Manohonor  +  41737 Wed, 11 Aug 04 05:26 PM The fact is all more or less famous and realiable dictionaries shows words like AUDITION, TAUGHT, BROUGHT pronounced with a long O sound(like in WAR), but watching Hollywood movies I hear these words pronounced with a long "A" sound(like in GOT, HARD, LARGE) - can you help me? Which one is more correct in the modern American English? Manohonor Joined on Mon, May 17 2004 Russian Federation Full Member 163 Do your best American English

	anon1  +  41753 Wed, 11 Aug 04 07:32 PM Manohonor, The fact is all more or less famous and realiable dictionaries shows words like AUDITION, TAUGHT, BROUGHT pronounced with a long O sound(like in WAR), but watching Hollywood movies I hear these words pronounced with a long "A" sound(like in GOT, HARD, LARGE) - can you help me? Which one is more correct in the modern American English? I would rearrange your words somewhat. AUDITION, TAUGHT, BROUGHT - like got. HARD, LARGE - are more similar to war. English spelling and sounds are very difficult. As an example, Ghoti could be "fish." gh - enouGH o - wOmen ti - naTIon You can learn more about ghoti here. If you use Dictionary.com, then you can see their pronounciation guide. It seems reasonably good. Perhaps others will join in and provide better guidance. I think it just takes time and practice. Good luck! MountainHiker anon1 Joined on Fri, Jul 2 2004 Senior Member 2,049 American English, Spelling

	CalifJim  +  41819 Thu, 12 Aug 04 04:40 AM Neither one is more correct, although dictionaries of American English usually provide phonetic transcriptions of the so-called Standard American English (Eastern American English). In the Western dialect, the "au" sound does not exist as a separate sound. Wherever the Eastern dialect uses that "au" sound, the Western dialect uses "ah". The line which divides the groups geographically is approximately the Mississippi River -- actually a little west of it. Note, however, that because people move so freely now from one area to another, it is common to hear people speak either way in either geographical area. Many learners find that speaking Eastern American English is slightly more difficult because of the extra sound, but the difference is difficulty is not great. I have used the word dialect above quite loosely. The two varieties of American speech are not really different enough to be considered dialects. It may be more correct to say Eastern accent and Western accent. CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,465 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Accents, American English, Dialects, Phonetics

	Manohonor  +  41898 Thu, 12 Aug 04 12:45 PM You mean in the western accent the "au" sound is pronounced like in "how", and in the Eastern one like in "war". Or in the western one it is pronounced like in "father"? Manohonor Accents

	CalifJim  +  41934 Thu, 12 Aug 04 05:10 PM Like 'a' in "father", which I'd write pseudo-phonetically as "fahther". Western accent: "daughter" sounds like "dodder" = "dahder". "not" and "naught" are indistinguishable. (naht) Neither accent pronounces "au" as in "how", except in German borrowings, e.g., jungfrau. CalifJim Accents