Charivarius' "The Chaos" ("Dearest creature in creation...")

[Ser]

The Chaos
By Gerard Nolst Trenité, "Charivarius" (1870-1946)
Originally published in Drop Your Foreign Accent: engelsche uitspraakoefeningen, 5th ed., H. D. Tjeenk
Willink & Zoon, 1929
(Publication details provided by Karen Smith at Linguist List)

IPA transcription made by myself, with the dialect of Vancouver, BC, Canada

Dearest creature in creation,
/ˈdɪəɹɪst ˈkɹitʃəɹ ɪn kɹiˈeɪʃn/
study English pronunciation.
/ˈstədi ˈɪŋglɪʃ prəˌnənsiˈeɪʃən/
I will teach you in my verse
/aɪ wɪl ˈtitʃ ju ɪn maɪ ˈvəɹs/
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
/ˈsaʊndz laɪk ˈkɔɹps | ˈkɔɹ | ˈhɔɹs | ən ˈwəɹs/
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
/aɪ wɪl ˈkip ju | ˈsuzi | ˈbɪzi/
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
/ˈmeɪk jəɹ ˈhɛd wɪθ ˈhit gɹoʊ ˈdɪzi/
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
/ˈtiəɹ ɪn ˈaɪ | jəɹ ˈdɹɛs wɪl ˈtɛəɹ/
So shall I! Oh, hear my prayer.
/ˈsoʊ ʃæl ˈaɪ || ˈoʊ | ˈhiəɹ maɪ ˈpɹɛəɹ/
Pray console your loving poet,
/ˈpɹeɪ kənˈsoʊl jəɹ ˈləvɪŋ ˈpoʊɪt
Make my coat look new, dear, sew it.
/ˈmeɪk maɪ ˈkoʊt lʊk ˈnu | ˈdiəɹ | ˈsoʊ ɪt/

Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
/ˈdʒəst kəmˈpɛəɹ ˈhɑɹt | ˈbiəɹd | ən ˈhəɹd/
Dies and diet, lord and word,
/ˈdaɪz ən ˈdaɪɪt | ˈlɔɹd ən ˈwəɹd/
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
/ˈsɔɹd ən ˈswɔɹd | rɪˈteɪn ən ˈbɹɪtən/
(Mind the latter, how it's written.)
/ˈmaɪnd ðə ˈlætəɹ | ˈhaʊ ɪts ˈɹɪtən/
Now I surely will not plague you
/ˈnaʊ aɪ ˈʃəɹli wɪl nɑt ˈpleɪg ju/
With such words as plaque and ague.
/wɪθ sətʃ ˈwəɹdz əz ˈplæk ən ˈeɪgju/
But be careful how you speak:
/bət bi ˈkɛəɹfəl ˌhaʊ ju ˈspik/
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
/ˈseɪ ˈbɹeɪk ən ˈsteɪk | bət ˈblik ən ˈstrik/
Cloven, oven, how and low,
/ˈkloʊvn | ˈəvn | ˈhaʊ ən ˈloʊ/
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
/ˈskɹɪpt | ɹɪˈsit | ˈʃoʊ | ˈpoʊəm | ən ˈtoʊ/

Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
/ˈhiəɹ mi ˈseɪ | dɪˈvɔɪd əv ˈtɹɪkəɹi/
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
/ˈdɑtər | ˈlæftər | ən təɹpˈsɪkəɹi/
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
/ˈtaɪfɔɪd | ˈmizlz | ˈtɑpseɪlz | ˈaɪlz/
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
/ˈɛksaɪlz | ˈsɪməliz | ən ɹɪˈvaɪlz/
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
/ˈskɑləɹ | ˈvɪkəɹ | ən sɪˈgɑr/
Solar, mica, war and far;
/ˈsoʊlər | ˈmaɪkə | ˈwɔɹ ən ˈfɑr/
One, anemone, Balmoral,
/ˈwən | əˈnɛməni | bɑlˈmɔɹəl/
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
/ˈkɪtʃən | ˈlaɪkən | ˈlɑndɹi | ˈlɔɹəl/
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
/ˈgəɹtɹud | ˈdʒəɹmən | ˈwɪnd ən ˈmaɪnd/
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
/ˈsin | mɛlˈpɑmɪni | ˈmænkaɪnd/

Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
/ˈbɪlɪt dəz nɑt ˈɹaɪm wɪθ bæˈleɪ/
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
/buˈkeɪ | ˈwɑlɪt | ˈmælɪt | ʃæˈleɪ/
Blood and flood are not like food,
/ˈbləd ən ˈfləd ɑɹ ˈnɑt laɪk ˈfud/
Nor is mould like should and would.
/ˌnɔɹ ɪz ˈmoʊld laɪk ˈʃʊd ən ˈwʊd/
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
/ˈvɪskəs | ˈvaɪkaʊnt | ˈloʊd ən ˈbɹɑd/
Toward, to forward, to reward.
/ˈtwɔrd | tu ˈfɔrwəɹd | tu ɹɪˈwɔɹd/
And your pronunciation's OK
/ən jəɹ pɹəˌnənsiˈeɪʃnz ˌoʊˈkeɪ/
When you correctly say croquet,
/wən ju kəˈɹɛktli ˈseɪ ˌkɹoʊˈkeɪ/
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
/ˈɹaʊndɪd | ˈwundɪd | ˈgriv ən ˈsɪv/
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
/ˈfɹɛnd ən ˈfind | əˈlaɪv ən ˈlɪv/

Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
/ˈaɪvi | ˈpɹɪvi | ˈfeɪməs | ˈklæmər/
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
/ən ɪˈnæməɹ ˈɹaɪm wɪθ ˈhæmər/
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
/ˈɹɪvəɹ | ˈɹaɪvəl | ˈtum | ˈbɑm | ˈkoʊm/
Doll and roll and some and home.
/ˈdɑl ən ˈroʊl ən ˈsəm ən ˈhoʊm/
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
/ˈstɹeɪndʒəɹ dəz nɑt ˈɹaɪm wɪθ ˈængər/
Neither does devour with clangour.
/ˈniðəɹ dəz dɪˈvaʊɹ wɪθ ˈklæŋgəɹ/
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
/ˈsoʊlz bət ˈfaʊl | ˈhɑnt bət ˈænt/
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
/ˈfɑnt | ˈfɹənt | ˈwɑnt | ˈwɑnt | ˈgɹænd | ən ˈgɹænt/
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
/ˈʃuz | ˈgoʊz | ˈdəz || naʊ ˈfəɹst seɪ ˈfɪŋgəɹ/
And then singer, ginger, linger,
/ən ˈðɛn ˈsɪŋəɹ | ˈdʒɪndʒəɹ | ˈlɪŋgər/
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
/ˈril | ˈzil | ˈmoʊv | ˈgɑz | ˈgaʊdʒ ən ˈgeɪdʒ/
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
/ˈmɛɹɪdʒ | ˈfoʊliɪdʒ | mɪˈɹæʒ | ən ˈeɪdʒ/

Query does not rhyme with very,
/ˈkwiəɹi dəz nɑt ˈraɪm wɪθ ˈvɛɹi/
Nor does fury sound like bury.
/ˈnɔɹ dəz ˈfjuɹi saʊnd laɪk ˈbɛɹi/
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth,
/ˈdəst | ˈlɑst | ˈpoʊst ən ˈdəθ | ˈklɑθ | ˈloʊθ/
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
/ˈdʒoʊb | ˈnɑb | ˈbʊzm | ˈtɹænsəm | ˈoʊθ/

Though the differences seem little,
/ðoʊ ðə ˈdɪfɹənsɪz sim ˈlɪtəl/
We say actual but victual.
/wi seɪ ˈaktʃuəl bət ˈvɪtəl/
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
/ɹɪˈfəɹ dəz nɑt ˈɹaɪm wɪθ ˈdɛfəɹ/
Feoffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
/ˈfɛfər dəz | ən ˈzɛfəɹ | ˈhɛfəɹ/
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
/ˈmɪnt | ˈpaɪnt | ˈsɛnɪt ən sɪˈdeɪt/
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
/ˈdəl | ˈbʊl | ən ˈdʒɔɹdʒ ˌeɪt ˈleɪt/
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
/ˈsinɪk | ˈɛrəbɪk | pəˈsɪfɪk/
Science, conscience, scientific.
/ˈsaɪəns | ˈkɑnʃəns | saɪənˈtɪfɪk/

Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
/ˈlɪbəɹti | ˈlaɪbɹi | ˈhiv ən ˈhɛvən/
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
/ˈɹeɪtʃəl | ˈeɪk | ˈməstæʃ | ɪˈlɛvən/
We say hallowed, but allowed,
/wi seɪ ˈhæloʊd | bət əˈlaʊd/
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
/ˈpipəl | ˈlɛpəɹd | ˈtoʊd | bət ˈvaʊd/
Mark the differences, moreover,
/ˈmɑɹk ðə ˈdɪfɹənsɪz | mɔɹˈoʊvəɹ/
Between mover, cover, clover;
/bɪtwin ˈmuvəɹ | ˈkəvəɹ | ˈkloʊvəɹ/
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
/ˈlitʃɪz | ˈbɹɪtʃɪz | ˈwaɪz | pɹɪˈsaɪs/
Chalice, but police and lice;
/ˈtʃælɪs | bət pəˈlis ən ˈlaɪs/
Camel, constable, unstable,
/ˈkæməl | ˈkɑnstəbəl | ənˈsteɪbəl/
Principle, disciple, label.
/ˈpɹɪnsəpəl | dɪˈsaɪpəl | ˈleɪbəl/

Petal, panel, and canal,
/ˈpɛtəl | ˈpænəl | ən kəˈnæl/
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
/ˈweɪt | səɹˈpɹaɪz | ˈplæt | ˈpɹɑmɪs | ˈpæl/
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
/ˈwəɹm ən ˈstɔɹm | ˈʃeɪz | ˈkeɪəs | ˈtʃɛəɹ/
Senator, spectator, mayor.
/ˈsɛnətəɹ | ˈspɛkteɪtəɹ | ˈmeəɹ/
Tour, but our and succour, four.
/ˈtʊəɹ | bət ˈɑɹ ən ˈsəkəɹ | ˈfɔɹ/
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
/ˈgæs | əˈlæs | ən ˈɑɹkənsɑ/
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
/ˈsi | aɪˈdiə | kəˈriə | ˈɛəriə/
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
/ˈsɑlm | məˈɹiɑ | bət məˈlɛəɹiə/
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
/ˈjuθ | ˈsaʊθ | ˈsəðəɹn | ˈklɛnz ən ˈklin/
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
/ˈdɑktɹɪn | ˈtəɹpənˌtaɪn | məˈɹin/

Compare alien with Italian,
/kəmˈpɛər ˈeɪljən wɪθ ɪˈtæljən/
Dandelion and battalion.
/ˈdændəlˌaɪən ən bəˈtæljən/
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
/ˈsæli wɪθ ˈælaɪ | ˈjeɪ | ˈji/
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
/ˈaɪ | ˈaɪ | ˈeɪ | ˈaɪ | ˈweɪ | ən ˈki/
Say aver, but ever, fever,
/ˈseɪ əˈvəɹ | bət ˈɛvəɹ | ˈfivəɹ/
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
/ˈnaɪðəɹ | ˈlɛʒəɹ | ˈskeɪn | dɪˈsivəɹ/
Heron, granary, canary.
/ˈhɛɹən | ˈgrænəɹi | kəˈnɛəɹi/
Crevice and device and aerie.
/ˈkɹɛvɪs ən dɪˈvaɪs ən ˈɛəɹi/

