Questions tagged [pronunciation]
This tag is for questions which a dictionary cannot answer about the sound, intonation, and stress of how words are uttered or produced.
779
questions
2
votes
3answers
92 views
Pronunciation of “kids”
Is "kids" pronounced [kidz] (the same /z/ of "zebra", voiced) or [kids] (the same /s/ of "star", unvoiced) ? I have always heard and pronounced the latter, but I have just seen the former in ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
About pronunciation of 't+you'
In case of pronuncing "support you", I thougt connecting 't' to 'y' makes a 'ʧ' sound, so that It's sound like "səˈpɔːrtʃu".
but I found many videos in which It's sounded like "səˈpɔːr u".
Which ...
2
votes
3answers
78 views
How to pronounce T in 'not enough'?
My native language is Croatian and I have been listening to A. J. Hoge who is a teacher from San Francisco. What I hear when he says "not enough" is "norinaf". How would one pronounce it?
There are a ...
0
votes
0answers
18 views
Is the word “I'm” pronounced like /ʌm/ or /əm/, instead of /aɪm/, when it is unstressed?
Is the word "I'm" pronounced like /ʌm/ or /əm/, instead of /aɪm/, when it is unstressed? https://vocaroo.com/i/s0aH2YlO4tRU
0
votes
1answer
26 views
What is the pronunciation of the prefix “RE-” (which mean “again or back”) in a word, /ri:/ or /rɪ/?
Is there any rule to pronounce the prefix "re-" (again or back) in a word?
Because sometimes it's pronounced as /ri:/ like in reread, reapply, rebuil, relive, remarry, rejoin,...
and sometimes it's ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Mispronounce dʒ as tʃ - Do native English speakers do that sometimes?
I hear dʒ is pronounced as tʃ in these examples:
J in "jailed" of the sentenence the Judge jailed Jokesters in jucy jails (from this video on youtube)
J in job (from Oxford Dictionary)
J in judge (...
3
votes
1answer
50 views
How to pronounce 'gotta'?
How to pronounce 'gotta'? With 'R' or with 'D'?
You've gotta be kidding.
You've - gara - be kidding.
or
You've - gada - be kidding.
1
vote
2answers
65 views
How to pronounce the phrase “an unreliable person”?
As I mentioned in the topic, I'm confused about how to pronounce "an unreliable person" in a native way, because when I pronounce them seperately, such as an un, I think it sounds a little bit ...
0
votes
1answer
39 views
When the word “our” is unstressed, is it pronounced like /ʌɹ/ or /əɹ/?
When the word "our" is unstressed, is it pronounced like /ʌɹ/ or /əɹ/? For example: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0uXE3Gaahqm
-1
votes
0answers
29 views
When the word “while” is unstressed, do you pronounced like “wəl”, “wʌl” or “wɑl”?
When the word "while" is unstressed, do you pronounced like "wəl", "wʌl" or "wɑl"?
For example: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0ksGbGNUfyW
0
votes
1answer
28 views
When the word “want” is unstressed, is it pronounced like /wənt/ or /wʌnt/?
When the word "want" is unstressed, is it pronounced like /wənt/ or /wʌnt/?
https://vocaroo.com/i/s1nUhAfWsc9k
1
vote
1answer
72 views
Is the word “homophone” misleading?
I remember a language learning app that claimed to help users to distinguish between the words like right-write, break-brake, heal-heel, principle-principal, etc.
However, I have long known them as ...
0
votes
1answer
15 views
How do I read “off of” naturally?
He brushes a lock of hair off of my cheek.
Either I should make a break between "off" and "of" or read them linked "offov"?
0
votes
0answers
15 views
How do I read “don't take” in a linked way with American accent?
I don’t take too kindly to people telling me what to do.
I'm aware of the rule for double t of reading in linked way -- t t turns to d.
But here I think "don't take" turns to "don't dake" would be a ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
Confusion with /e/ sound
An exercise from English pronunciation in use (Elementary), J. Marks:
Seven of these numbers have /e/. Which are they?
Three, seven, eight, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, seventeen, eighteen, twenty,...
0
votes
1answer
25 views
schwa sound /mən/ sounds like /mæn/ in some dialects?
Most of the dictionaries online pronounce the word fireman the way I expected, but one of them's American pronunciation sounds like /ˈfaɪə(r)mæn/ even though the IPA is still /ˈfaɪə(r)mən/.
