The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

[Aurora Rossa]

vertebra: /ˈvərtəbrə/
vertebrae: /ˈvərtəˌbre/
microvillus: /ˈmaikroˌvɪləs/
microvilli: /ˈmaikroˌvɪli/
Alabama: /ˌaləˈbæmə/
Cuyahoga: /ˌkujəˈhoɡə/

[Viktor77]

There seems to be large disagreement on just how to pronounce Cuyahoga. The one I know is [ka.hoU.g@]. But I hear also sometimes [ka.hA.g@] and others. The only agreed upon thing is the first a is not pronounced. The town is usually just called The Falls, anyway.

[vampireshark]

Ok, what is the proper way to pronounce Alabama, specifically the Ala part? My whole life I was raised to say [35.l@.be@.m@] with a very distinct dark L and a third syllable diphthong [e@] as in Cat. And this is how it's pronounced around me. But now I've been exposed to others in other parts of the country and they are saying [a.l@.ba.m@] with very little dark L and a very distinct [a] as opposed to [3] and [e@] in my case. What is most correct according to Alabamans?

I've always heard roughly [ˌæ.ləˈbæ.mə], especially from Southerners. I pronounce it the same way.

Latest one: Cuyahoga, a common toponym around here.

why are you asking us about a word we're likely not to know, especially when by implication of you actually asking the question, I guess it has an unintuitive pronunciation? i mean i would guess /ku.ja/ or /kwi.a/, but from what Travis wrote, it isn't either. so at what point is my opinion valid on what the spelling looks like?

I've heard about three different pronunciations; [ˈkai̯.jəˌhoʊ̯.gə] is what I learned, but, after living around here, I've also heard [ˌkai̯.jəˈhɔ.gə] and [ˌkɪˈjɔ.gə]. All of them are used by natives (my mom's from up here in Ohio). So there's a wide variation, even among the locals, which is a bit odd.

[linguoboy]

Yes, but what is more proper? For example, there are two ways to pronounced Nevada and Oregon, too, but there is an appropriate way. I suppose you could say this about Maryland, too.

My dad was in stitches when he met some Canadians who pronounced it "Mary Land". It sounded like they were talking about visiting a Roman Catholic theme park.

My first introduction to the toponym Cuyahoga was in an R.E.M. song, where Michael Stipe (of Athens, Georgia) has [kʰɒɪ̯] for the first syllable. That's probably how I would say it, since I don't have /uy/ in my English (except in foreign toponyms). /ay/ sounds acceptable, too.

[----]

I have no idea how I pronounce Cuyahoga because this is the first time I've seen it, but I saw someone mention Maryland, which I always pronounce as [ˈmɛɹɪɫɪn]. I don't know how it's pronounced elsewhere but this is apparently the 'proper' pronunciation around these parts.

[ol bofosh]

k_hUu.y@."h@}.g@

"mE:.r\_w_gIi.l{nd

Probably.

[Nortaneous]

/"merIl@nd/, although i am not sure about the quality of the last vowel -- for me it's a syllabic n most of the time anyway

(occasionally there can even be three syllabic consonants in a row. english is fun!)

[Travis B.]

Maryland: /ˈmerəlɪnd/ > [ˈmɛ̝ːʁˤəːɯ̞̯ɨ̃ːnd̥]

[Bob Johnson]

grocery
grocer

[ˈɡɻoʊ.ʃɻ.i] ~ [ˈɡɻoʊ.ʃɻi]
[ˈgɻoʊ.sɻ] but I hardly ever use the word

[Nortaneous]

/grosr1/
/gros@r/

[----]

grocery - ['gɹʌu̯ʃəɹi]
grocer - ['gɹʌu̯ʃɹ̩]

[Nortaneous]

wait, wait, people have three syllables and /S/ in 'grocery'? whaaat

[----]

Well the second /r/ is syllabic instead of there being a pure vowel, I just wrote a schwa for increased legibility.

[ol bofosh]

[gr\_w_G@}s@r\_w_GIi]
[gr\_w_G@}s@]

[tezcatlip0ca]

ˈgɰ˞ɤ̹u̯s̻ɰ̟˞i, ˈgɰ˞ɤ̹u̯s̺ɰ̩˞.

[L'alphabētarium]

How do you pronounce: "parliament", "lute" and "lieutenant"?

Do you have any [ʎ] or [lʲ] in there?

[ol bofosh]

parliament ['pʰɐː.lə.mənʔ]
lute [lʏʉt]
lieutenant [lʏʉ.tɛ.nənʔ]

but

million [ˈmɪ.lʲɪən]

It always confused my why some things said that <ll> in Spanish is said like <lli> in million when it sounded more like [j]. Can you imagine "Me [lʲ]amo..."? I found the same for Scottish Gaelic.

[Thry]

How do you pronounce: "parliament", "lute" and "lieutenant"?

Do you have any [ʎ] or [lʲ] in there?

The <i> in parliament is merely orthographical.

Ol bofosh, I've been told lieutenant is pronounced ""leftenant"" in Britain, with /f/, isn't that so?