Face, but preface, not efface.
/ˈfeɪs | bət ˈpɹɛfɪs | nɑt ɪˈfeɪs/
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
/ˈflɛm | flɛgˈmætɪk | ˈæs | ˈglæs | ˈbeɪs/
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
/ˈlɑɹdʒ | bət ˈtɑrgɪt | ˈdʒɪn | ˈgɪv | ˈvəɹdʒɪŋ/
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
/ˈɑt | ˈaʊt | ˈdʒaʊst ən ˈskaʊəɹ | ˈskəɹdʒɪŋ/
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
/ˈiəɹ | bət ˈəɹn ən ˈwɛəɹ ən ˈtɛəɹ/
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
/du nɑt ˈɹaɪm wɪθ ˈhiəɹ bət ˈɛəɹ/
Seven is right, but so is even,
/ˈsɛvən ɪz ˈɹaɪt | bət ˈsoʊ ɪz ˈivən/
Hyphen, roughen, nephew, Stephen,
/ˈhaɪfən | ˈɹəfən | ˈnɛfju | ˈstivən/
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
/ˈməŋki | ˈdɑŋki | ˈtəɹk ən ˈdʒəɹk/
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
/ˈæsk | ˈgɹæsp | ˈwɑsp | ən ˈkɔɹk ən ˈwəɹk/

Pronunciation — think of Psyche!
/pɹəˌnənsiˈeɪʃən | ˈθɪnk əv ˈsaɪki/
Is a paling stout and spikey?
/ɪz ə ˈpeɪlɪŋ ˈstaʊt ən ˈspaɪki/
Won't it make you lose your wits,
/woʊnt ɪt ˈmeɪk ju ˈluz jəɹ ˈwɪts/
Writing groats and saying grits?
/ˈɹaɪtɪŋ ˈgɹoʊts ən ˈseɪɪŋ ˈgɹɪts/
It's a dark abyss or tunnel:
/ɪts ə ˈdɑrk əˈbɪs əɹ ˈtənəl/
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
/ˈstɹun wɪθ ˈstoʊnz | ˈstoʊd | ˈsɑlɪs | ˈgənəl/
Islington and Isle of Wight,
/ˈɪzlɪŋtən ən ˈaɪəl əv ˈwaɪt/
Housewife, verdict and indict
/ˈhaʊswaɪf | ˈvəɹdɪkt ən ɪnˈdaɪt/

Finally, which rhymes with enough —
/ˈfaɪnəli | ˈwɪtʃ ˈraɪmz wɪθ ɪˈnəf/
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
/ˈðoʊ | ˈθɹu | ˈplaʊ | əɹ ˈdoʊ | ər ˈkɑf/
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
/ˈhɪkəp hæz ðə ˈsaʊnd əv ˈkəp/
My advice is to give up!!!
/ˈmaɪ ədˈvaɪs ɪz tu gɪv ˈəp/

[Ser]

Thanks for the people at #isharia for helping out with many of the words, though remaining mistakes are mine blah blah blah. I started this because the other day Radius told me that I should try giving a look at this poem accompanied by a transcription. I pointed out there's probably no copy of this poem besides a transcription available for free online...

Obviously, the rendition of the poem varies by dialect — the fact it was originally conceived for an RP accent should be obvious. Since I've aimed for the dialect of Vancouver, various of the observations are lost. For example, ass, glass and bass are all supposed to have different vowels, which would be [æ, ɑː, eɪ] in RP, but this is lost since the dialect of Vancouver has /æ/ [æ] for both ass and glass.

Another notable example is the British pronunciation of housewife /ˈhəzɪf/ when it refers to a box to store needles and such in, otherwise there's nothing notable about /ˈhaʊswaɪf/ as for why the word would've been included there.

Sometimes, words have more than one possible pronunciation. In such cases I've chosen whatever would keep closer to the originally intended contrast with other words sharing a similar spelling. For example, Radius says that he has heard /ˈfoʊliədʒ/ for foliage, though if you hear people who actually use the word a lot, like those on YouTube gardening videos, they say /ˈfoʊlɪdʒ/ — making the intended contrast between marriage /-ɹɪðʒ/ and foliage unexistant. I ended up using /ˈfoʊliɪdʒ/ to contrast it with marriage /ˈmɛɹidʒ/. Neither can be pronounced /ˈnaɪðəɹ/ or /ˈniðəɹ/, but I chose /ˈnaɪðəɹ/ in order to keep the intended contrast with deceive /ˈdɪsiv/.

In contrast, the intended observation about Turk vs. jerk could not be kept. I guess the poem's author intended Turk to be pronounced something like /tʊəɹk/ so that it'd contrast with jerk /dʒəɹk/. Seeing that that pronunciation of Turk is not listed in any dictionary, I'm not sure if that could even be a mistake on his part, but then again it could just be that a person or some people he knew pronounced it /tʊəɹk/. Something like that goes at the attempt of making enough rhyme with cough.

