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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="http://www.englishforums.com/utility/FeedStylesheets/rss.xsl" media="screen"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"><channel><title>Search results for 'tag:Vowels tag:Pronunciation tag:Speaking' matching tags 'Vowels', 'Pronunciation', and 'Speaking'</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/search/pro.htm?q=tag%3aVowels+tag%3aPronunciation+tag%3aSpeaking</link><description>Search results for 'tag:Vowels tag:Pronunciation tag:Speaking' matching tags 'Vowels', 'Pronunciation', and 'Speaking'</description><dc:language>en-US</dc:language><generator>XMOD (Build: 3614.32638)</generator><item><title>Re: WAAS .. tricky acronym</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/WaasTrickyAcronym/lxxql/post.htm#992268</link><pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:36:11 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:992268</guid><dc:creator>gleb_chebrikoff</dc:creator><description>Hello, Vladimir,   this combination has not yet been codified in major pronunciation dictionaries, perhaps due to the narrowness of its use outside technical areas; therefore, we should resort to analogy.   Thus, acronyms of a similar type (featuring consonant + vowel + vowel + consonant ), including WAAC and WAAF, are pronounced as follows:   WAAC ( Women&amp;#39;s Army Auxiliary Corps) -    WAAF ( Women&amp;#39;s Auxiliary Air Force) -  ,   from which it stems that a possible pronunciation of the combination in question is  , although it is still unclear whether this term has transcended the boundaries of a mere abbreviation and become a real acronym.   Respectfully, Gleb Chebrikoff</description></item><item><title>Re: S or es in simple present</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/SOrEsInSimplePresent/lvqlb/post.htm#943212</link><pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:20:44 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:943212</guid><dc:creator>philip</dc:creator><description>For the third person singular, use s . 
 
  
 It&amp;#39;s pronunciation will depend on what comes before it: voiced consonant or vowel /z/; unvoiced consonant /s/. 
      animals, cows; pets 
  
 For a word ending in /s/ or /z/ sound , use es (unless the spelling of the word ends in e : then just s . This gives a schwa sound +/z/. 
      basses ; (phases) 
  
 Sounds difficult? Not really. The spelling is simply a reflection of the natural pronunciation.
 
