The "How Do You Pronounce X" Thread

[mèþru]

/zu.ɑ.loʊ.dʒi/
/zu.plæŋk.tʌn/

[KathTheDragon]

Wait, you think the unreduced vowel is /əʊ/? I have it as /ɒ/

[mèþru]

I don't reduce the vowels

[Travis B.]

I have two unstressed vowels corresponding to stressed /oʊ/, namely [ə] and [ɵ] - their distribution seems to depend on position, environment, register, and just how unstressed they are. Your (Sal's) [o] may be the same vowel as my [ɵ], aside from its exact realization.

[Linguoboy]

biopic

[dhok]

Intuitively [baɪ.'jɑpɪk], but I'm not sure if I've ever heard it spoken out loud. When I figured out it was an abbrevation of biographical picture I started wondering whether it was supposed to be ['baɪjoʊpɪk]...

[Salmoneus]

Wait, you think the unreduced vowel is /əʊ/? I have it as /ɒ/

The unreduced vowel in zoology is definitely /Q/, yes.
But the second vowel in zooplankton 'should' be /oU/. Greek final and linking -o- in English is almost always long.

In fact, wiktionary's entry for zoo- gives the second vowel as either /@/ or /oU/, while Wikipedia's entry for zooplankton likewise gives the /oU/ pronunciation, citing the OED (well, OUP's "Oxford Dictionaries" site). In fact, the latter clarifies that the word is pronounced with /zu/, /zu@/, /zuoU/, /zoU@/ OR /zoUoU/.

[mèþru]

[baɪ'ɑ.pɪk], no semivowel, the stressed vowel is slightly longer than the others and the diphthong slightly shorter than the third vowel

[Travis B.]

[paːe̯ˈapɘʔk]

[zyxw59]

I don't find reduction of /oʊ̯/ to /ə/ odd, but maybe that's because my /oʊ/ is more like [əʉ̯]~[əɨ̯], i.e. barely rounded to begin with. (My /u/ is also more like [ʉ]~[ɨ], and my /ʊ/ more like [ʉ̞]~[ɨ̞], all tending towards more rounded in the vicinity of labials, but still at best half-rounded. My only real rounded sound is /w/)

Anyway, I pronounce "biopic" [ˈbaɪ̯.əw̯.pɪk]. /baɪˈɒp.ɪk/ sounds like some adjectival form.

[Linguoboy]

Rochade

[Travis B.]

Rochade

Having never heard nor seen that word before, but guessing that its source language is French, I would guess that I'd pronounce it [ʁʷɵˈʃaːt] or, before a vowel or semivowel, [ʁʷɵˈʃaːɾ].

(Interestingly enough, it isn't French but German, borrowed from French rocade, even though I don't get exactly how the borrowing worked exactly, since the French would have had [k] whereas the German has [x] or [ʃ]. With that in mind, I'd probably butcher it as [ʁʷɵˈkʰaːɾi(ː)].)

[dhok]

If I came across a context that made me think it was French, it would be [ɹoʊ'ʃa:d]. If I came across a context that made me think it was Spanish, [ɹoʊ'tʃa:de(j)]. It would not occur to me to think it was German.

[jal]

Interestingly enough, it isn't French but German, borrowed from French rocade

Dutch has "rokade", but older spelling "rochade", also listed as coming from French. However, French has "roque", and has always had "roque" if I have to believe French etymological dictionaries, while "rocade" is some military term.


JAL

[Travis B.]

Hundred when between other numbers, rather than by itself.

[Hominid]

I guess I'm in the minority that pronounces it [zoʊ'ɑɫədʒi].

[jal]

I guess I'm in the minority that pronounces it [zoʊ'ɑɫədʒi].

That would be my non-native pronunciation as well :).


JAL

[Pabappa]

biopic

My favorite. I dont think Ive ever said the word out loud either, but Ive heard both pronuncations. When I heard /baɪˈɔp.ɪk/ from an announcer on satellite radio once, i went to wiktionary to see if it was accepted and saw that it was. i proposed a folk etymology that its from bio- "life" + -opic "seeing" (as in myopic), so we could legitimize the alternative pronuncaiton. After all, biopsy is a word, right?

I admit that if i'd been asked to read a sentence with biopic in it, even with context, i too wouldve probably said /baɪˈɔp.ɪk/ if i hadnt learned better from hearing others.

zoology
zooplankton

/zoˈɔ.lədʒi/ and /'zo.o.plæŋk.tən/. the second "o" is more centralized than the first, and a narrow transcription would put it as probably [ɵ], but its not phonemic so Im just considering it to be another /o/.

I did the /zo.o/ thing in Zootopia too at least mentally, since it looks like a scientific word, but if I ever said it out loud I dont remember which proinunciation i used.

[Travis B.]

biopic

My favorite. I dont think Ive ever said the word out loud either, but Ive heard both pronuncations. When I heard /baɪˈɔp.ɪk/ from an announcer on satellite radio once, i went to wiktionary to see if it was accepted and saw that it was. i proposed a folk etymology that its from bio- "life" + -opic "seeing" (as in myopic), so we could legitimize the alternative pronuncaiton. After all, biopsy is a word, right?

I admit that if i'd been asked to read a sentence with biopic in it, even with context, i too wouldve probably said /baɪˈɔp.ɪk/ if i hadnt learned better from hearing others.

Consider the case of the word biology, i.e. /baɪˈɒlədʒi/, which follows a stress on the <o> of <bio> as well.

[Estav]

Consider the case of the word biology, i.e. /baɪˈɒlədʒi/, which follows a stress on the <o> of <bio> as well.

Biology is a Greek-type compound ending in CVCy; these are expected to get antepenult stress. Stress on the second syllable of biopic is unexpected because, as dhok mentioned, the "pic" part is from the English word "pic" < "picture", so it would be expected to have tertiary stress (and accordingly, primary stress should fall on the "bi"). Compare biochip. I agree with Pabappa that influence from -opic is likely a cause of the pronunciation with penult stress.