The English language pronunciation thread

[kulade]

Aluminum
1812, coined by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829), from L. alumen "alum" (see alum). Davy originally called it alumium (1808), then amended this to aluminum, which remains the U.S. word, but British editors in 1812 further amended it to aluminium, the modern preferred British form, to better harmonize with other element names (sodium, potassium, etc.).

"Aluminium, for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound." ["Quarterly Review," 1812]

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=aluminum&searchmode=none

 

[Shekwan]

There's no "say it like you see it" in English. For every vowel, there's a bunch of different sounds possible.

This thread is worthless without IPA.

No, you say it like I see it! Otherwise it'll just come out all strange and Irish.

Well no matter how you choose to pronounce the word I don't think you could mangle it to the extent that I wouldn't know what you're talking about. Even in an Irish accent. Thats all that counts. As long as you don't leave out that final I.

 

[GinandTonic]

Al-u-min-ium.

Short i in privacy.

 

[Bill3000]

Well no matter how you choose to pronounce the word I don't think you could mangle it to the extent that I wouldn't know what you're talking about. Even in an Irish accent. Thats all that counts.

This is a pronunciation thread, not thread on mutual intelligibility. The fact that I can understand you is entirely uninteresting here.

IPA is necessary to show the fact that, for example, in Irish English, "herd" and "bird" do not rhyme, like it does in General American and Received Pronunciation. The only way to show this is through IPA, by saying that herd is pronounced like /hɛɹd/ and bird like /bʌɹd/ instead of GA /hɝd/ and /bɝd/ or RP /hɜːd/ and /bɜːd/.

 

[mangxema]

I recall from my freshman year Economics class (the professor had worked for years in an aluminum smelter and so spoke of metallurgy in most of his examples)...

Now I know you went to Georgia Tech.

 

[classical_hero]

Al-you-mi-e-um
For Privacy and Vitamins, both are long I's.

 

[Shekwan]

This is a pronunciation thread, not thread on mutual intelligibility. The fact that I can understand you is entirely uninteresting here.

Fair enough. I was just taking the opportunity to have a row about aluminium.

IPA is necessary to show the fact that, for example, in Irish English, "herd" and "bird" do not rhyme, like it does in General American and Received Pronunciation. The only way to show this is through IPA, by saying that herd is pronounced like /hɛɹd/ and bird like /bʌɹd/ instead of GA /hɝd/ and /bɝd/ or RP /hɜːd/ and /bɜːd/.

I have no idea how to read IPA, but I can tell you that herd and bird do ryhme in my accent. And I definitly have an Irish one. Which Irish accent are you refering to? I'd say it rhymes in a Dublin one too.

 

[kulade]

bamp.

Just wondering, do the backwards people of the British Isles actually pronounce verbs in -ise with a voiceless /s/ or do they just misspell them?

usa #1

 

[classical_hero]

Can you verbalise one?

I would just say it as it is written.

 

[Ekolite]

Al-loo-min-ee-um.

Privacy has a long I, vitamin has a short I. You can get away with saying ''privacy'' with a short I in England, but you'd get funny looks if you said ''vitamin'' with a long one.

Just wondering, do the backwards people of the British Isles actually pronounce verbs in -ise with a voiceless /s/ or do they just misspell them?

Not sure I understand what you mean here, probably because I'm a backwards englishman still living in the dark ages. /sarcasm/

 

[classical_hero]

How do you pronounce yacht?

I know that one way or remembering the spelling is to deliberately mispronounce it as yach - t.

 

[Omni314]

swaths, sw (from sweet) aths (from maths)
Ibuprofen, eye-b-ewe-pro-fen
Gass street, this is a proper noun, you'd have to find out its etymology

 

[Catharsis]

Not sure I understand what you mean here, probably because I'm a backwards englishman still living in the dark ages. /sarcasm/

He's referring to the fact that (to use classical_hero's example) Brits spell it 'verbalise' and pronounce it 'verbalize' whereas Yanks both spell and pronounce it 'verbalize'.

Yacht is 'yot'. Anyway, you jerks, you all ignored my question about Wednesday. HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE WEDNESDAY

 

[say1988]

How do you pronounce yacht?

Rhyme it with dot, ignore the "ch" entirely.

Just wondering, do the backwards people of the British Isles actually pronounce verbs in -ise with a voiceless /s/ or do they just misspell them?

In Canada they are often spelled both ways, yet (at least in Ontario) both are pronounced the same as size and wise.

 

[Mirc]

bamp.

Just wondering, do the backwards people of the British Isles actually pronounce verbs in -ise with a voiceless /s/ or do they just misspell them?

usa #1

They "just misspell them" (meaning - the S at the end is indeed voiced), but you do know that exactly the same could be said about words such as "as", don't you? It's also voiced in there, yet no Americans seem to be having a problem with its current spelling. And it gets even worse - why are "this" and "these" both spelled with S, when one is voiceless and the other is voiced?

English spelling is just screwed up.

 

[cardgame]

Wensday

after seeing MagisterCultuum's post; winzday also.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

Winds' day


Actually, English spelling generally makes sense, so long as you stick to extremely archaic pronunciations.

 

[Abaddon]

I say Neck-Lace instead of Neck-lse.. is this silly?

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Lanthanum. Tantalum. Molybdenum. Platinum. Explain this, IUPAC.

 

[scherbchen]

Actually, English spelling generally makes sense, so long as you stick to extremely archaic pronunciations.

son - sun
knight - night
knit - nit
crews - cruise
white - wight

and a couple of hundred more homophones depending on your dialect. and this is just a tip of one single iceberg that float in the oceans of not-making-sense that is the English pronounciation.