 Welcome to the forums, Mo.</description></item><item><title>Re: Pronunciation</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/Pronunciation/lvlnk/post.htm#942875</link><pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:47:37 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:942875</guid><dc:creator>raindoctor</dc:creator><description>There are two issues: (1) heuristics used in phonics (2) phonetics   g: /g/, /dʒ/ c: /k/, /s/   /k/ is voiceless, whereas its counterpart /g/ is voiced. /s/ is voicelss; /dʒ/ is voiced.   Velar consonants get softened (or voiced) before front vowels esp in derived-words: cf. electric vs electricity   Given this background knowledge, what is your concern?</description></item><item><title>Re: Pronunciation differences</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/PronunciationDifferences/lvvkp/post.htm#940881</link><pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:00:01 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:940881</guid><dc:creator>raindoctor</dc:creator><description>r after any vowel has a special place in english.   oor usually end up as ʊɚ, ɔɚ, oʊɚ   poor: pʊɚ moore:  mʊ  ɚ   ,  mɔ  ɚ   ,  moʊ  ɚ floor: fl  ɔ  ɚ   ,  floʊ  ɚ door: d  ɔ  ɚ     d  oʊ  ɚ      oo before any but r:   boom:   bum    doom: dum    hood: h   ʊd    good:    gʊd    wood: wʊd    hook: hʊk    food: fud    proof: pruf    school: skuo (the last o shud be transcribed as a satellite, since vocalized l shud be there).      Now, you can notice the pattern.     &lt;spa</description></item><item><title>Re: the  pronunciation of the word "the"</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePronunciationWord/2/cwnxp/Post.htm#939955</link><pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:22:16 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:939955</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>This is a pet peeve of mine. I hear more and more on the radio, in television and film the lack of proper pronunciation of the word &amp;quot;the&amp;quot; when it precedes a word beginning with a vowel sound. The result of saying &amp;quot;the&amp;quot; with a schwa ending before a vowel sound is a very awkward sounding combination without flow. To me it sounds like the speaker has a distinct lack of intelligence.   DP</description></item><item><title>Re: Pronunciation of coat and quote</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/PronunciationCoatQuote/lbzrq/post.htm#926102</link><pubDate>Sat, 03 Oct 2009 07:55:56 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:926102</guid><dc:creator>soka</dc:creator><description>They may also have difficulty with a combination of front glide and front vowel, such as in yeast , perhaps saying it as east .  Absolutely right CJ, They often pronounce it as east.</description></item><item><title>Re: Pronunciation of coat and quote</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/PronunciationCoatQuote/lbzrq/post.htm#925937</link><pubDate>Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:54:24 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:925937</guid><dc:creator>califjim</dc:creator><description>For Pakistanis,  coat  and  quote  have exactly the same pronunciation. You must do whatever you can to make them stop it!    The difference is between ko and kwo .  w is a back glide.  o is a back vowel.   They may also have difficulty with a combination of front glide and front vowel, such as in yeast , perhaps saying it as east .   CJ</description></item><item><title>Re: General AM Eng-pronunciation of talk, caught and bought</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/GeneralPronunciationTalkCaught-Bought/2/kpjrl/Post.htm#923318</link><pubDate>Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:45:08 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:923318</guid><dc:creator>freekarol</dc:creator><description>I thank you all for your effort to help me and of course for your time...   I think my questions were answered. Especially a reply by Marvin A. completely answered my questions. What pronunciation to choose depends on what American accent you want to have. If you don&amp;#39;t want to have a certain American accent then the best way to be understood by most Americans is to use pronunciation what most Americans use: the Open back unrounded vowel for all of those words.</description></item><item><title>Re: the  pronunciation of the word "the"</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePronunciationWord/2/cwnxp/Post.htm#920169</link><pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:46:30 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:920169</guid><dc:creator>mister micawber</dc:creator><description>when U is pronounced as "you", then the consonant rule applies, and when the U sounds like "uh", then the vowel rule applies.  That is right. It is an observation of sound change in word flow, not a rule of grammar.</description></item><item><title>Re: the  pronunciation of the word "the"</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePronunciationWord/2/cwnxp/Post.htm#920083</link><pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:54:52 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:920083</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>What about The United States (of America)? Thuh or Thee? Some say that when U is pronounced as &amp;quot;you&amp;quot;, then the consonant rule applies, and when the U sounds like &amp;quot;uh&amp;quot;, then the vowel rule applies. Is this a grammatical rule, or a regional variation, or a misunderstanding?</description></item><item><title>Re: General AM Eng-pronunciation of talk, caught and bought</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/GeneralPronunciationTalkCaught-Bought/kpjrl/post.htm#919805</link><pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:59:10 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:919805</guid><dc:creator>califjim</dc:creator><description>how can I know what pronunciation to choose?    I would recommend that you use the Open back unrounded vowel for all of those words. I would recommend the same. There is very little to be gained by mastering the subtle distinctions that mark the pronunciation of certain regions. Stick with what &amp;quot;most people&amp;quot; use, which is what this recommendation amounts to.   CJ</description></item><item><title>Re: Pronunciation of work</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/PronunciationOfWork/kqddz/post.htm#918700</link><pubDate>Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:32:07 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:918700</guid><dc:creator>raindoctor</dc:creator><description>fur mee, note the long vowel in the second syllable: fɝr mi</description></item><item><title>How to Pronounce New York?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowToPronounceNewYork/kqnhn/post.htm</link><pubDate>Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:23:50 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:917707</guid><dc:creator>ilrrr-n</dc:creator><description>I know new separately is pronounced the same way as gnu . But Merriam-Webster’s pronunciation guide says the following about the pronunciation of new: &amp;quot; in place names usually (ˌ)nu̇ or nə or (ˌ)ni\ &amp;quot; Those would be the same vowels as in noo k, bana na and ni ckel respectively. So which one is the most prevalent?   How about New Jersey, New Mexico, New Orleans and New Zealand?</description></item><item><title>Re: the  pronunciation of the word "the"</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePronunciationWord/2/cwnxp/Post.htm#916304</link><pubDate>Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:16:10 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:916304</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>The pronouciation of &amp;quot;the&amp;quot; depends on if it preceeds a vowel or a consonant. You say &amp;quot;thee&amp;quot; in front of vowels and thuh in front of consonants. You never EVER say thuh in front of a vowel sound! 
  
