The "How Do You Pronounce X" Thread

[Travis B.]

About wandering and thundering I have* /ˈwɑndərəŋ/ [ˈwɑ̃ːndʁ̩ˤʁˤɘ̃(ː)ŋ] and /ˈwɑndrəŋ/ [ˈwɑ̃ːndɹɘ̃(ː)ŋ] for the former and /ˈθʌndərəŋ/ [ˈθʌ̃ːndʁ̩ˤʁˤɘ̃(ː)ŋ] and /ˈθʌndrəŋ/ [ˈθʌ̃ːndɹɘ̃(ː)ŋ] for the latter but never */ˈwɑndʒrəŋ/ *[ˈwɑ̃ːntʃɹ̠ʁɘ̃(ː)ŋ] or */ˈθʌndʒrəŋ/ *[ˈθʌ̃ːntʃɹ̠ʁɘ̃(ː)ŋ]

* Note that I also have variants with /n/** rather than /ŋ/ for all of these and variants with other allophones of /θ/ such as [t̪θ].
** Note that final /n/ may itself assimilate to following consonants or be elided.

[anteallach]

Introspecting a bit:

- Pronouncing being as the expected [ˈbiːɪŋ(g)] feels a bit artificial to me. I think I often use monosyllabic forms like [bɪəŋ(g)] or [bɪːŋ(g)], with the same sort of smoothing which occurs in theatre or vehicle. I think this is genuinely irregular: it doesn't apply to e.g. seeing, where the bisyllabic form feels natural enough.
- I don't have affrication in centring or wondering (compare central and wondrous, where I definitely do) and in careful speech at least they would be trisyllabic, though I'm sure that bisyllabic forms of both are possible. I've sometimes felt that the spelling centring, though of course the usual one for me, feels a bit odd as it suggests [sɛntʂɹɪŋ(g)] (i.e. with affrication), which isn't what I say.
- On the other hand I absolutely do have bisyllabic forms where the root ends with /(ə)l/: doubling [dɔ̈blɪŋ(g)], heckling [hɛklɪŋ(g)] etc. Perhaps this is an argument that the phonemic forms of the roots here do indeed have a syllabic /l/: /dʌbl/ etc.

[Richard W]

- Pronouncing being as the expected [ˈbiːɪŋ(g)] feels a bit artificial to me. I think I often use monosyllabic forms like [bɪəŋ(g)] or [bɪːŋ(g)], with the same sort of smoothing which occurs in theatre or vehicle. I think this is genuinely irregular: it doesn't apply to e.g. seeing, where the bisyllabic form feels natural enough.

Imralu may claim to have already mentioned this form, but we shouldn't forget human bean, 'human being'.

[Nortaneous]

For me, being has two syllables, centering, wondering, doubling, heckling, wandering, thundering etc. have three, and belittling has four. Sampling could have two.

[Raphael]

and belittling has four.

OK, that's the part that somewhat surprises me. Although, on second thought, it probably shouldn't.

[jal]

OK, that's the part that somewhat surprises me. Although, on second thought, it probably shouldn't.

Just shove in a schwa everywhere :D


JAL

[jcb]

For me, being has two syllables, centering, wondering, doubling, heckling, wandering, thundering etc. have three, and belittling has four. Sampling could have two.

When I was younger, I pronounced your three syllable words with three syllables, but as I've aged, I now pronounce them with two syllables.

As for "belittling", it still sounds a little strange with three syllables, but a little stiff with four syllables.

And "being" has two syllables, of course.

[jcb]

What vowel do people have in the first syllable of "Halloween"? LOT or TRAP?

Strangley, I have LOT in "Halloween", but TRAP in "hallowed" and "hallow".

[Raphael]

What vowel do people have in the first syllable of "Halloween"? LOT or TRAP?

Strangley, I have LOT in "Halloween", but TRAP in "hallowed" and "hallow".

Very much TRAP.

[Lērisama]

What vowel do people have in the first syllable of "Halloween"? LOT or TRAP?

Strangley, I have LOT in "Halloween", but TRAP in "hallowed" and "hallow".

TRAP. I associate a LOT in Halloween with North American English, and specifically with LOTs low and centralised or unrounded enough I can't distinguish them from PALM/FATHER.

[Travis B.]

What vowel do people have in the first syllable of "Halloween"? LOT or TRAP?

Strangley, I have LOT in "Halloween", but TRAP in "hallowed" and "hallow".

I have LOT in Halloween, as does my mother, but my father has TRAP. As for hallowed and hallow, I'd say them with LOT, but frankly I don't use or hear them much at all (I almost never hear the Lord's Prayer IRL, as I only go to church for weddings and funerals).

[jcb]

Let's play a little game. Instead of asking how you pronounce a word, I'll ask how you spell it!

One day, you meet somebody who's name is [A:n@]. (or [A:nV]. It's hard for me to tell the difference between [@] and [V].) How do you spell their name?

