Questions about how sounds, intonation, and stress of words are uttered or produced.
0
votes
0answers
28 views
How do you pronounce the word “array” in Australian English?
I am learning accents (differences in pronunciation), and I was wondering how to pronounce the word "array" in Australian English, and how it's pronounced in other variants of the language. Is it AH-...
0
votes
0answers
30 views
How is paciic pronounced?
This video covers how an airline with the word pacific in its name accidentally wrote paciic on their airplane.
While very amusing, the lady in the video pronounces the mistaken ‘pasiic’ like ...
0
votes
1answer
90 views
Spelling of temperature and preparation
Today, I have come up with the two confusingly-spelled words: temperature and preparation.
The 'para' in preparation, and the 'pera' in temperation, look quite similar in pronunciation when we read ...
0
votes
2answers
65 views
Is “cupboard” pronounced as /ˈkʌbərd/? [duplicate]
I was reading the Wikipedia page of assimilation, and according to it,
cupboard is pronounced /ˈkʌbərd/ and not /ˈkʌpbɔːrd/.
I see why the /b/ is merged into the /p/ sound, making cupboard sound ...
-1
votes
1answer
52 views
English words with double pronounciations
Are there many words with double pronunciations in English? I know there are many in the chinese language. Is there a reason why there are many or not so many?
(EDIT: I mean words that are spelled ...
-1
votes
2answers
57 views
Word phonetics suggestion
Could any English speaker recommend me the best spelling for an 'invented' word that would be pronounced something like /ˈlɛvɪ/.
As I'm no expert in phonetic symbols, those phonetic symbols are just ...
0
votes
1answer
123 views
The pronunciation of “th” in “with” in British RP
I enjoy socialising with people!
How do you pronounce “th” in “with”? It’s too confusing for me. When I looked it up in a dictionary, it was with a voiced sound like in "brother or the," but it ...
2
votes
1answer
146 views
How to pronounce Arthurian character “Menw” in English? [on hold]
In some Arthurian tales a character named "Menw" occurs, e.g. from Kilhwch and Olwen, or The Twrch Trwyth: (emphasis added)
And Arthur called Menw the son of Teirgwaedd, in order that if they went ...
1
vote
1answer
27 views
Syllable count of environmental
I seems to me the sound at the end is /tl/ or as far as I and most people I know pronounce it. This applies for most other -tal ending words. I know it could be /təl/ but the vowel is not present at ...
6
votes
1answer
89 views
Pronunciation of gunwale
I was watching an episode from 2007 of the Science Channel's How It's Made in which a canoe was being constructed*.
The narrator consistently pronounced "gunwale" as /ˈɡʌnheɪl/ (gunhale) with an ...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
What's the difference between the AA (ɑ) and AO (ɔ) sound?
I'm working with the CMU pronunciation dictionary and I can't comfortably say I can understand what difference in sound they're trying to indicate by splitting AA and AO into different phonemes.
...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
How to pronounce “urethra”?
I'm confused how to pronounce "urethra". I looked up in the dictionary, it's | jʊˈriːθrə |. Shouldn't it be pronounced "yu-ri-ther"? Many YouTube videos pronounced it "yu-ri-thra".
2
votes
1answer
91 views
What is the correct British way to say arbitrary?
Looking across many different dictionaries and websites, they have different pronunciations for the word arbitrary.
A colleague says it is pronounced like ahr-bitri, but this seems incorrect to me.
...
-1
votes
1answer
70 views
Pronunciation of the acronym : CALL [closed]
How do we pronounce the acronym: CALL (Computer assisted / aided Language Learning). I have heard people pronounce it as /kæl/ and some /kɔ:l/. So I just wanted to be sure.
0
votes
1answer
41 views
Does album start with a vowel or consonant [closed]
"Album"? Does it start with a vowel sound or consonant?
2
votes
0answers
60 views
Pronunciation of “reprise” (repreez/reprize)
Is "reprise" pronounced as "repreez" in all contexts, as noun and verb, except for usages in legal context? I'd like to reference a number of dictionaries:
Oxford Living Dictionaries only has one ...
3
votes
1answer
49 views
What determines the stress of an adjective formed by adding “-ive” to a verb ending in “-ate”?