 So it is: 
 The apple is pronounced &amp;quot;Thee a pple&amp;quot; 
 The question is pronounced &amp;quot;Thuh q uestion&amp;quot;... 
 Thee e xample 
 Thuh m achine 
 Thee u mbrella 
 Thuh t able</description></item><item><title>Re: Has anyone tried out AJ.Hoge"s course-EFFORTLESS ENGLISH.If so,How was it?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/HasAnyoneTriedHogeCourseEffortless-English/6/zgkjw/Post.htm#915964</link><pubDate>Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:03:17 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:915964</guid><dc:creator>elena_osullivan</dc:creator><description>AJ Hoge&amp;#39;s &amp;quot;effortless english&amp;quot; is a waste of money. I made the mistake of buying it for a friend who doesn&amp;#39;t speak much English and she doesn&amp;#39;t even use it. I don&amp;#39;t blame her because it takes a lot of effort to learn with it, and there are much, much better materials available on the internet for free. My friend watched some of his videos wherein he sells his MP3&amp;#39;s and she thought she found the magic answer thanks to AJ. He&amp;#39;s a good salesman but a very mediocre teacher.</description></item><item><title>Re: Pronounciation of the</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/PronounciationOfThe/kqgjd/post.htm#915731</link><pubDate>Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:19:43 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:915731</guid><dc:creator>mister micawber</dc:creator><description>It is not a rule you must follow; it is an observation of how most native speakers vary the pronunciation depending on the following sound. If the following sound is a vowel sound, then the pronunciation is usually / ði: /; otherwise, it is / ðə /. Whether it precedes a superlative or any other kind of word is irrelevant. So usually: / ði: / ice cream and / ði: / eagle. However, you will notice that eagle begins with / i: /, so many native speakers will revert to / ðə /– or stumble over the pronunciation.</description></item><item><title>Re: The pronunciation of MERLE</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePronunciationOfMerle/kpchz/post.htm#910519</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:42:53 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:910519</guid><dc:creator>raindoctor</dc:creator><description>What pakis do or any L2 learners to: L2-ize foreign words, the way L1 english speakers anglicize foreign words.   Urdu, Hindi speakers may pronounce merle as mɛ rlɛ. Look at the syllables: mɛ and rlɛ. Observe two things here: (1) CV and CCV syllables; (2) -rl- cluster in the onset.   -rl- cluster in the onset is not permitted in english. Second, vowel + r in english plays very important role. Third, cluster of sonorants need a special treatment in english: splitting em into different syllables.   mer + le &amp;gt; mer + uh l &amp;gt; mur + ul &amp;gt; mɚ ə l or mɚ oʊ   Look at some vowel + r combinations:   ar &amp;gt; ɛɚ (this is true only when some consonant doesn&amp;#39;t follow r. Contrast carbon, mars, art, etc)  er, ir, ur &amp;gt; ɚ or &amp;gt; ɔɚ eer &amp;gt;...</description></item><item><title>Re: Pronouciation of letter "C"</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/PronouciationOfLetterC/kxpmn/post.htm#908829</link><pubDate>Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:04:22 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:908829</guid><dc:creator>philip</dc:creator><description>You are witnessing what linguists refer to as &amp;#39;assimilation&amp;#39;, when the pronunciation of a letter is affected by something surrounding it. In this case, /k/ (unvoiced) is the pronunciation we start with, but because the vowel following it is naturally voiced, the /k/ may take on a voiced characteristic, leaving you with the feeling of /g/ (voiced). The dictionary doesn&amp;#39;t include this information, as it varies greatly from person to person, even from dialect to dialect.</description></item><item><title>Re: Where do I put the stress?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhereDoIPutTheStress/kxlwh/post.htm#908133</link><pubDate>Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:26:47 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:908133</guid><dc:creator>califjim</dc:creator><description>I originally talked about a &amp;#39;neutral vowel sound&amp;#39;, which to the best of my knowledge is only one and occurs where there is an extremely strong reduction. Its symbol is the so-called &amp;#39;schwa&amp;#39; (an upside down e symbol). There are actually several schwas. They are not all identical in sound, but dictionaries usually notate these with only one common symbol for all. I think for the purposes of this discussion, schwa, neutral vowel, and reduced vowel mean the same thing.   This neutral vowel sound cannot be found in stressed syllables I agree. I can&amp;#39;t imagine how it could be otherwise. Conversely, an unstressed syllable need not carry a neutral vowel (reduced vowel, schwa). In summary, unstressed syllables can be schwas or...</description></item><item><title>Re: Where do I put the stress?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhereDoIPutTheStress/kxlwh/post.htm#907481</link><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:57:10 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:907481</guid><dc:creator>raindoctor</dc:creator><description>Dipsik,   Check M-W, Jones and Wells dictionaries, see whether &amp;#39;seg&amp;#39; in segment does have a reduced vowel.   I am not a fan of rule; however, I would like to look for an explanation that accounts many disparate pronunciation phenemona.    Posterity, hostility,  costectomy, nostolgia, cosmetic, etc--these contradict your hypothesis that in unstrssed syllables, vowels are reduced/neutral.     For more, check  this book Pronouncing english: a stress-based approach by Teschner.</description></item><item><title>Re: Plural of nouns: Pronunciation.</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralNounsPronunciation/2/lxvg/Post.htm#906178</link><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:55:56 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:906178</guid><dc:creator>kooyeen</dc:creator><description>What is the vowel sound preceding the final /z/ in words ending in es? Is it /ɪ/, as in the word &amp;#39;is&amp;#39;, or is it /i/, as in the word &amp;#39;ease&amp;#39;?     As in the word &amp;quot;is&amp;quot;.  Beach, Beaches = Beach is  Case, Cases = Case is   But when have a plural word that ends in &amp;quot;ies&amp;quot;, then it rhymes with &amp;quot;ease&amp;quot;. Examples:  Baby, Babies = Bay Bees  Party, Parties = Part ease</description></item><item><title>Re: Grammar question</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/GrammarQuestion/klwbk/post.htm#891685</link><pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:34:19 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:891685</guid><dc:creator>grammar geek</dc:creator><description>&amp;quot;the break even point analysis is all right if you have a one product business&amp;quot;?. 
  