Is ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Is there a phrase sounds like “sub this straight keen”?
In this video, it sounds as if the lecturer is saying:
...sub this straight keen
A few seconds later, he then says
...so we're taking our function and subbing it in 3
X plus Delta X...
Now ...
0
votes
0answers
32 views
Which one is the correct pronunciation of “the”, before the word “amount”, [ði:] or [ðə]?
What we are taught at school is that
"the" before vowel pronounce as a long "thee" [ði:]
It sounds that the lecturer is saying [ðə]
we can then say that the gradient of this line is equal to the ...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
AmE vowel pronunciation dilemma
I can't figure out how to spell vowels in AmE. I generally prefer to pronounce "o" letter as "ɑ" as well as sometimes "ə". But it is done intuitively irrespective of any rule. I think there must be an ...
0
votes
0answers
32 views
About “dark l” sound in daily conversation
Could you please tell me that if you really make the dark l sound in words like “call” “wall” “fall” or “hole” in daily conversation, like you can feel the movement of your tongue, or just do it when ...
0
votes
0answers
16 views
EE or IH Sounds
Does it seem to me that in some songs words are pronounced differently?
for example (instead of ɪ is heard i) Like in the hook of Vince Staples - Lift Me Up
0
votes
0answers
24 views
Question about the pronunciation of “governance”
I looked the work governance up in dictionary and all dictionaries state its pronunciation is [ˈgʌvənəns] or [ˈgʌvərnəns]. However, I have several dictionaries that have audio and I can clearly hear ...
1
vote
2answers
66 views
How to pronounce this character `^`
this character ^ could be typed by shift + 6, usually means powers of some number, the question is
How to pronounce this character ^?
0
votes
0answers
25 views
Is “is” pronounced “ɪs” or “s” before the unvoiced sounds?
My dictionary says "is" is pronounced "ɪs" or "s" when it's before the unvoiced sounds except two unvoiced sounds "s" and "ʃ". (Also, It says "is" is pronounced "ɪz" or "z" when it's before the voiced ...
5
votes
2answers
245 views
Difficulty pronouncing “maths”, “baths”, “hundredths”, “sixths”
My native language lacks dental fricatives, as does the variety of English commonly spoken in my country ("Dis is a ting."). Within a month or so I have to learn how to speak in a way that's ...
0
votes
2answers
32 views
Can “ˈproʊɡræm(program)” be pronounced “ˈproʊɡrəm”?
I learned unstressed vowel sounds sound "ə".
So, I think "proʊɡræm" can sound "proʊɡrəm" because æ is not a stressed vowel sound in the word.
Am I right?
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Should “a” vs “an” be chosen based on an expanded abbreviation? [duplicate]
The indefinite article "an" is used when the following word starts with a vowel sound. For example one write "an adjective" but "a noun".
However, when an abbreviation is used, should this be based ...
4
votes
1answer
27 views
How to pronounce thing and thought?
My dictionary says
thing /θɪŋ/
thought /θɔːt/
but when listening to native speakers, I hear it like
thing /fɪŋ/
thought /fɔːt/
Do I hear it wrong?
34
votes
5answers
11k views
Can fluent English speakers distinguish “steel”, “still” and “steal”?
Can fluent English speakers understand this sentence, the first time they hear it :
What? They still steal steel?
Can they hear a difference between the pronunciation of the words still, steal ...
2
votes
3answers
91 views
“Close” and “Clothes” pronunciation
"Close" and "Clothes" sound the same in my ears.
Is your pronunciation different?
Did you know it through the context?
I'm curious about it.
8
votes
5answers
5k views
Are “confidant” and “confident” homophones?
Both sound like /-dənt/ to me.
Etymology:
confidant comes to English from the French word confident, and when the word first entered our language it was often spelled that way, rather than as ...
1
vote
2answers
34 views
How to tell apart a long “oh” and a long “oo”?
In this comic there's a long "ooooooh" at the end.
How can I tell if it's a long "oh" (/o/) or a long "oo" (/uː/)?
I thought it could be the 'h', but I don't think I've never seen "ooooooo" anywhere....
3
votes
1answer
28 views
pronunciation of -ed in “discharged on”
"the gun discharged on its own during the struggle"
How is d pronounced here? Is it like [t] or like [d] (especially given that the following word "on" starts with a vowel sound)?
