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I don't know which version is correct.

"Without"'s phonetic symbol is /wɪð'aʊt/. Should I pronounce it like "with 'out" because the stree mark 'is before aʊ instead before ð, or should I pronounce it like "wi thout" because I should pronounce it continuously?

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  • Did you check a dictionary? without shows at least the two pronunciations you mention. So it probably depends on where you are, the speech pattern (formal, informal, etc.) and the context where used.
    – user3169
    Apr 26, 2018 at 17:23

2 Answers 2

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The stress is on the second syllable. There is no pause.

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  • Yes, that is what the issue is really here for the OP.
    – Lambie
    Apr 26, 2018 at 15:57
  • In relaxed speech I'd often just say wiaʊt (without any attempt to enunciate ð between the vowels, making it effectively a single-syllable tripthong). I'm Southern / Estuary English, but I'm pretty sure many Northerners / Scots do the same.
    – FumbleFingers
    Apr 26, 2018 at 17:34
  • Very relaxed, I'd say, verging on dialect. Often represented in writing as wi'out. Common in North East / "Geordie" speech.
    – Michael Harvey
    Apr 26, 2018 at 17:37
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'out' is the part that is stressed. The dictionary's pronunciation is used for words in isolation. In rapid speech the pronunciation alters slightly. 'Out' begins with a vowel and English doesn't like to begin syllables with a vowel. The 'th' of 'with' will become the first sound of the stressed syllable in rapid speech. So, /wɪ 'ðaʊt/ is the pronunciation in rapid speech.

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