 Just pay extra attention to this point 
 a + singular noun beginning with a consonant:  a car, a stare, a dog, a cat ... 
   an   + singular noun beginning with a vowel:  an  e lephant, an  o rphan , an  a pple , an i pod ..  
    
 
  
  
 YoungBuddy, it would be &amp;quot;a one-product business.&amp;quot; 
  
 The a/an choice depend on the letter, but on the pronunciation of that letter. &amp;quot;One&amp;quot; sounds like &amp;quot;wun&amp;quot; so it takes &amp;quot;a&amp;quot; not &amp;quot;an.&amp;quot; 
  
 an open-book test, a one-trick pony 
 a unicorn, an umbrella. 
  
 You need to k</description></item><item><title>Re: Pronunciation</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/Pronunciation/kknwv/post.htm#891218</link><pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:57:23 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:891218</guid><dc:creator>raindoctor</dc:creator><description>What&amp;#39;s your point?   I made an implicit point: it is not cognitively productive to remember pronounciation for every word. What learners should be taught: a set of heuristics to find possible pronunciations for a word. Mastery of phonetics (or how to produce bilabial fricative, etc) does not help much. English phonology helps.     Since it is a 3-syllable word, it can have two variations: stress-unstressed-stressed; unstressed-stressed-unstressed. When a syllable gets stressed, it usually attracts consonants to the onset as well as the coda; it also allows for consonant clustering (wis-&amp;#39;con-sin vs. wi-&amp;#39;scon-sin). Suffixes also give a clue on where stress falls (for instance, one can predict where primary stress falls in...</description></item><item><title>Re: "an year" VS "a year"</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/AnYearVsAYear/2/cjknp/Post.htm#890821</link><pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:58:15 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:890821</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>Rule &amp;quot;an&amp;quot; is used before words beginning with a vowel &amp;quot;sound&amp;quot; 

since &amp;quot;hour&amp;quot; is pronounced with a silent h =&amp;gt; its pronunciation is beginning with a vowel just like in &amp;quot;our&amp;quot;
Therefore, an hour is correct
 a hour is wrong

the pronunciation of &amp;quot;year&amp;quot; is not as same as that of &amp;quot;ear&amp;quot;, the pronunciation of &amp;quot;year&amp;quot; begins with a consonant
Therefore, a year is correct
 an year is wrong

so next time you feel any confusion, just look for the pronunciation of the word
If the pronunciation of a word begins with a vowel &amp;quot;sound&amp;quot;, then it should have &amp;quot;an&amp;quot; before it otherwise a &amp;quot;a&amp;quot;</description></item><item><title>Re: Pronunciation</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/Pronunciation/kknwv/post.htm#889922</link><pubDate>Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:26:13 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:889922</guid><dc:creator>raindoctor</dc:creator><description>It is a three syllable word, and there is a vowel cluster. Therefore, the middle syllable get unstressed. The vowel cluster -eu- is not an english one; anglicizing it leads to /u/, cf. deuce, Neuce, etc   &amp;#39;bɛt əl ˌdʒus, /t/ is a tapped t</description></item><item><title>American 'a' in 'can'  /æ/  or /e/?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/AmericanAInCanOrE/klbxh/post.htm</link><pubDate>Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:23:56 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:889787</guid><dc:creator>dokterjokkebrok</dc:creator><description>Is there a difference in the pronunciation of General American &amp;#39;back&amp;#39; and RP &amp;#39;back&amp;#39;? For example as in:  I came back Wednesday.  The reason for asking is because my pronouncing dictionary gives the /æ/ intermediate vowel for both General American and Received Pronunciation in words like &amp;#39;back&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;slack&amp;#39;,&amp;#39;bad&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;attack&amp;#39; , etc. But when I listen carefully to how Americans pronounce it, I&amp;#39;d swear it sounds more like /e/. Is that true? Or is something else the case?  Thank you in advance!  Regards Dokterjokkebrok</description></item><item><title>Re: Vowels</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/Vowels/khgxp/post.htm#872158</link><pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:49:45 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:872158</guid><dc:creator>riturj</dc:creator><description>According to  WIKIANSWERS , it is:   Any word with a final W, such as cow or few or tomorrow , uses the w as a vowel.
      