Hint: You encounter this person in the American upper midwest, where the local accent merges "cot" and "caught", and "trap" and "bath" are not split. (Does this hint change your answer?)

Answer:

More: show

The answer is "Aunna". When I first met this person IRL, I thought that their name was "Anna", but they were possibly British, or just had a abnormal pronunciation.

[Travis B.]

Let's play a little game. Instead of asking how you pronounce a word, I'll ask how you spell it!

One day, you meet somebody who's name is [A:n@]. (or [A:nV]. It's hard for me to tell the difference between [@] and [V].) How do you spell their name?

Hint: You encounter this person in the American upper midwest, where the local accent merges "cot" and "caught", and "trap" and "bath" are not split. (Does this hint change your answer?)

Answer:

More: show

The answer is "Aunna". When I first met this person IRL, I thought that their name was "Anna", but they were possibly British, or just had a abnormal pronunciation.

My guess would have been that they'd spell their name "Anna" but that they are not a native English-speaker.

More: show

I would not have guessed "Aunna", a spelling I have never seen. If I saw "Aunna" in writing I would pronounce it /ˈɔnə/ [ˈɒ̃ːɾ̃ə(ː)].

[Imralu]

Let's play a little game. Instead of asking how you pronounce a word, I'll ask how you spell it!

One day, you meet somebody who's name is [A:n@]. (or [A:nV]. It's hard for me to tell the difference between [@] and [V].) How do you spell their name?

Hint: You encounter this person in the American upper midwest, where the local accent merges "cot" and "caught", and "trap" and "bath" are not split. (Does this hint change your answer?)

Answer:

More: show

The answer is "Aunna". When I first met this person IRL, I thought that their name was "Anna", but they were possibly British, or just had a abnormal pronunciation.

I'd assume it's just a weird hyperforeign US pronunciation of Anna, or Ana, but compatible spellings would be Arna, Ahna, Arner, Ahner. There's a German name Arne which maps to that in English too.

Aunna could not have that vowel for me. That would be /ˈɔːnə/ [ˈoːnɐ].

It's hard for me to tell the difference between [@] and [V].)

If you're talking about the phonemic distinction between /ə/ and /ʌ/, the latter is a checked vowel in dialects that have it, so phonemically /ˈɑːnə/.

[Imralu]

- Pronouncing being as the expected [ˈbiːɪŋ(g)] feels a bit artificial to me. I think I often use monosyllabic forms like [bɪəŋ(g)] or [bɪːŋ(g)], with the same sort of smoothing which occurs in theatre or vehicle. I think this is genuinely irregular: it doesn't apply to e.g. seeing, where the bisyllabic form feels natural enough.

For me, that blending of /iː.ɪ/ FLEECE+KIT to /ɪə/ NEAR is blocked by a following velar or post-alveolar consonant, so 'theatre' has the NEAR vowel, but 'vehicle' and 'being' have FLEECE+KIT.

[Imralu]

Imralu may claim to have already mentioned this form, but we shouldn't forget human bean, 'human being'.

Have I mentioned it? I'm not sure why I'd claim to have mentioned if if I hadn't. In any case, 'human bean' has always just struck me as a cute, childish mishearing, not as evidence that anyone pronounces 'being' as 'bean'.

[Imralu]

Jusət shove in a schəwa everywhere


JƏL

[kodé]

What vowel do people have in the first syllable of "Halloween"? LOT or TRAP?

Strangley, I have LOT in "Halloween", but TRAP in "hallowed" and "hallow".

I have LOT in Halloween, as does my mother, but my father has TRAP. As for hallowed and hallow, I'd say them with LOT, but frankly I don't use or hear them much at all (I almost never hear the Lord's Prayer IRL, as I only go to church for weddings and funerals).

Weird, I just noticed that I also have that pattern (LOT in “Halloween” but TRAP in “hallow(ed)”. Although FWIW, my vowel in “hollow(ed)” is also LOT, identical with the first two syllables in “Halloween” (I’m cot/caught merged, so I’m not sure if that’s playing a role here).

[zompist]

How do you say "Tokyo"?

This comes up after watching this video. The chorus starts at :50 if you're in a hurry. When Suzuka sings "I'm going back to Tokyo" it's [to kjo]. This shouldn't surprise me but it made me realize I say [to ki jo]. Wiktionary agrees, for English, though it also suggests the amazing [toʊk joʊ].

[bradrn]

though it also suggests the amazing [toʊk joʊ].

I believe this is my usual pronunciation, though I sometimes insert an extra [i] before the [j]. I don’t see what’s so ‘amazing’ about it — it’s a direct reflection of Japanese Tōkyō, keeping in mind that in most dialects [oʊ] (or in my case [ɔ̟͡ʉ̟]) is the closest you can get to a long [oː].

(As it happens, I actually do have a genuine [oː], being the NORTH/FORCE/THOUGHT vowel. I’m not sure why I don’t use that… most probably the influence of the orthography.)