Pter  +  455654 Fri, 21 Dec 07 03:11 PM The way say and says are pronounced has always puzzled me.  I am wondering if they are the only pair of English words that have different pronunciations in the vowel after adding an s.  I know unsay/unsays and gainsay/gainsays but  they also ends with say/says.  Any others? Pter Joined on Wed, Nov 28 2007 Regular Member 553 Vowels

	Kooyeen  +  455671 Fri, 21 Dec 07 04:17 PM Hi, I just thought of "mouth" and "house". Kooyeen Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005 Italy Senior Member 4,969 Parental Advisory / Explicit Posts

	CalifJim  +  455863 Sat, 22 Dec 07 03:43 AM Will you accept "adding es" as well? do - does. CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,389 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

	Pter  +  456164 Sun, 23 Dec 07 12:06 AM  Kooyeen wrote: Hi, I just thought of "mouth" and "house". Sorry Kooyeen, I don't get it.  Would you please explain? Pter

	Pter  +  456167 Sun, 23 Dec 07 12:17 AM  CalifJim wrote: Will you accept "adding es" as well? do - does. CJ That's a good one.  I didn't think of that. The pronunciation of ay in bays, days, fays, gays, hays, jays, lays, pays, rays, ways are all the time.  Says is the only exception.  I cannot find any word with ay or ai that is pronounced this way, except those with -says or -said at the end.  Isn't it strange? Pter Pronunciation

	Kooyeen  +  456358 Sun, 23 Dec 07 04:22 PM  Pter wrote:  Kooyeen wrote: Hi, I just thought of "mouth" and "house". Sorry Kooyeen, I don't get it.  Would you please explain? House - Houses Mouth - Mouths It's weird, isn't it? Kooyeen

	Pter  +  456511 Mon, 24 Dec 07 02:32 AM  Kooyeen wrote: House - Houses Mouth - Mouths It's weird, isn't it? What's weird about them?  I thought they are quite common. House /haʊs/ Houses /haʊziz/ Mouth /maʊθ/ Mouths /maʊðz/ However, I do have difficulty pronouncing the ðz in mouths.  They are very difficult to me. Pter

	CalifJim  +  456769 Mon, 24 Dec 07 10:58 PM I cannot find any word with ay or ai that is pronounced this way, except those with -says or -said at the end. I thought you were only looking for irregular verb forms. again and against also have ai as a lax e, if that's what you want examples of. And all the air combinations also have ai as a lax e.  pair, hair, fair, ... And those with aire:  debonaire, millionaire, questionaire, solitaire, ... __________ aisle (with silent s and silent e) has ai as tense i.  (Same pronunciation as I'll.)  ai is tense i also in Sinai and Shanghai. plaid has ai as lax a.  (As if plad, to rhyme with sad.) dais has two vowels:  tense a and lax i.  (day-iss)  So does the old form saith (and the -aic's:  laic, archaic, prosaic, Hebraic, voltaic, and mosaic; and the related archaism, Hebraism). naive also has two vowels:  broad a and tense e:  (nah-eeve, or nigh-eve) ai is a reduced sound (a high schwa, basically lax i) in bargain, captain, chaplain, portrait and porcelain. If not pronounced with the lax i, as in the preceeding group, ai is silent in many tain endings, the t being unreleased and the following sound being "syllabic n". mountain, fountain, curtain, certain(ly) (AmE) CJ CalifJim Vowels, Pronunciation, Verbs, Tenses

	Pter  +  457186 Wed, 26 Dec 07 02:40 PM  CalifJim wrote: I thought you were only looking for irregular verb forms. I am indeed looking for something like irregular verb forms.  The comparison with bays, days, etc. is just a remark.  But what is intriguing is that says is not an irregular verb.  It is formed by just adding an s.  It's just a "normal" third person singular verb.  That's why I find it strange and exceptional.  As a comparison, go and went sound completely different and the spelling are completely different.  Could it be possible that says was not spelt this way in the past? It would also be interesting if we can find a "normal" plural form that sounds completely differently from the singular form.  CalifJim wrote: again and against also have ai as a lax e, if that's what you want examples of. Yes.  Thank you.  In the past, I pronounced again as /əˈgein/, which is in fact one of the pronunciations listed in my Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary.  But then I noticed that most people say /əˈgen/.  CalifJim wrote: And all the air combinations also have ai as a lax e.  pair, hair, fair, .... And those with aire:  debonaire, millionaire, questionaire, solitaire, ... Yes, I understand that.  An r very often change the pronunciation of the preceding vowel.  This is very common. Pter Vowels, Pronunciation, Verbs, Plurals, Singular Verbs, Spelling