I have never heard that &amp;quot;Cow&amp;quot; is vowel. The words which contain the pronunciation of vowel can be counted as Vowel whether they are &amp;quot;AEIOU&amp;quot; are or not.</description></item><item><title>Re: "a hydrodynamic" vs "an hydrodynamic"</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/HydrodynamicHydrodynamic/jmczx/post.htm#870792</link><pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:48:16 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:870792</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>Using “a” and “an” Before Words
  Raphael  asks: When should I use “a” and when should I use “an” before the different words? For example, should I say “a hour” or “an hour?” I stumble over this everytime and dont’t know if I’m getting it right, as I’m not speaking and writing English natively.  
 The Rule 
 The rule states that “a” should be used before words that begin with consonants (e.g., b, c ,d) while “an” should be used before words that begin with vowels (e.g., a,e,i). Notice, however, that the usage is determined by the pronunciation and not by the spelling, as many people wrongly assume. 
 You should say, therefore, “an hour” (because hour begins with a vowel sound) and “a history” (because history begins with a consonant...</description></item><item><title>Re: A LED v. an LED</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/ALedVAnLed/kgggr/post.htm#866623</link><pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:11:37 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:866623</guid><dc:creator>yankee</dc:creator><description>Hi Infinik   If, as Ray has said, there are places/companies that actually pronounce &amp;quot;LED&amp;quot; the same way they pronounce the past form of &amp;quot;lead&amp;quot; (i.e. as &amp;quot;led&amp;quot;), then I would expect them to also say &amp;quot;a LED&amp;quot;. I just have never heard anyone say &amp;quot;LED&amp;quot; that way myself.   It always depends on the pronunciation . If the first sound is a vowel sound when the word is spoken, then we use &amp;quot;an&amp;quot; with it. It&amp;#39;s as simple as that.   - an SOS  (an E SS - OH - ESS)  - an HP printer (an A ITCH - PEE printer)  - a one-armed bandit (The first sound in the word &amp;quot;one&amp;quot; is like the consonant W .)</description></item><item><title>Re: A LED v. an LED</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/ALedVAnLed/kgggr/post.htm#866526</link><pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:39:49 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:866526</guid><dc:creator>yankee</dc:creator><description>Hi Infinik   You use &amp;quot;an&amp;quot; before a vowel sound . So, if the pronunciation of LED is &amp;quot; e l - ee - dee&amp;quot;, then you should use &amp;quot;an&amp;quot;.   - an LED display</description></item><item><title>Re: Origin pronunciation def. art. and indef. art.</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/OriginPronunciationIndef/kzcpj/post.htm#860626</link><pubDate>Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:53:58 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:860626</guid><dc:creator>ferdis</dc:creator><description>I&amp;#39;m guessing here, but I think it is simply because pronouncing two consecutive vowel sounds is a bit of a tongue twister and disrupts the flow.</description></item><item><title>Origin pronunciation def. art. and indef. art.</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/OriginPronunciationIndef/kzcpj/post.htm</link><pubDate>Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:42:37 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:860617</guid><dc:creator>dokterjokkebrok</dc:creator><description>Hi there, I was wondering about the following matter: Why do we use the indef. art.     a -&amp;gt; /ə/ before words that start with a consonant sound? And why do we use the indef. art.  an -&amp;gt; /ən/ before words that start with a vowel sound?     The same with the definite article – pronounced like /ðə/  and  /ði/   Does someone know if there&amp;#39;s a phonetic/phonological or any other reason forthis phenomenon? I&amp;#39;ve searched through a whole lot of literature to find out about this, but so far I haven&amp;#39;t found anything yet.   Thank you for your reply/replies.  Jordy</description></item><item><title>Re: The pronunciation of the word "beloved"</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePronunciationWordBeloved/jqlvv/post.htm#846803</link><pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:01:03 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:846803</guid><dc:creator>kooyeen</dc:creator><description>I also think some people pronounce those words that start with &amp;quot;be&amp;quot; (or also &amp;quot;re&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;de&amp;quot;) with the vowel sound &amp;quot;ee&amp;quot; as in &amp;quot;bee&amp;quot;.   So some people might say &amp;quot;beloved&amp;quot; as &amp;quot;bee-loved&amp;quot;.</description></item><item><title>Re: "a" or "an" in front of acronym   (LIP)  Low Inflow Protocol</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/FrontAcronymInflowProtocol/jxhdw/post.htm#822568</link><pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:59:36 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:822568</guid><dc:creator>yankee</dc:creator><description>If the pronunciation of &amp;quot;LIP&amp;quot; is &amp;quot; e l-eye-pee&amp;quot;, then you should use &amp;quot;an&amp;quot;.   The rule for using &amp;quot;an&amp;quot; is not based on spelling. It is based on pronunciation. If the initial sound is a vowel sound, then you use &amp;quot;an&amp;quot;, not &amp;quot;a&amp;quot;.</description></item><item><title>Re: How to pronounce Pacino, Scorsese and Sean</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowPronouncePacinoScorsese-Sean/3/dnzmm/Post.htm#806429</link><pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:13:16 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:806429</guid><dc:creator>tanit</dc:creator><description>I won&amp;#39;t argue with you, of course you&amp;#39;re right, you&amp;#39;re a native Italian!    You can argue!  After all, Italian has many variants and I can speak only for mine.    After doing some search on the internet, I&amp;#39;ve found this dictionary where you can listen to the pronunciation of ro s a and to that of  s ole (just type one word in the box, click on the result and press the red arrow next to the phonetic trancription of the word in the pop-up).   I&amp;#39;ve also managed to find an easy list of rules to help you decide whether s should pronounced /s/ or /z/. This allows for an explanation of the pronunciation of the three s&amp;#39;s in Scorsese :   The first one is pronounced /s/ because it&amp;#39;s at the beginning of the word (also,...</description></item><item><title>Re: Puzzle  about the pronunciation of the word 'THE'</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/PuzzleAboutPronunciationWord-The/gjgxz/post.htm#805164</link><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:54:02 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:805164</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>It has always been my understanding, that &amp;quot;the&amp;quot; should be pronounced with a LONG E before a vowel and a SHORT E before a consonant . However, lately, I hear only the short sound used. This applies to new broadcasters and others who do public speaking. When did &amp;quot; THE&amp;quot; transition occur and where was I? 
  