[Boşkoventi]

I have some corrections / questions (some of these could be dialectal differences).

First, these are just typos:

"aɡue" /ˈeɪju/ > / ˈeɪɡju/
"hallowed" /ˈhæloʊ/ > /ˈhæloʊd/
"between" /bɪtwin/ > /bɪˈtwin/
"chair" /ˈtʃeəɹ/ > /ˈtʃɛəɹ/ (since you use /ɛəɹ/ everywhere else)
"dandelion" /ˈdædəlˈaɪən/ > /ˈdændəˌlaɪən/
"stowed" /ˈstowd/ > /ˈstoʊd/

"correctly" /kəˈɹektli/ > /kəˈɹɛktli/ (but maybe velar raising?)
"petal" /ˈpetəl/ > /ˈpɛtəl/

---

Unusual words that people may not know anyway:

"viscount" /ˈvɪskaʊnt/ > /ˈvaɪkaʊnt/
"wont" /wɒnt ~ wɑnt/ (rhymes with "want" -- cf. "won't" /woʊnt/)
"breeches" /ˈbɹitʃɪz/ > /ˈbɹɪtʃɪz/ (also spelled "britches")

---

As I said, some of these could be dialectal, but here's what I would expect:

"prayer" /ˈpɹeɪəɹ/ > /ˈpɹɛəɹ/ (rhymes with "tear", "care")
"mayor" /ˈmeəɹ/ > /ˈmeɪəɹ/
"wise" /ˈwaɪs/ > /ˈwaɪz/
"spectator" /spɛkˈteɪtəɹ/ > /ˈspɛkˌteɪtəɹ/
"Psalm" /ˈpsɑlm/ > /ˈsɑlm ~ ˈsɑm/
"Maria" /mɑˈɹiɑ/ > /məˈɹiə/
"malaria" /ˈməlɛəɹiə/ > /məˈlɛəɹiə/
"yea" /ˈjɛə/ > /ˈjeɪ/ (sounds the same as "yay" -- /ˈjɛə/ is "yeah")
"cough" /ˈkəf/ > /ˈkɑf/

---

Just being picky, but I would call "monkey" and "donkey" /ˈməŋki/ and /ˈdɑŋki/ - with a velar nasal

dictionary.com gives /tɜrk/ for "Turk"*

---

WTF. "Mauve" is supposed to be /moʊv/???

------

And if you're interested, there's an even longer version of this. It seems to be the same as the version here:

http://77.72.0.162/~triftcom/journals/j17/caos.php

* Also, this version has "clerk" (/ˈklɑɹk/ in RP) instead of "Turk".

[KathTheDragon]

WTF. "Mauve" is supposed to be /moʊv/???

How do you say 'mauve'?

[Ser]

"aɡue" /ˈeɪju/ > / ˈeɪɡju/
"hallowed" /ˈhæloʊ/ > /ˈhæloʊd/
"chair" /ˈtʃeəɹ/ > /ˈtʃɛəɹ/ (since you use /ɛəɹ/ everywhere else)
"dandelion" /ˈdædəlˈaɪən/ > /ˈdændəˌlaɪən/
"stowed" /ˈstowd/ > /ˈstoʊd/
"correctly" /kəˈɹektli/ > /kəˈɹɛktli/ (but maybe velar raising?)
"petal" /ˈpetəl/ > /ˈpɛtəl/

"malaria" /ˈməlɛəɹiə/ > /məˈlɛəɹiə/

Typos.

"between" /bɪtwin/ > /bɪˈtwin/

This word isn't included metalinguistically, so I didn't stress it. I think it's normally wholly unstressed when functioning as a preposition?

"viscount" /ˈvɪskaʊnt/ > /ˈvaɪkaʊnt/
"wont" /wɒnt ~ wɑnt/ (rhymes with "want" -- cf. "won't" /woʊnt/)
"breeches" /ˈbɹitʃɪz/ > /ˈbɹɪtʃɪz/ (also spelled "britches")

I asked about "breeches" on #isharia originally, but nobody seemed to know it. I've edited it to /ˈbɹɪtʃɪz/ anyway.