Some verbs ending in -ate keep their original syllable stress when you add the suffix -ive to form an adjective
e.g.,
imitate/imitative
meditate/meditative
investigate/investigative
For ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
What's the proper term for pronunciation marks (or is that it)?
Never heard an official term for the marks used to describe pronunciation - the various lines, carets, accent marks, etc used in the written out version, as in "prə-nŭn′sē-ā′shən"
"Pronunciation ...
7
votes
2answers
660 views
What are the names of the two phonetic changes in this sentence?
I'm going to be teaching English to French high school students for another year in September, and they all have a hard time with my variety of English (they're used to hearing British English). ...
2
votes
1answer
90 views
Historical connections between “carnival” and “cannibalism”?
This may be a somewhat disturbing question, but as a non-native speaker, the word carnival seems very similar to a totally different word called cannibalism.
I’m well aware of the difference between ...
-1
votes
0answers
16 views
The word “Album” vowel or consonant? [duplicate]
For example I know many speakers for the the/thuh rule, however many do not. I'm curious though is album is a vowel sounding word? So it would be thee album correct if following the rule as opposed to ...
2
votes
1answer
243 views
What is the real pronunciation of “postman”? [duplicate]
I can see that the word postman is pronounced as /pəʊs(t)mən/ commonly, where you can’t hear the vowel in the ‑man syllable.
But sometimes it is pronounced
/pəʊs(t)mæn/ — with a noticeable /æ/ vowel ...
4
votes
2answers
113 views
Why do I have a different vowel in “scarf” than I have in “scarves”, and how come nobody talks about this?
So in my opinion, scarves is pronounced as the dictionary has it: with a Short O or /a/.
But I believe that scarf and other "ar" words that are followed by voiceless consonants, are not actually ...
-1
votes
1answer
84 views
How to pronounce the word “height”?
I always pronounce it like hat,
but today I google its phonetic symbol in google translation,
which printed as hīt, which I thought will sound like hit,
but google prounounced it just like hat.
...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
This Theory, Thinkst Thou?
Among words beginning with 'th', it seems that pronouns, conjunctions and prepositions have the 'th' voiced, while nouns, adjectives and adverbs do not. The only exception I can think of - apart from ...
3
votes
4answers
214 views
How to write Spanish Vowel sounds into English?
Background
I'm writing a novel with original character names, and I want to find the way of how to correctly write their names in English to keep the same pronunciation as they had had in Spanish.
...
1
vote
1answer
91 views
What is the correct pronunciation of 'cwtch'?
I heard this word for the first time in this news item when a little girl pronounced it rhyming with 'clutch'. After her Dad died a company made a cuddle bear or 'memory bear' out of Dad's clothes for ...
1
vote
2answers
62 views
In Old English or in Middle English was “join” ever pronounced “jin?”
In Old English or in Middle English, was "join" ever pronounced "jin?"
1
vote
0answers
41 views
Why is “wand” not pronounced simiarly to “hand” and “sand”? [duplicate]
Having a bit of a discussion about this with a friend.
The only reason I know to pronounce "wand" like "want" and not "hand" is because that's how I've heard it, and I've just copied that. But from a ...
2
votes
0answers
86 views
“solder” and “salve” phonetics between AmE and BrE
Many will know that there are differences in AmE and BrE pronunciation of the words "solder" and "salve".
On the topic of "solder", there are already two questions here asking about the correct ...
0
votes
0answers
43 views
Is there any rule for pronouncing “y” in the middle of word? [duplicate]
I have a problem with "y" in some words like:
- pyramid,
- pylon,
- cynic,
- cyanide
and so on.
Is there any rule for pronouncing "y" correctly?
0
votes
1answer
73 views
How to pronounce C++11 in English?
How to pronounce C++11 in English, "c plus plus one one" or "c plus plus eleven"?
Thanks in advance.
0
votes
0answers
12 views
Pronunciation of Beloved [duplicate]
I have a question. Why do you pronounce the word "beloved" with /ɪd/ ending? According to rules which I know it should be /d/ sound after voiced consonant like it is in "loved". It is very confusing ...