It always confused my why some things said that <ll> in Spanish is said like <lli> in million when it sounded more like [j]. Can you imagine "Me [lʲ]amo..."? I found the same for Scottish Gaelic.

For the same reason they describe <ñ> as the /nj/ in canyon. People would be blinded by a semi or non-technical description of the sound, most certainly...

[ol bofosh]

How do you pronounce: "parliament", "lute" and "lieutenant"?

Do you have any [ʎ] or [lʲ] in there?

The <i> in parliament is merely orthographical.

I've got a feeling I have heard [lʲə] in posher English accents, or maybe [ljə].

Ol bofosh, I've been told lieutenant is pronounced ""leftenant"" in Britain, with /f/, isn't that so?

I always thought that they were pronounced differently and spelt differently. Just found out they're spelt the same yet pronounced differently. Whenever I saw <lieutenant> I always read it as /lu:.'tɛ.nənt/. I do say "leftenant" in reference to British army ranks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leftenant#Pronunciation

For the same reason they describe <ñ> as the /nj/ in canyon. People would be blinded by a semi or non-technical description of the sound, most certainly...

Yes, I still pronounce <ñ> as [nʲ], out of habit. But to describe <ll> as (what to my mind is) [lʲ] is stretching it I think.
I have attempted [ʎ], but getting the centre of my tongue to go up without the sides is a struggle, so I'm a [j]eísta, lol.
Can you hear the difference between [ʎ] and [j]? I can, but only side by side.

[finlay]

How do you pronounce: "parliament", "lute" and "lieutenant"?

Do you have any [ʎ] or [lʲ] in there?

The <i> in parliament is merely orthographical.

Ol bofosh, I've been told lieutenant is pronounced ""leftenant"" in Britain, with /f/, isn't that so?

It always confused my why some things said that <ll> in Spanish is said like <lli> in million when it sounded more like [j]. Can you imagine "Me [lʲ]amo..."? I found the same for Scottish Gaelic.

For the same reason they describe <ñ> as the /nj/ in canyon. People would be blinded by a semi or non-technical description of the sound, most certainly...

And because it'll get you something acceptably close to the 'real' sound. Also, I've read a novel by Arthur Conan Doyle from the 19th century where 'canyon' was spelt 'cañon', so I can only assume that the ny really did use to be ñ but it just got changed to the closest thing for English's sake.

[----]

How do you pronounce: "parliament", "lute" and "lieutenant"?

Do you have any [ʎ] or [lʲ] in there?

No.
[ˈpʰɑɹɫəmɨ̃t̚]
[ɫut̚]
[ɫɯu̯ˈtʰɨnɨ̃t]

[Thry]

Can you hear the difference between [ʎ] and [j]? I can, but only side by side.

/nj/ and ñ are not the same at all. A Moroccan friend pronouces the latter as the former and I realize all the time.

As for /ʎ/ and /j/ yep, of course I can; I speak Portuguese (my Spanish doesn't have /ʎ/* or [ʎ]), where there are minimal pairs such as saia and salha so I have to produce the difference.

You can analyze it as you want, but I usually have [dZ] or the j-hook phoneme thingy.

[finlay]

incidentally, /rʲ/ or whatever the fuck <ry> is in japanese is one of the sounds i have most trouble with. It's very similar to ʎ or lʲ sometimes (because /r/ is unspecified for laterality), and I often can't tell the difference between it and /j/.

[ol bofosh]

Can you hear the difference between [ʎ] and [j]? I can, but only side by side.

/nj/ and ñ are not the same at all. A Moroccan friend pronouces the latter as the former and I realize all the time.

I think I have been making a difference. The dipthong <io> I've been saying as [io] (not [i.o, which is what I did at first]). Perhaps it has become [jo], and on lazy days I might even nasalise the previous consonant. I'll keep an eye on that one.

As for /ʎ/ and /j/ yep, of course I can

May I stand in awe of you? I did hear the difference on the computer once, but only because I was comparing. Otherwise, I'm not sure I would.

the j-hook phoneme thingy.

What's one of those then?

[Thry]

May I stand in awe of you? I did hear the difference on the computer once, but only because I was comparing. Otherwise, I'm not sure I would.

lol actually I don't think salha is a word in Portuguese, but they are different phonemes nevertheless.

What's one of those then?

Let's see:

Spanish: Since I'm yeísta I merge <ll> and <y> into a single phoneme, /ʝ/. I have naturally /ʝ/ with [dʒ] and [ʝ] both present. I think the alternation is similar to /b/ which has and [β] as allophones, just that not as regular. So the same phoneme may express itself differently depending of register, position in the word and emphasis (it has nothing to do with a ll/y distinction):

cállate ya ['ka.ʝa.te dʒa] "shut up already"

An artificial distinction between the two so that you see the difference (though this difference is not important) along with /j/ and /ʎ/:

1) parano[j]a
2) parano[ʝ]a
3) parano[dʒ]a
4) parano[ʎ]a

Non-artificial examples of these phones:

Cat. orgull [ur.'ɣuʎ], llàpis ['ʎa.pis]
Port. alho ['a.ʎu] vs. a e u [a.ju]

You're right that acoustically they're not that of a stretch.