As I said, some of these could be dialectal, but here's what I would expect:

"prayer" /ˈpɹeɪəɹ/ > /ˈpɹɛəɹ/ (rhymes with "tear", "care")

Yes, /ˈpɹɛəɹ/ is clearly intended since it's supposed to rhyme with "will tear".

"mayor" /ˈmeəɹ/ > /ˈmeɪəɹ/

It's supposed to rhyme with "chair" though. I think both pronunciations are common here?

"wise" /ˈwaɪs/ > /ˈwaɪz/
"Psalm" /ˈpsɑlm/ > /ˈsɑlm ~ ˈsɑm/
"Maria" /mɑˈɹiɑ/ > /məˈɹiə/
"yea" /ˈjɛə/ > /ˈjeɪ/ (sounds the same as "yay" -- /ˈjɛə/ is "yeah")

All these are downright mistakes. Thanks.

"spectator" /spɛkˈteɪtəɹ/ > /ˈspɛkˌteɪtəɹ/

This one is pretty interesting. Wiktionary probably gets it right marking /spɛkˈteɪtə/ as "UK", and /ˈspɛkteɪtəɹ/ as "US". Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster list both. The World English Dictionary and the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary and Thesaurus list only /spɛkˈteɪtəɹ/ (and that saying that that Cambridge dictionary does it even in the pronunciation it marks as "US", which I guess says miles about the reliability of their US pronunciations).

Just being picky, but I would call "monkey" and "donkey" /ˈməŋki/ and /ˈdɑŋki/ - with a velar nasal

Alright.

dictionary.com gives /tɜrk/ for "Turk"

Which is the same as /ˈtəɹk/.

And if you're interested, there's an even longer version of this. It seems to be the same as the version here:

http://77.72.0.162/~triftcom/journals/j17/caos.php

A few minor corrections have however been made, and occasional words from earlier editions have been preferred.

It seems like there's various versions of the poem then. I just used the one provided at Linguist List.

* Also, this version has "clerk" (/ˈklɑɹk/ in RP) instead of "Turk".

That'd make a much better example, yes, at least when using RP.

[Melteor]

I think he might have been contrasting Turk's spelling pronunciation i.e. <tu> may suggest /ˈtʃu/, which would contrast with the onset for 'jerk'. Perhaps he thought they sounded the same.

[Boşkoventi]

WTF. "Mauve" is supposed to be /moʊv/???

How do you say 'mauve'?

/mɑv/, which I guess would be RP /mɔːv/. (But it's not really a native word for me. I'm a stereotypical Guy when it comes to color names. ) Of course, /moʊv/ would match with "taupe" as /toʊp/. Oh, and "gauche" as /ɡoʊʃ/. But I don't think there are many words in that set.

"between" /bɪtwin/ > /bɪˈtwin/

This word isn't included metalinguistically, so I didn't stress it. I think it's normally wholly unstressed when functioning as a preposition?

I guess it approaches [bt_hwin], but it still has some kind of stress on the second syllable, or at least more on the second than the first.

"mayor" /ˈmeəɹ/ > /ˈmeɪəɹ/

It's supposed to rhyme with "chair" though. I think both pronunciations are common here?

Oh, weird. And dictionary.com does give both versions: /ˈmeɪər, mɛər/.

Re: "spectator". In writing, Cambridge only lists stress on the second syllable, but if you listen to the recordings, they seem to be backwards. Or something. (UK: stress on first syllable, US: stress on second ...) The "US" version sounds like "spec tater" to me.

[Drydic]

"breeches" /ˈbɹitʃɪz/ > /ˈbɹɪtʃɪz/ (also spelled "britches")

I'm pretty sure anyone halfway literate in English would know ee = [ i ].

As I said, some of these could be dialectal, but here's what I would expect:

"yea" /ˈjɛə/ > /ˈjeɪ/ (sounds the same as "yay" -- /ˈjɛə/ is "yeah")

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I dunno about non-american dialects, but yea is VASTLY more common as just a variant of yeah here...

