In LONGMAN dictionary, the pronunciation of the word elementary is /ˌeləˈmentəri/. However, I heard some people pronounced it like /ˌeləˈmentri/. How should I pronounce the word correctly?
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I would pronounce it as the following, eh · luh · men · tr · ee Here is the link to the video that I found it from: youtube.com/watch?v=RJ7ImmpVXWM– Joe KerrCommented Nov 19, 2020 at 14:55
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2It depends how carefully people are speaking. Almost everybody will give it five syllables when speaking slowly and carefully; but many people elide the fourth syllable in ordinary speech. This is the case for other words where -ary follows a 't', eg secretary; and also words formed differently where an unstressed vowel follows a stop consonant, such as category and allegory.– Colin FineCommented Nov 19, 2020 at 15:15
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I'd say it's /ɛ/ and not /e/, though. (Also read this answer to a similar question.)– Rayan KhanCommented Nov 19, 2020 at 15:28
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1 Answer
/ˌeləˈmen.təri/
/ˌeləˈmen.tri/
Both of them are correct.
The first one has 5 syllables while the second one has 4. It depends on the dialect of English. Some British and American dialects have lost the weak syllable (second last in 'elementary'—/tə/) so they pronounce it with 4 syllables, but both are equally correct and acceptable.
In English, when a stressed syllable is followed by two (or more) unstressed syllables, the vowel immediately following the stressed syllable is usually dropped in colloquial/fast speech (not every accent/dialect and not in every individual's speech). The pronunciation varies from individual to individual. The process is called syncope. Other examples include: comfortable, camera, family, average etc.
In most dialects, the emboldened vowels have been syncopated, however, some dialects have retained them and still pronounce them.
answered Nov 19, 2020 at 15:19
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1In upstate New York, many people will pronounce it with initial stress and secondary stress on the penult (EL-em-en-TA-ry). Apparently this is even more common with sedimentary. In terms of speech, it is the only distinction I associate with that part of the country.– chosterCommented Nov 19, 2020 at 19:01
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@choster I've never heard the version you are discussing here. But a similar version has been brought to my attention and nagging at the back of my mind. A short while ago, a friend noted how I pronounced "elementary" two different ways, one stressing the first syllable /Ele-men-tri/, the other being the more common (ele-mEn-tri). And in my experience, the initial stress version is in the minority in AmE. I wonder if it is really a regional thing. I pronounce it exactly the same as Monica Byrne here who seems to hail from Pennsylvania. Commented Apr 14, 2022 at 7:09