1
vote
0answers
38 views
Please do not “axe” me a question? [duplicate]
Although I hesitate to ask this question, I see it as necessary to promote common proper word usage. I certainly never want to appear arrogant or offend anyone, but I have noticed that there is one ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
What is the term for “‑ate” noun/verb pairs, and why can’t I find references to “hyphenate” used that way?
When you conjugate (verb, conjuGATE) things you get a conjugate (noun, conjuGIT).
When you precipitate (verb, ...TATE) a solution you get a precipitate (noun, ...TIT).
When you concentrate (verb, ......
0
votes
3answers
107 views
“Sassanian” vs. “Sasanian”: Which one is more accurate? With one “s” or two?
Sassanian: Webster.
Sasanian: Wikipedia.
I am really confused which one is more accurate... Even the pronunciations are different.
2
votes
2answers
85 views
Traditional vs. classical pronunciation of Latin words in English
Has the traditional pronunciation of Latin fallen completely out of favor in English, or do any prescriptivists still recommend it? Is it any more common in British English than in American?
A quick ...
3
votes
2answers
527 views
Is the pronunciation difference between “BrE deuce” vs “AmE deuce” systematic?
While checking the exact pronounciation of the term deuce, I noticed that there is a clear difference between BrE /djuːs/ and NAmE /duːs/.
While it is true that pronunciation has more exceptions ...
0
votes
2answers
109 views
Phonetics versus spelling in the initial letter of a word
My dad and I were playing a game in the car where we picked a letter and then each alternated saying a word that started with that letter. We did it with b, for example, it might go:
Dad: bath
me:...
19
votes
2answers
1k views
Is there an etymological explanation for the silent ‘g’ in “paradigm”?
Whenever I come across the word paradigm, I have to make a small conscious effort not to pronounce the letter ‘g’.
In Italian, it is spelled paradigma and each letter is individually pronounced i.e. ...
3
votes
1answer
111 views
How do you pronounce “HTTPS”? [closed]
When I refer HTTPS, I pronounce it by reading each character. However, I wonder whether there is a quicker and easier way to pronounce it.
1
vote
1answer
101 views
How do you pronounce “f(n) = Θ(g(n))” in English? [closed]
In Algorithm's Performance, if f(n) = Θ(g(n)), then we can say:
g(n) an asymptotically tight bound for f(n)
How do you pronounce f(n) = Θ(g(n)) in English? Would it be correct to say "f(n) is the ...
0
votes
1answer
65 views
Glottal stop “t” in English pronunciation [duplicate]
I am a new learner concerning English sounds. Could someone help me?
Does the letter t at the end of word but this word being connected with next one, is it also pronounced like a glottal stop? For ...
1
vote
2answers
71 views
Term for this type of mis-pronunciation?
When I was a kid, for years I thought
nihilism
was pronounced "nil-ism".
I guess this is because I only ever read it, rather than being exposed to hearing it.
Since "nil-ism" perfectly ...
8
votes
2answers
192 views
History of additional sounds introduced to English
Today I was curious about the rarity of the consonant cluster sr in the English language. I found a WordReference forum from 2006 that asked about the matter.
The general response is that because ...
1
vote
3answers
189 views
How do you say “mental” in American dialects of English?
I usually refer to Cambridge Dictionary for pronunciation. For mental they have the IPA of:
mental
adjective · UK /ˈmen.tᵊl/ US /-t̬ᵊl/
When I click on the US pronunciation, I hear them ...
35
votes
5answers
4k views
ETcetera pronounced as EXetera ? Correct?
I keep hearing everyone at my work (Native speakers) saying e-X-etera. They said my pronunciation of the word as e-T-cetera was incorrect. I got into a big argument, they thought I was mad.
Is there ...
0
votes
1answer
47 views
Does anyone pronounce the verb “perfect” as they would the adjective?
Is there anyone who pronounces the verb perfect as they would the adjective? For instance, would anyone say “I need to p[schwa]r-fikt my project”?
2
votes
2answers
70 views
How to pronounce “2000-01”? [closed]
I wonder how to pronounce something like "2000-01 season". I checked the entries on pronouncekiwi.com for British and American English, but came across too many variations.
For example:
two ...
0
votes
4answers
101 views
If “cleanliness” is a word can I say something is “cleanly”?
As per the question, I might have spelt cleanly wrong...