[KathTheDragon]

Well, yea rhymes with yay on this side of the pond (England if you can't work it out). It doesn't really function as a word anymore in English, except in voting. As in, yea and nay.

[Drydic]

well your yea basically died out over here. What we have is yeah without the h being written.

[Boşkoventi]

"breeches" /ˈbɹitʃɪz/ > /ˈbɹɪtʃɪz/ (also spelled "britches")

I'm pretty sure anyone halfway literate in English would know ee = [ i ].

Look closer. The point is that, against all good sense, "breeches" is pronounced as if it were "britches" -- with a "short i". It's probably the only word besides "been" that doesn't have /i/ for "ee".

As I said, some of these could be dialectal, but here's what I would expect:

"yea" /ˈjɛə/ > /ˈjeɪ/ (sounds the same as "yay" -- /ˈjɛə/ is "yeah")

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I dunno about non-american dialects, but yea is VASTLY more common as just a variant of yeah here...

"Yea" is *supposed* to be /jeɪ/. As in "yea or nay", as KathAveara said, or "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death". Definitely not common. I've never been sure what to do with it myself.

[Xephyr]

well your yea basically died out over here. What we have is yeah without the h being written.

"Yea" /je/ is definitely still a word in American English-- archaic, yes, but definitely known and recognizable. Just cause some people spell /jæ/ without the "h" doesn't change that... you'd never ever hear an American say "/jæ/ or nay".

[Nortaneous]

What dialect are you transcribing? GenAm with cot-caught?

I have one syllable in 'foul' and no /w/ in 'toward' but that could be dialectal.

[Drydic]

well your yea basically died out over here. What we have is yeah without the h being written.

"Yea" /je/ is definitely still a word in American English-- archaic, yes, but definitely known and recognizable. Just cause some people spell /jæ/ without the "h" doesn't change that... you'd never ever hear an American say "/jæ/ or nay".

you'll also rarely if ever hear an american use yea or nay in normal ordinary daily usage.

[Herr Dunkel]

Ok I'm just confused now.
What is this?

[Imralu]

I think the Turk and jerk thing is showing two different letter sequences that sound the same. Either could be respelled, Terk and jurk, and still sound the same.

Obviously, the rendition of the poem varies by dialect — the fact it was originally conceived for an RP accent should be obvious.

Yeah. As someone who speaks an RP-ish dialect, what stood out to me most was grand vs grant. Both /æ:/ for me. Grant is one of those few names that makes me uncomfortable when I have to say it. I used to know a guy called Grant who pronounced it with /ɑː/ (he was from New Zealand). I felt stupid saying it with /ɑː/, so I said it with /æ:/ along with most other people at uni. One day, during a presentation, he was introducing himself and said "My name's Gr/ɑ:/nt, not Gr/æ:/nt." Later on, the lecturer was writing our names on the board to assign us to different tasks. Someone got up and changed "Grant" to "Grarnt".

We also had a South African called Ryan and one day I had to write everyone's name on the board and I accidentally wrote Raan (that was how I had internally been thinking of his name) and everyone laughed.[/quote]

What dialect are you transcribing? GenAm with cot-caught?

Since I've aimed for the dialect of Vancouver, various of the observations are lost. For example, ass, glass and bass are all supposed to have different vowels, which would be [æ, ɑː, eɪ] in RP, but this is lost since the dialect of Vancouver has /æ/ [æ] for both ass and glass.

Ass is another funny one for me. The native pronunciation of ass (the animal) here is /æs/ but really, no one ever says that. We say /ˈdɒŋki/ instead. The mildly vulgar word for someone's bottom here is "arse" /ɑːs/. I think because it's such a one-to-one correspondence with American "ass", and there are so many words where Americans use /æ/ and we have /ɑː/ that I just want to pronounce the TV show and movies Jackass as /ˈdʒækˌɑːs/. A lot of Australians say /ˈdʒækˌæːs/ (with long /æː/), which to me just sounds like imitating an American accent. My way, however, is basically a translation and would really need a different spelling: "Jackarse". The native pronunciation of Jackass here would be /ˈdʒækˌæs/ (with short /æ/), which is something no one says. It makes me uncomfortable.