1

In assume consume,s is pronounced as /s/,but in resume presume,s is pronounced as /z/.why?

The 4 words have a common root sume which is from Latin,but get different pronunciation eventually.

Improve this question
3
  • 2
    Please do not expect English spelling to make any sense at all. Its crazines is legendary.
    – Robusto
    Commented Aug 19, 2017 at 0:53
  • 1
    assume and consume are derived from Latin words, while resume and presume are derived from French words. Check a dictionary. While English has so many phonetic variations, the language a word derives from has a lot to do with the pronunciation.
    – user3169
    Commented Aug 19, 2017 at 5:16
  • 1
    See When to pronounce ‹s› as /z/ in the middle of words? It isn't about whether the word is from Latin or French, and it isn't totally random either. It's fairly predictable that "consume" is pronounced with /s/, because "ns" in the middle of a word is usually /ns/; the other words are a bit less predictable, but follow the tendency for single intervocalic "s" after a prefix and before a stressed vowel to represent /z/ while double "ss" represents /s/.
    – sumelic
    Commented Oct 11, 2017 at 2:01

0

Reset to default

Browse other questions tagged .