In Vowels^x, Expressions^x

Two vowel letters are something you can see with your eyes in a word like soul. Two vowel sounds is something you can hear with your ears only, not see in print: gave. In the last example there is only one written vowel, a. There may be languages in which diphthongs are pronounced even when they...

Definitions from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary:diphthong:(phonetics) a combination of two vowel sounds or vowel lettersmonophthong:a speech sound that consists of only one vowel soundtriphthong:a combination of three vowel sounds or vowel lettersThe above definitions use the...

Kooyeen wrote:Hi, this is a weird question. I'm back. I agree that from the few examples you've shown, MW's phonic renderings are by comparison more natural. For one thing they're more singable, which is to say each syllable leaves you with a singable sound on which you may dwell until...

And similarly, we would write "an" for expressions like "sending out an SOS", where 's' is a consonant, but the pronunciation 'ess' starts with a vowel sound.

Has anyone else ever noticed that if someone speaks with a Southern American accent, people automatically think they're not as intelligent as they'd normally think. I know it's true in some places, because I speak with a thick southern accent, and it's almost as if some people look down on you in...

The Antonym of Sin In order to arrive at a suitable antonym for the word “sin”, one must understand the word as it is correctly used in the English language. This explanation will address the meaning of sin and its antonym in an attempt to assist in gaining a more thorough understanding. As a...

Thank you GG and MH. You all(or 'two'?) are well at searching for something by search engine, but MH's skill seems better(or seems to be better?). Kiding(or 'just have a joke/kid.'?). Maybe you often use the search tools, just like me. Actually, but, if you ask me that what is preceded a...

1) How long is a piece of string? Exactly 27.82cm. Anything other this is either shorter or longer than it should be. 2) Who Said an Orange should be called an Orange , and not a Window? First, windows weren't invented back then. Second, it was almost called a Green because long ago, at the...

Which expression, Any? Thoreauvian? Thoreauvian is a way of composing an adjective for Thoreau. It avoids an unpronounceable string of six consecutive vowels. Oh, pardon me-- I now notice your thread title. South-of-the-border is a common adverb/adjective which in this passage suggests...

Hi Tancs, If you say the expression and it sounds like it starts with a vowel, use 'an'. For example, an FBI agent a NATO country (NAYTOH) an NBA game (ENBEEAY) an MIT student Best wishes, Clive