The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

[Zaarin]

processes [ˌpʰɹ̠ˁɑˈsɛsɪz]
review [ɹ̠ˁɪˈvju~ɹ̠ˁiˈvju]

[Fooge]

How do you pronounce "Halloween"? I pronounce it like "Hallow ween", but I've heard some people pronounce the word as if it were "Holloween".

[Vijay]

[hæləˈwin]

[Sumelic]

How do you pronounce "Halloween"? I pronounce it like "Hallow ween", but I've heard some people pronounce the word as if it were "Holloween".

There was a separate thread on this a while back:H/æ/lloween versus H/ɑ/lloween

[Fooge]

How do you pronounce "Halloween"? I pronounce it like "Hallow ween", but I've heard some people pronounce the word as if it were "Holloween".

There was a separate thread on this a while back:H/æ/lloween versus H/ɑ/lloween

I wonder if the "Holloween" pronunciation originates from people mistakenly linking the word "Halloween" to "hollow".

[Zaarin]

How do you pronounce "Halloween"? I pronounce it like "Hallow ween", but I've heard some people pronounce the word as if it were "Holloween".

There was a separate thread on this a while back:H/æ/lloween versus H/ɑ/lloween

I wonder if the "Holloween" pronunciation originates from people mistakenly linking the word "Halloween" to "hollow".

For some of us they're homophones.

[ˈd̪ʲɛ.gɔ kɾuˑl̪]

Australia
Also, do people having intrusive r add it after reduced form of to and contraction such as gonna or wanna?

[Zaarin]

Australia [ɒˈstɹ̠ˁʷɛɪ̯ɫjə]

[Ryusenshi]

Also, do people having intrusive r add it after reduced form of to and contraction such as gonna or wanna?

I wouldn't say that it never happens, but as far as I know, it's uncommon in England. English people tend to keep semi-reduced /u/ (the elusive "schwoo") before a vowel, and only use a schwa before a consonant. So to go is /tə ˈgəʊ/ but to ask is /tu ˈɑːsk/; going to go is /gənə ˈgəʊ/ but going to ask is /gənu ˈɑːsk/. Ditto for you.

Rhotic Americans have fewer qualms about schwa + vowel sequences, so they will freely say /tə ˈæsk, gənə ˈæsk/.

I don't know if the same is true for Australians or New Englanders.

[Znex]

Also, do people having intrusive r add it after reduced form of to and contraction such as gonna or wanna?

I wouldn't say that it never happens, but as far as I know, it's uncommon in England. English people tend to keep semi-reduced /u/ (the elusive "schwoo") before a vowel, and only use a schwa before a consonant. So to go is /tə ˈgəʊ/ but to ask is /tu ˈɑːsk/; going to go is /gənə ˈgəʊ/ but going to ask is /gənu ˈɑːsk/. Ditto for you.

Rhotic Americans have fewer qualms about schwa + vowel sequences, so they will freely say /tə ˈæsk, gənə ˈæsk/.

I don't know if the same is true for Australians or New Englanders.

to /tu/ commonly reduces for me, but the /ði/ reduces in the exact same way as above.

eg. the mouse [ðə mæo̯s] vs. the apple [ði 'æ.pʊ]

Australia

[(ə).'stʂ̯ɻɛɪ̯.ɫjɐ]
['stʂ̯ɻɐɪ̯.jɐ] when more "Ocker" or super casual

[Salmoneus]

Australia
Also, do people having intrusive r add it after reduced form of to and contraction such as gonna or wanna?

For me, no - /u/ triggers intrusive /w/, except before high front vowels - not sure what happens then. Maybe hiatus.

[linguoboy]

Who says Shrewsbury with /əw/?

[Salmoneus]

Who says Shrewsbury with /əw/?

I do. Apparently it's a very complicated and evolving shibboleth, though.

[Pole, the]

“pretty”

[Fooge]

“pretty”

I pronounce that as "pritty". Does anyone rhyme the word with "petty"?

[Travis B.]

[pʰʁɘi̯]

[linguoboy]

Who says Shrewsbury with /əw/?

I do. Apparently it's a very complicated and evolving shibboleth, though.

[Salmoneus]

Who says Shrewsbury with /əw/?

I do. Apparently it's a very complicated and evolving shibboleth, though.

It always used to be "Shrowsbury", but at some point maps started spelling it wrongly, possibly confusing it with somewhere else. The "oo" pronunciation thuse arose as a spelling pronunciation among those who didn't know better, while locals and the well-educated kept the older "oh" form.

However, in the aftermath of WWII, Shrewsbury - which had been a major town since Saxon times, but which largely missed out on the population explosion of the Industrial Revolutions - was earmarked for large-scale development, with a mass migration of newcomers, mostly from London (related to slum clearance and the unintended slum clearance of the Blitz, as well as a desire to reduce pressure to expand the big cities into green field sites*). The newcomers to Shrewsbury didn't know how it was "meant" to be pronounced.

Thus, I'm told that now, most natives actually use the 'oo' form, but there are distinctions of class (higher-class inhabitants are more likely to use the old form) and geography (some areas are more populated by the original population, while others are more the newcomers).

Confusing this picture, there's then the further debate between "Shrewsbury" and "Shoosbury", with dropping of the /r/. Some feel that dropping the /r/ is a marker of native authenticity, while others feel it's proof of poor education; others see the two as the same word, and vary between them depending on register.

Meanwhile, a surprisingly large faction insist that the real local pronunciation is actually /s{l@p/, which I guess at least sidesteps the contentious debate...

Outside of Shrewsbury, we just agree not to talk about the place, because nobody knows how it's said. But generally it's a class marker, and I think also an age marker. However, it's a bit of an uneasy one conceptually, because, as noted, the "right" pronunciation isn't how most natives actually say it.



*this was a lesser manifestation of the New Towns movement that created places like Milton Keynes and Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City, and saw big expansion in places like Peterborough and Northampton.

[linguoboy]

Outside of Shrewsbury, we just agree not to talk about the place, because nobody knows how it's said. But generally it's a class marker, and I think also an age marker. However, it's a bit of an uneasy one conceptually, because, as noted, the "right" pronunciation isn't how most natives actually say it.

Jesus H. Christ. If I ever have to talk about it, maybe I'll use Welsh so I can just call the damn place "Amwythig".

Shrewsbury is also a suburb of St Louis, and here the situation is much simpler since only one (spelling-based) pronunciation is current.

[Fooge]

How do you pronounce "caramel"? I pronounce it as "carmel".

[Vijay]

[ˈkʰeɹəˌmɛɫ]

[Travis B.]

[ˈkʰɑ̃ːʁ̃mɯ(ː)]

[Znex]

['kʰæ˞ə̯mʊ]

[Zaarin]

pretty [ˈpɹ̠ˁɪɾi]
caramel [ˈkʰɑɹ̠ˁmɫ̩]

[Travis B.]

['kʰæɚ̯mʊ]

You're from Australia and... you're rhotic?