/
The phonetics of the word consultant is /kənˈsʌltənt/. My ears heard the part /ʌl/ is exactly the same as the word so /soʊ/. So the question is that both /ʌl/ and /oʊ/ are the same pronunciation, isn'...
1
vote
1answer
82 views
This question is the BEST-uh!
Is there a name for the extra “uh” syllable that is sometimes added as emphasis on the end of words? From looking for examples this is an extra schwa syllable added to words. From further searching it ...
2
votes
1answer
104 views
When did it become fashionable to drop t's in certain words?
I first noticed certain video bloggers pronouncing button as "BUH-ehn", with a distinct glottal stop between syllables, sounding like an overt attempt to avoid enunciating the "t". While button is the ...
1
vote
1answer
64 views
What is the rule that causes the -ti in rectilinear to be pronounced with a short i?
So, I have always pronounced rectilinear with a long i sound (recteelinear), until the other day when, much to my embarrassment, I heard it pronounced with a short i (rectuhlinear). How would I ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
/æo/ sound in American Accent Training
In American Accent Training, it shows that the "down" is pronounced as /dæon/, where /æo/ is a combination of /æ/ and /o/.
However, according to KK or DJ, this sound is a combination of /ɑ/ and /ʊ/. ...
4
votes
1answer
73 views
Was it ever standard to pronounce “malinger” to rhyme with “ginger”?
In The Pronunciation of Standard English in America, by George Philip Krapp (1919), I found the following surprising statement:
For malinger the standard pronunciation is [mə´lɪndʒə̉ɹ], though ...
1
vote
1answer
253 views
What is the /ū/ sound in English symbol?
In the American Accent Training, it shows /ū/ (a line over u) is a tense vowel, and takes "smooth" as an example.
However, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, it should be [ˈsmüt͟h], and there ...
1
vote
0answers
26 views
Resource for complex pronunciation queries
I haven't seen any questions about resources so I'm not sure if it's accepted but let's try anyway.
I recently learned that the word quay is pronounced /ˈkiː/. I was wondering if there are other ...
1
vote
0answers
23 views
(n-1)st/th: n minus oneth or first? [duplicate]
Should I write (n-1)th or (n-1)st
Relatedly, is it "n minus oneth" or "n minus first".
Thanks!
1
vote
0answers
60 views
Elision of “it” and “what” at the beginning of sentences
I am reading American Accent Training. I find sometimes either 'it' or 'what' at the beginning is omitted.
e.g.
It's in the bag. [tsinə bag]
What's in it. (Though labeled [w'ts ..] I only ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
How to pronounce “r” after a “g”?
I can pronounce the english "r" properly in most words but it sounds closer to a "w" when it follows a "g" and sometimes "k" sound. The words that are the most problematic for me are agree and agreed. ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
unvoiced /th/ and /f/,Jennifer Rush Power Of Love
I know this is a question asked by many times.I also know unvoiced /th/ should never be pronounced as /f/.
But in this video youtube/watch?v=G-gfBBOqBJM
Jennifer Rush - The Power Of Love 1985
among ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
Pronunciation of “height” as “hate”
A pet peeve of mine is that a colleague at work keeps pronouncing "height" the same as the word "hate" whenever he speaks English. I corrected him once, but he keeps using his pronunciation. We have ...
1
vote
0answers
54 views
How should you pronounce the word “wolf ”?
If the dictionary’s IPA for the word wolf is /wʊlf/, then why do I sometimes hear people pronounce it /wolf/ instead of /wʊlf/?
Aren’t /ʊ/ and /o/ different phonemes?
0
votes
0answers
22 views
Why is “Colonel” spelled the way it is but pronounced similar to it’s homonym “Kernal” [duplicate]
Not sure what else I can say here. I never understood the logic behind this pronunciation and wonder what the origin May be and if that has something to do with how it’s pronounced.
2
votes
0answers
58 views
What is the proper contraction for “should not have” [duplicate]
I’ve been struggling with this one for a while, and it’s something I’ve tried typing/ writing on numerous occasions but it never looks correct in my mind. When speaking, I tend to say “should not have”...
0
votes
1answer
246 views
Why isn't Robert Mueller's last name pronounced like Ferris Bueller's? [closed]
Mueller, Mueller, Mueller?
Why isn't Robert Mueller's last name pronounced like "Bueller" of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" fame? Is there a correct pronunciation?
I've been pronouncing it like Bueller ...
1
vote
2answers
136 views
for words ending in “ing”, what parts are stressed?
For words ending in the -ing suffix, is the suffix stressed? Unstressed? Does adding the -ing suffix affect the stress of the other syllables?
Example: (u is untressed, ' is stressed)
Deteriorate is (...
1
vote
1answer
108 views
How to pronounce “cm,” “km,” etc
I'm wondering how these measurements should be read aloud:
10cm ("ten centimeters" or "ten CMs")
30km ("thirty kilometers" or "thirty KMs")
I'm from the U.S. and would only ever pronounce them in ...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Are the words 'lawyerly' and 'loyally' homophones in BrE?
In American English there is a clear difference, but do the words 'lawyerly' and 'loyally' actually sound the same in British English?
0
votes
1answer
57 views
pronounciations of Orion (geographical) [closed]
Which (3) ways is Orion pronounced as relative to (3) meanings, Orion Township, Lake Orion (Lake), and Lake Orion (town)?
1
vote
1answer
85 views
How would “lah-teck” be pronounced? [closed]
How do I interpret the pronounciation of "lah-teck"? (I am not asking for the pronounciation of Latex, but the specific interpretation of "lah-teck.".
5
votes
1answer
158 views
Why is there an 'h' at the end of the word 'cheetah'?
This question is prompted by another question on Stack Exchange regarding the addition of a last letter for no apparent reason during transliteration from Aramaic to Greek :
We have the Aramaic ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Is there any case when it's correct to pronounce the word “police” with the stress on the first syllable?
Is there any case when it's correct to pronounce the word police with the stress on the first syllable: /ˈpəlis/?