 D. Israel, PA</description></item><item><title>Re: the  pronunciation of the word "the"</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePronunciationWord/2/cwnxp/Post.htm#787727</link><pubDate>Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:22:41 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:787727</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>If you look in a dictionary:   the  1  
play_w2(&amp;quot;T0146800&amp;quot;)
   (  before a vowel;   before a consonant ) 
   
 Or, &amp;quot;thee&amp;quot; before a vowel and &amp;quot;thuh&amp;quot; before a consonant. It&amp;#39;s not a rule we learn in school, but it&amp;#39;s something we seem to &amp;quot;absorb&amp;quot;. The reason for the different pronunciation is so that the language flows more smoothly.  
   
 French does that a lot! For example, les tables (don&amp;#39;t hear the &amp;quot;s&amp;quot;), but les enfants (you hear the &amp;quot;s&amp;quot; as a &amp;quot;z&amp;quot; sound to make it not hiccup!)...</description></item><item><title>Re: Acronyms and the use of 'a' vs. 'an'</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/AcronymsAndTheUseOfAVsAn/bvgjq/post.htm#775643</link><pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:28:37 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:775643</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>No man its only &amp;#39;taken for a vowel&amp;#39; when it starts with a vowel in pronunciation (when read abc-style). So &amp;#39;p&amp;#39; is pronounced as &amp;#39;pee&amp;#39; (consonant), &amp;#39;s&amp;#39; is &amp;#39;ess&amp;#39; (vowel), &amp;#39;k&amp;#39; is &amp;#39;kay&amp;#39; and &amp;#39;t&amp;#39; is &amp;#39;tee&amp;#39; (consonants). Just read the abbreviation as you would read it aloud.</description></item><item><title>Re:  "O"s that use the "wuh" sound like one does...?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/SoundDoes/crhpg/post.htm#727675</link><pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 04:06:05 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:727675</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>From Dictionary.com    Word History : Why do we pronounce one (wŭn) and once (wŭns) while other words derived from one, like only, alone, and atone, are pronounced with a long o? Over time, stressed vowels commonly become diphthongs, as when Latin bona became buona in Italian and buena in Spanish. A similar diphthongization of one and once 
began in the late Middle Ages in the west of England and in Wales and
is first recorded around 1400. The vowel sound underwent a series of
changes, such that the word&amp;#39;s pronunciation went from (ōn) to (ōōōn),
with two syllables, to (wōn) to (wōōn) to (wŏŏn) and finally to (wŭn).
In southwest England, this diphthongization happened to other words
beginning with the long o sound, such as oats,...</description></item><item><title>Post</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/VowelInModernEnglish/wkkwg/post.htm#721790</link><pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2009 21:55:30 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:721790</guid><dc:creator>ecossais</dc:creator><description>Hi! Thank you for this interesting discussion and for your answer.Your opinion is important for me.  First of all, my problem concerns teaching English as a second language. It&amp;#39;s very bad that teachers instructing pupils how to pronounce /ʌ/ usually say that you should pronounce /o/ but not rounding your lips  But in fact, the /ʌ/ is closer to /a/ in most dialects, not to /o/. Pronunciation of /dæm/ or /θɔːt/ varies in different ways in different regions, but /ʌ/ is not so vague. This is usually /a/ or /ɐ/ in RP, GenAm, AU, NZ (though, it differs from /æ/, /ɑ:/, /ɑ/, /ɒ/ and there&amp;#39;s not any merge). You can find in the net the phonetic maps and see the contemporary position of the vowel. During last century linguists have changed...</description></item><item><title>Re:  Vowel [ʌ] in modern English</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/VowelInModernEnglish/wkkwg/post.htm#720587</link><pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2009 22:56:46 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:720587</guid><dc:creator>ecossais</dc:creator><description>The vowel  must always be pronounced the same, since it&amp;#39;s an IPA symbol that describe a sound. IPA symbols don&amp;#39;t change, they are defined that way, and they remain so, so that we can describe some sounds.  Hmm... But don&amp;#39;t you think this is a little bit eh...old-fashioned? Let&amp;#39;s see. In older dictionaries (and in many books in linguistic, too) there weren&amp;#39;t made the differences between /ɔ/ and /ɔ:/, /ə/ and /ə:/. But nowadays if you, using broad transcription, describe /ɜ:/ and /ɒ/ as /ə:/ and /ɔ/ your work would seem outdated. I think that   not we must adjust to a defined set of IPA symbols but we use it to write phonemes(and phones) of our language properly so we can change one IPA symbol to another, if this set of...</description></item><item><title>Re: Vowel [ʌ] in modern English</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/VowelInModernEnglish/wkkwg/post.htm#720496</link><pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2009 19:48:22 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:720496</guid><dc:creator>kooyeen</dc:creator><description>Hi (and welcome to Englishforums  Smile),  As I know, in modern English the vowel  is no more pronounced as...  ouch! The vowel  must always be pronounced the same, since it&amp;#39;s an IPA symbol that describe a sound. IPA symbols don&amp;#39;t change, they are defined that way, and they remain so, so that we can describe some sounds. What happens is that dictionaries use a set of symbols even if they don&amp;#39;t represent the real pronunciation, so you have a kind of &amp;quot;phonemic transcription&amp;quot;, and not real &amp;quot;phonetic transcriptions&amp;quot;. For example, from a dictionary you can understand that &amp;quot;bug&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;sub&amp;quot; have the same vowel, or that &amp;quot;teacher&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;better&amp;quot; rhyme, but it doesn&amp;#39;t tell...</description></item><item><title>Re: What is a syllable?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatIsASyllable/wzgjx/post.htm#694638</link><pubDate>Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:15:41 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:694638</guid><dc:creator>danielrams07</dc:creator><description>syllable Segment of speech usually consisting of a vowel with or without accompanying consonant sounds (e.g., a , I , out , too , cap , snap , check ). A syllabic consonant, like the final n sound in button and widen , also constitutes a syllable. Closed (checked) syllables end in a consonant, open (free) syllables in a vowel. Syllables play an important role in the study of speech and in phonetics and phonology . girl have 1 go have 1 rain 2 famous 2 hour 1 double 2 prison 2   A syllable is a basic unit of written and spoken language. It is a unit consisting of uninterrupted sound that can be used to make up words. For example, the word hotel has two syllables: ho and tel . These will be marked here as in ho/tel .  Counting Syllables ...</description></item><item><title>Re: Why do we say "come and go" but not "go and come"?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/Why/wvghv/post.htm#689684</link><pubDate>Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:23:37 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:689684</guid><dc:creator>clive</dc:creator><description>Hi, In this case, I would think common usage. It may possibly also be easier to say &amp;#39;come and go&amp;#39;. With &amp;#39;go and come&amp;#39;, the pronunciation seems slightly harder because of the two vowel sounds following each other, ie &amp;#39;g o  a nd come&amp;#39;. Finally, things often have to come before they are in a position to go. eg a visitor to my home eg an opportunity Best wishes, Clive</description></item><item><title>Re: Two dialects for me?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/TwoDialectsForMe/wdbpn/post.htm#684681</link><pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:13:31 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:684681</guid><dc:creator>forbes</dc:creator><description>There is, I think, a difference between pronunciation and accent, though I am not quite sure what it is. Perhaps it is a question of degree. It is perfectly possible to pronounce words correctly but with different accents. Different accents may of course involve different articulations of vowels and consonants, but they also involve other aspects like pitch and intonation. Unless learned at a young age by immersion, most people have at least a trace of a foreign accent when they speak a foreign language.</description></item><item><title>How do I say this?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowDoISayThis/wcdmn/post.htm</link><pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:07:57 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:679078</guid><dc:creator>askshameer</dc:creator><description>I&amp;#39;m undergoing accent neutralization training. My instructor says that when a word ends with a vowel sound and if the next word starts with a vowel sound, then I&amp;#39;m supposed to add an &amp;quot;r&amp;quot; in between to read that out. I&amp;#39;m a bit confused now. Is this rule only for IPA (International Pronunciation Association)? or is it applicable to American Accent and British Accent? I&amp;#39;m not happy with his explanation. For ex: &amp;quot;idea of&amp;quot; becomes &amp;quot;idea r of&amp;quot; &amp;quot;law and order&amp;quot; becomes &amp;quot;law r andorder&amp;quot; /Sameer</description></item><item><title>Help! Do American &amp; Brit English differ in the final vowel sound in CARRIED &amp; FAMILIES?