6

I've found online translators like Microsoft Bing Translator could be used in place of typing. Just read your text to the translator in Standard English and it would type it out for you.

I read the following to the translator. It recognized me most of the time. But I don't know how to pronounce FAQs. The best I could do is "FAQ" by reading the letters of the word one by one. But I don't know how to pronounce FAQs which the translator recognizes.

How to pronounce FAQs that the computer translator recognizes?

NEJM: Now available, that COVID-19 vaccine resource center includes important articles, related resources and answers to (FAQs) to provide practical guidance for your practice and (patients).

3 Answers 3

12

For "FAQ", Oxford (Lexico) gives only /ɛfeɪˈkjuː/ - which is what I say and also the only version I remember hearing. This is true of both the UK and US editions of Lexico.

Merriam-Webster gives /fæk/ first, with /ɛfeɪˈkjuː/ second. (I have converted M-W's pronunciations to IPA for ease of reference.)

"FAQs" is thus /ɛfeɪˈkjuːz/ or /fæks/.

10
  • 4
    I have never heard FAQs pronounced as a word, it would sound exactly like "fax". I only say F - A - Q as a sequence of letters. /ɛfeɪˈkjuː/ Commented Jan 15, 2021 at 16:38
  • 1
    @chasly-supportsMonica Yeah. As I said, nor have I, but M-W is a reputable source (at least for US English!), and there is a certain logic to pronouncing it "fax" (which for some speakers sounds rather like "facts").
    – rjpond
    Commented Jan 15, 2021 at 16:40
  • 3
    Adding a bit of more generic info here, FAQ is an acronym, and it’s almost always valid to spell an acronym instead of trying to say it as a word in English. Some, such as FAQ, may at times be pronounced as a word, but spelling it out will always be understood (and will also signal to the listener that it’s an acronym). Commented Jan 16, 2021 at 3:12
  • 4
    I seem to have the opposite experience of many of the people in the comments here--I've only ever heard /fæk/ or /fæks/, never spelled out.
    – Hearth
    Commented Jan 16, 2021 at 5:23
  • 3
    Not a native speaker nor living in an English-speaking country, but I have heard and used both. Usually, it's spelled out for clarity, but sometimes it can't be avoided to pronounce it as a word like in "GameFAQs".
    – Andrew T.
    Commented Jan 16, 2021 at 12:57
1

In general voice transcription systems will have trouble with acronyms, especially well-known acronyms which are pronounced phonetically by some but not all people.

For acronyms or technical jargon which you use frequently you may want to check if the tool you are using has a feature to add terms.

0

I always say it in full, fearful that my interlocutors might here a four-letter word instead of a three-letter one.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .