Search results for 'tag:Vowels tag:Pronunciation tag:Usages' matching tags 'Vowels', 'Pronunciation', and 'Usages'

Search results for 'tag:Vowels tag:Pronunciation tag:Usages' matching tags 'Vowels', 'Pronunciation', and 'Usages'http://www.englishforums.com/search/pro.htm?q=tag%3aVowels+tag%3aPronunciation+tag%3aUsagesSearch results for 'tag:Vowels tag:Pronunciation tag:Usages' matching tags 'Vowels', 'Pronunciation', and 'Usages'en-USXMOD (Build: 3614.32638)Re: "a hydrodynamic" vs "an hydrodynamic"http://www.englishforums.com/English/HydrodynamicHydrodynamic/jmczx/post.htm#870792Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:48:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:870792anonymousUsing “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...Re: "O"s that use the "wuh" sound like one does...?http://www.englishforums.com/English/SoundDoes/crhpg/post.htm#727675Wed, 13 May 2009 04:06:05 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:727675anonymousFrom 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'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,...Re: Why do we say "come and go" but not "go and come"?http://www.englishforums.com/English/Why/wvghv/post.htm#689684Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:23:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:689684cliveHi, In this case, I would think common usage. It may possibly also be easier to say 'come and go'. With 'go and come', the pronunciation seems slightly harder because of the two vowel sounds following each other, ie 'g o a nd come'. 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"an eulogy" or "a eulogy"?http://www.englishforums.com/English/AnEulogyOrAEulogy/hqzbn/post.htmWed, 18 Jun 2008 17:13:57 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:664730paulAs per phonetics theory, I've been told one should use the indefinite article "a" before words beginning with a consonant and "an" before words beginning with a vowel or a diphthong. And the sound "y" ( or / j / in phonetic script) as in "eulogy", "university", "European" etc. is to be treated as a consonant (though in certain contexts one would also call it a "semi-vowel"). Why is it that I still find "an" preceeding this sound in certain write-ups generating combinations such as "an eulogy", and "an university" ? Are these instances of incorrect usage? Paul.Re: Place name pronunciationshttp://www.englishforums.com/English/PlaceNamePronunciations/8/lxmhk/Post.htm#996350Fri, 27 Aug 2004 20:37:25 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:996350jonathan jordanI quite understand why rhotic people would find the usual ... in the language where the combination "uh" represents this sound? It makes sense in an odd sort of way. The attempt is to represent /V/, which is probably the accented ... pronounced after a vowel at the end of a word. Viola! I don't know whether it really happened this way. The problem I have with it is that it conflicts with the use of vowel + in German orthography to indicate a long vowel, so that represents (e:) and (u:). I'm sure I meet this usage more than the American (?) one indicating short vowels. My solution is, in order of preference: 1. Use IPA (or ASCII IPA) 2. Borrow the schwa symbol while otherwise using ordinary letters 3. Use , if confusion...Re: use to /used to [WAS: Can "Remain" Implement the Passive Voice?]http://www.englishforums.com/English/CanRemainImplementPassiveVoice/10/lkwpl/Post.htm#985077Wed, 11 Aug 2004 05:38:11 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:985077r j valentine} "Raymond S. Wise" (Email Removed) wrote in message } }> }> Since the pronunciations are identical, this might confuse some people. } But }> it should be easy enough to memorize the distinction in spelling. "Used } to" }> is used where a past tense would be used, thus the "-d." (I should note } that }> MWCD11 does show a difference in pronunciation. In addition to the }> pronunciation /jus/ for the "used" in "used to," it also has the }> pronunciation /just/.) }> } } But it's not the -d that's the issue surely, it's the unvoiced 's'. The } verb 'use' that we do actually still, ahem, use is always pronounced with a } voiced z. On this...Re: Why is Worcester MA Mispronounced as "Wooster"http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhyWorcesterMispronouncedWooster/25/lkzzr/Post.htm#970851Wed, 04 Aug 2004 13:46:43 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:970851john holmes <see sig>The local pronunciation of Newcastle (upon Tyne) is, I believe, /nju'kas@l/, with second syllable stress and a "cat" vowel in the second syllable. In the rest of the country people tend to say /'njukas@l/ (north) or /'njukA:s@l/ (south). For the antipodean Newcastle the situation is, as you'd probably expect, the reverse:/'njukas@l/ (south) or /'njukA:s@l/ (north). Regards John for mail: my initials plus those of alt.usage.english at tpg dot com dot auRe: Father different twisthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/FatherDifferentTwist/4/lzjvd/Post.htm#947335Mon, 28 Jun 2004 19:07:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:947335pat durkinIn my kind of talk, in the sense you mention, ... clearly, a schwa replaces the vowel. "I k'n gowith you". Do you have the "pin"/"pen" merger? (If so, where are you from?) If youdo, your "kin" pronunciation of 'be able' "can" should fall into the samecategory as Joe's and my "ken". No, I am not PIP. This appears, in my local usage to be rather sporadic and unsystematized. I don't say "pinny" for "penny". I am lifelong Wisconsin resident. However, I have commented in one or two earlier threads upon the many/minnie any/inny sound shift. I can't remember other words with that sound shift I mentioned. I believe I brought in the just/jist...Re: Father different twisthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/FatherDifferentTwist/4/lzjvd/Post.htm#947313Mon, 28 Jun 2004 18:07:06 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:947313aaron j. dinkinSouthern? I'm from Massachusetts, which is nearly as non-Southern as you can get, and I have /E/ in 'be able' "can". In my kind of talk, in the sense you mention, can falls into the "short i" category (Us usage). Or, ... (or jist) hear you talk." And a bit less clearly, a schwa replaces the vowel. "I k'n go with you". Do you have the "pin"/"pen" merger? (If so, where are you from?) If you do, your "kin" pronunciation of 'be able' "can" should fall into the same category as Joe's and my "ken". -Aaron J. Dinkin Dr. WhomRe: Wallah-wallah bing-banghttp://www.englishforums.com/English/WallahWallahBingBang/3/lbcnm/Post.htm#930140Sat, 05 Jun 2004 07:27:20 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:930140raymond s. wiseThis is a non-sequitur argument. That the French word "lingerie" is pronounced in English with the "ay" of "hay," How strange. I would have thought the main oddity about the English pronunciation of lingerie was the first vowel, ie most people seem to say 'lonzhery' or 'lonzheray'. I don't think that that is the main oddity because I have seen it repeated elsewhere, whereas I have not seen "ie" in any other word derived from French pronounced as the "ay" diphthong, /eI/. The one example I can think of in which French "in" /E~/ or /&~/, both have been used is the name of the main character in the animated program "Lupin the Third," in which the...Re: Cilantro or corianderhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/CilantroOrCoriander/11/lrxqn/Post.htm#924147Mon, 31 May 2004 01:43:09 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:924147areffSince your experience stems from NY, I'm not surprised. In California, the "father" pronunciation is quite common (the Latino influence, you know). Huh? The Spanish "a" is noticeably different from both the AmE "father" and "cat" vowels it's more like the ... Latinos like a few million, maybe to do some influencing in New York (Largest City in America) too? You are correct, sir, but Mexicans do not dominate their number, unlike the Latino communities in the West and Midwest. The culinary usage of cilantro leaves is particularly associated with Mexican cuisine (= BrE 'cookery'). When I do my Final Assessment of Chicago, I'll be sure to mention, in the plus column, the abundance...Re: Cilantro or corianderhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/CilantroOrCoriander/10/lrxqn/Post.htm#923765Sun, 30 May 2004 22:00:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:923765areffMW and AHD give both pronunciations ('father' and 'cat'). MW ... that in my experience the 'father' pronunciation is not common. Since your experience stems from NY, I'm not surprised. In California, the "father" pronunciation is quite common (the Latino influence, you know). Maybe so, but query whether my PNYPS /&/ ('cat') is not closer to whatever baseline dialect of Spanish than baseline CalE 'father'. Bob Cunningham (Doyen of English Usage (Let Us Worship Him!)) is no native son, but he is a longtime Southern California resident and a CIC Western speaker, and his father/cot/caught vowel seems to stray into normative "aw" territory. California native dotter Donna...Re: Is "cresh" English?http://www.englishforums.com/English/IsCreshEnglish/kmcrz/post.htm#898487Mon, 03 May 2004 03:37:02 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:898487peter moylanDylan Nicholson infrared: "Crèche", always in RobertE's UK sense, often retains its French grave accent and the vowel is closer to that of "air" rather than "mesh". In Aus. I've only ever heard it pronounced 'craysh' (i.e. with a diphthong). And I've certainly never heard it used to refer to a nativity scene. Ditto here, so I'll conjecture that 'craysh' is the near-universal Australian pronunciation. In addition, the grave accent is omitted in Australian usage. (Nor do we add an acute accent.) I use the French pronunciation and spelling when speaking French, but that's a different matter; for me, 'creche' sans accent mark is a fully naturalised English word. In...Re: elbows to bow outhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ElbowsToBowOut/2/kgjcd/Post.htm#873886Thu, 08 Apr 2004 14:29:52 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:873886armond perrettaTony Cooper typed thus: Not in UK sailors' English - bowline starts with the "go" vowel ... ... I'm not sure of the actual pronunciation that Authentic Tars and Salts use ... I assumed the "bowline" would be something one attaches to the bow ... In cases like this, it's safer to assume nothing A "sheepbend" is not attached to bent sheep, and a "sheepshank" is not attached to sheep shanks. Here's some general stuff from a non-tarred individual. A "knot" is tied in a single piece of rope. A "bend" is tied with 2 pieces of rope. A "hitch" is tied between a piece of rope and something other than a piece of rope. "Bowline hitch" is non-standard...Re: 10 Million Light Years and Then Less (Fewer?]http://www.englishforums.com/English/10MillionLightYearsLessFewer/3/kgxkj/Post.htm#870362Mon, 05 Apr 2004 02:34:54 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:870362raymond s. wiseAs MWCD11 puts it, in the usage note under the ... pronunciation of kilometer does not parallel that ofother metric compounds." It's difficult to see exactly what they mean by that. Sure, they say that the 2nd syllable stress has a ... I can't think of one off-hand. I don't criticise people who say 'kiLOmetre', but it is illogical. Rob Bannister That it might be unsystematic is true but is of no importance. In the logic which counts "Can the speaker get across his intended meaning?" the logic of the pronunciation in question is impeccable: A "ki-LO-meter" speaker is able to get his meaning across no less well than does a "KIL-o-meter" speaker. (I have to admit that the pronunciation...Re: Long A or Short A Vowel Sound?http://www.englishforums.com/English/LongAOrShortAVowelSound/jqvlk/post.htm#845645Fri, 20 Feb 2004 13:42:13 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:845645jonathan jordanvowel 'ay' in 'bank', 'language', etc. and you may well ... 'ay' is the long form of 'e'. Hope thishelps, Janet We have here a confusion between two different definitions of "longvowels." I and most other Americans learned the long vowels ... vowel with a breve overit, and is expressed in ASCII IPA as (&), (E), (I), (A), and (@) or (V). Those phonetic symbols don't apply to all dialects of English, of course. So what you identified as the long vowels would bascally hold nomeaning for the average American. Some of us would ... or have learned a foreign language. This isperhaps a good reason to avoid the terms "long" and "short" in vowels. At least in an...Re: ['i:NglIS] vs ['INglIS] [was: Re: Interesting article from thehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/InterestingArticleAuesFirst/24/jldgm/Post.htm#812151Mon, 19 Jan 2004 02:07:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:812151skittThat may be true of "most of us in the ... vowel). This is a phonemic difference too (because of "can"). OK, you seem to presuppose that "can" is pronounced differently when it means "tin can" from the way it is ... able, by speaker in the NY region. Do you have any way of describing to us what these sounds are? I think that the difference is not confined to the NY region. See the pronunciations given im MWCD10. For "to be able" meaning I use the first one, except when emphasizing the word. For "tin can" it is always the second pronunciation shown for the verb entry, and the only one shown for the noun entry. I'm pretty sure that your usage is the same, but you are not noticing...Re: Cap or Cup?http://www.englishforums.com/English/CapOrCup/jcwhb/post.htm#764112Thu, 04 Dec 2003 15:35:42 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:764112jonathan jordanSo the basic question is: Is the Cambridge pronunciation of ... or ride a "BOOSS". Which **should** it be? Cap orCup? Why not choose the intermediate solution that (it seems to me) isoffered by prestige varieties of AmE, notably Postwar New York PrestigeStandard? Given what he wrote about Americans, I doubt he wants to sound like one. I hear PNYPS "bus"/"cup" as having a vowel that is to the back ofthat EstE (?) vowel you hear annoyed British speakers using when they say"Cahm on!" (which they stress on the first word, it seems) in Britishfilms and TV shows and such. Seems likely; after all the Estuary vowel is close to (a). I'd have just written "Cam on". OTOH, PNYPS...Re: ah = ar, aw = or, aw =/= ah / arhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/AhArAwOrAwAhAr/9/whnzz/Post.htm#714014Sat, 18 Oct 2003 22:00:42 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:714014woody wordpeckerI find it interesting that even Evan Kirshenbaum, the father ... difference, but he chooses to leave it as it is. I don't think this is a good thing, at least for purposes of discussions of English accents (that's "English not ... some accents are distinct from others precisely because they have a front "cot" vowel rather than a central "cot" vowel. The reason it's not a good thing is that ASCII IPA should adhere to IPA defintions. Does this reflect EK's biases as a Chicago-native speaker? I doubt it. We're told and I've experienced in one case that some Chicagoans pronounce "cot" with a vowel that sounds a lot like (&), which is a front vowel. Dictionaries show...Re: ah = ar, aw = or, aw =/= ah / arhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/AhArAwOrAwAhAr/9/whnzz/Post.htm#713926Sat, 18 Oct 2003 19:44:35 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:713926woody wordpecker( . . . ) The difference really is, at least, that {A.) is rounded and (A) is not. To see that that's true, all ... appear in typical handwriting.) The vowel chart clearly shows "script a" and "turned script a" as unrounded and rounded counterparts. Amidst all this talk about the sound corresponding to the ASCII IPA symbol (A.), it should be mentioned that it makes a big difference whether we mean that *IPA* meaning of the equivalent symbol, or a meaning that's used by people who don't accept IPA as their guide. In Ladusaw and Pullum's Phonetic Symbol Guide (Second Edition), they tell us that American usage of this symbol is "standardly, same as IPA if used", but they go on to say that...Re: New page on the AUE site: Pronunciation of newsgroup contributors' nameshttp://www.englishforums.com/English/NewPageSitePronunciationNewsgroup-ContributorsNames/4/wgqcv/Post.htm#702809Fri, 10 Oct 2003 04:30:34 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:702809r j valentine} There's a new page on the alt-usage-english site, showing the } pronunciation of some regular contributors' names. } } http://alt-usage-english.org/audio gallery/ } } The page was created after a suggestion by Nobuko Iwasaki and subsequent } discussion in this newsgroup. I've included on the page all the people } involved in that discussion, except those that didn't respond to my } invitation (due principally to mailboxes overflowing with Swen } messages). They are: } } Reinhold (Rey) Aman Funny, but this time it did sound like "RAINhold ARnold AHmahn" wait, I mean "RAINhold AHLbairt AHmahn" (rather than "RHINEhold, as it seemed to last time, maybe because I was expecting that). } Robert...Re: Xenophobiahttp://www.englishforums.com/English/Xenophobia/4/wrqjv/Post.htm#678211Mon, 06 Oct 2003 14:56:44 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:678211khannThere's supposed to be a difference in pronunciation between the ... of Poul Anderson, but I don't think English preserves it..r That is because we don't have the vowels necessary for the task. Someone once told me that the latter name was supposed to be pronounced like "pool", but that might have just been a guess. Not quite it is one of those several Danish vowel sounds with which English-speakers have so much trouble. The sound of "Poul" properly pronounced in Danish is neither the "Paul" nor the "pool" of English. However, in common usage a person's name should be pronounced however that person wishes and that, we know, may well change with the generations. In practical terms...Re: Proposed addition of name pronunciations to the AUE sitehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ProposedAdditionNamePronunciations-Site/2/hxpgh/Post.htm#658292Sat, 06 Sep 2003 00:41:25 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:658292fabian"Frances Kemmish" kija kitbet So what informal notation do you propose that can be ... you, Im genuinely curiosu toknow if such a beast exists. Perhaps one could use the example words in the table here: http://www.alt-usage-english.org/ipa/ascii ipa combined.shtml#reading Even the formal symbols are not unambiguous, when used by someone untrained in that branch of linguistics. I am well aware there is nothing else even vaguely unambiguous. I was being facetious when asking for such an animal. I just don't think it's appropriate in a non-specialist group to insist that people simply *must* learn specialised notation and be unambiguously precise when they may wish just to have some general information about something...Re: Pronunciation of "Lieblich", and other AUE regulars' nameshttp://www.englishforums.com/English/PronunciationLieblichOtherRegulars-Names/4/hxnkd/Post.htm#657779Fri, 05 Sep 2003 07:01:32 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:657779bob cunninghamPeople who use terms like "CINC", "cot/father vowel", "ah pronunciation" ... a place where the terms are thoroughly defined and explained. Wasn't there some reference to something like that? Of course it would be nice to have it repeated in every related thread. There's a list of abbreviations that appeared in AUE over a period of several years, and the list includes one person's interpretation of their meanings. It's at http://alt-usage-english.org/abbreviations.html . However, it will tell you what "CINC" probably stands for, "caught is not cot", but that would leave an uninitiated reader still mystified. He might say to himself: "It's obvious that caught is...