Neither Webster, ...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Different pronunciation for words starting with en- ( /ɪn/, /en/ and /ɪˈ/ )
Are there any guides to know when to pronounce as /ɪn/, /en/ and /ɪˈ/?
For e.g. enable, entertain, enforce
0
votes
0answers
37 views
Is the Tongue movement exactly the same while pronouncing the T in “Part of” and “Party”?
I'm speaking about the American accent. The R-flavored flapped T is very very hard to pronounce for Arabic speakers like me. I somehow managed to pronounce the T in the terms "part of" and "Sort of". ...
1
vote
1answer
26 views
How to pronounce /aʊn/?
How to tell /aʊn/ from /ɑːn/?
It is hard for me to tell the difference when listening to the words, fond and found, bond and bound. They are almost the same.
I always ignore the /ʊ/ sound in /aʊn/ in ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
What is phonetic transcription of “uses”
I don't know exact pronunciation of these words. It's hard for me to hear what sound there is "e", "ə" or "ɪ". And on the end I suppose there is "s", possibly "z"?
verb "use" [juːz], third person ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
what are the words used to describe pronunciations called?
Following are some examples of words that describe the pronunciation of other words. What are these descriptive words called? I tried using search but it didn't help.
hipster - hip.stuh
say -...
2
votes
2answers
54 views
Pronunciation of the prefix de- (UK / NA)
Example words:
Decode
Demilitarize
Are given in Wiktionary with a short i sound
"Dick-oh-d"
"Dim-ill-it-ugh-rise"
But I can‘t find anything in other dictionaries or examples on Youtube to back this ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
Why does e in edition and eleven have difference sounds?
edition ɪˈdɪʃn̩
eleven ɪˈlevn̩
Edition, I hear this e sounds like a as in (a pen).
Eleven, e sounds like short e.
0
votes
0answers
67 views
Pronunciation: TH in “There”
This might be a silly question, but I've noticed that some people in the US don't pronounce their "TH's" in some words such as (This, that, the, these, those and etc...) and some other people don't ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
help to listen what he is saying “of the order of n” or “on the order of n”?
i am confused about the discussion on this hot post.
it seems that most people believe that the professor is saying "on the order of n".
the title of the question had been forced to that though, ...
0
votes
2answers
38 views
Why is the quick sound of “took” like “chee”?
Track source
It took me nearly 20 minutes to go through the browser History on your
computer to see what movie times you looked up.
I can only hear
It chee me ...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
How do I pronounce 'toml'
I am wondering how to pronounce a toml file as it is a title. yaml is [zæ: mɛl] and I think the pronunciation is similar.
0
votes
2answers
59 views
What's the correct (British) pronuntiation of 'the'?
I've been an English student since school, however, I always feel like I'm mispronouncing the word "the".
Oxford online dictionary defines the pronuntiation of 'the' as: /ðə/, /ðiː/, /ðɪ/.
So, are ...
3
votes
5answers
99 views
American pronunciation of “second” (edited)
I'm learning American English with some online classes, and the instructor says that the 2nd vowel 'o' of "second" sounds like "/e/" in everyday conversation (e.g. "Can I talk to you for a second?"). ...
0
votes
0answers
54 views
Is a narrator's pronunciation a dialect? “How far” is the U.S pronunciation “stretching” so now?
When I was watching this video,
I was shocked the female narrator is pronouncing the one of the most distinguished honor ( therefore, I think one needs to pronounce correctly ), Pulitzer, ( as ...
2
votes
1answer
81 views
What is a “tomato word”?
In this explanation of the word myopic I get stuck by this sentence:
In terms of pronunciation: it's a tomato/tomahto word: pronounce it
"my-OP-ick" or "my-OH-pick," although that short o sound ...
2
votes
3answers
52 views
What is the right way of pronouncing “blessed”?
What is the right way of pronouncing "blessed"?
is it "blest" or "Bles-id"?
I hear people pronouncing it different ways, apparently both ways mean the same thing.
1
vote
2answers
53 views
The final /i:/ vs /i/
This is an exercise extracted from More! 2 published by Cambridge
But I can’t find any words ending with /i:/. There are 2 words which are ferry and taxi ending with /i/. I wonder if there are any ...