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/HelpAmericanBritEnglishDifferFinal-VowelSoundCarriedFamilies/wccrn/post.htm</link><pubDate>Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:53:44 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:678585</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>Is it true that in American English, the final vowel sound in CARRIED, VARIED, SOCIETIES and FAMILIES rhymes with that in FEET whilst in British, it rhymes with that in FIT? My examples above are verbs and nouns that end with an EE sound in their regular form: CARRY, VARY, SOCIETY, FAMILY I&amp;#39;m referring to American English as GaE (General American English) and to British English as RP (Received Pronunciation). thanks</description></item><item><title>Pronunciation of "an" and "the"</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/PronunciationOfAnAndThe/hpwnw/post.htm</link><pubDate>Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:06:50 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:660883</guid><dc:creator>anonymous</dc:creator><description>Hello there, Today suddenly, some co-workers talked about the pronunciation of &amp;quot;an&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;the&amp;quot;. As a general rule, aren&amp;#39;t they pronounced as &amp;quot;an (as in ant)&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;thee&amp;quot; for words beginning in vowels? Having a few of them mention that they&amp;#39;ve studied them to be generally pronounced as &amp;quot;an(eon)&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;the (duh)&amp;quot;, but only as &amp;quot;an (as in ant)&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;thee&amp;quot; when being stressed, I walked out with a big question in my midst. Are they indeed only pronounced in a special way as &amp;quot;an (as in ant)&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;thee&amp;quot; when being stressed? and what does being stressed mean (how does one determine if they are stressed)? If anyone could be of some assistance,...</description></item><item><title>Re: vowel length distinction before voiced or unv. consonants</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/VowelLengthDistinctionVoiced-Consonants/vwmcm/post.htm#657927</link><pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:00:31 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:657927</guid><dc:creator>zerox</dc:creator><description>I think the terms you are looking for are called &amp;#39;vowel length&amp;#39; and &amp;#39;vowel duration&amp;#39;. As it has been mentioned, vowels before fortis sounds tend to be shorter because the fortis sound needs more power, that is, it is aspirated. Now, vowel length is a phenomenon in which different vowels are placed in the same phonetic environment (minimal pairs: /pit/ vs. /pi:t/), whereas vowel duration refers to the exact amount of time the same vowel lasts in different environments ( change of a fortis consonant to its lenis counterpart, for example). Obviously, the differences in duration are hard to notice by ear, but they still affect one&amp;#39;s pronunciation. These three examples should expound the difference with the vowel sound:...</description></item><item><title>Re: vowel length distinction before voiced or unv. consonants</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/VowelLengthDistinctionVoiced-Consonants/vwmcm/post.htm#656981</link><pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:32:31 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:656981</guid><dc:creator>genevrier45</dc:creator><description>I have newly joined this forum, just to give a reply to you.  I know what you were expressing, and in fact a voiced consonant always sounds lower pitch than the vowels (also unv. consonant, unv. consonant always seems to have a high pitch though it doesn&amp;#39;t voiced).  But in terms of pronunciation the pitches may not be the difference. The pitch of voiced consonant is low because the voicing of a voiced consonant in coda position is different to that of a vowel, it is more tough, so the pitch drops at the coda position when you are pronouncing &amp;quot;cod&amp;quot;.  But all in all, the factors of vowel length and tenseness are much obvious in distinguishing the pairs like &amp;quot;cod&amp;quot; vs &amp;quot;cot&amp;quot;.</description></item></channel></rss>