The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

[ol bofosh]

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[ˈæd.və.tʰɐɪ̯z.mənʔt̚ ~ æd.ˈvɞ̜ː.tʰɪ̈s.mənʔt̚]

Either of those. When I was a kid I'd say the first, until my mum corrected me saying and made me say the second. I usually say the second, but sometimes slip into the first, especially since the L2s around me favour the first (or the approximation of).

So Victor, you emphasise the first syllable of centrifugal?

[Ambrisio]

It just has to be analogy with 'centrifuge', which I think is used more often than centrifugal (since centrifugal forces don't really exist).

And what's with that last vowel in [ˈsɛ̃.tʃɹɪ.fyu.gɚ]?

@finlay: Yes, it should be []'s. I mostly use phone(m/t)ic transcription when working on conlangs -- and since I am pretty unsure of the exact phonetic realization of segments in my conlangs I just use // even when I want to be precise.

So, do you pronounce 'three', 'throat' with a flap? If so, do you have a prominently interdental [T] and a retroflex apical [r]?

No, but I have a very similar articulatory artifact in /rT/ or /rD/ words in rapid speech (like 'further', 'rather than'), which feels kind of like a dental flap. I articulate my /r/'s in a rather weird way (with a highly grooved tongue tip) and I can think of an explanation for this flap sound: if I protrude my tongue forward to make the interdental /T/ before I straighten it, the sides of my tongue flap against the teeth. I'm not sure if it's right.

There is no such artifact in 'throw' however.

[Nortaneous]

advertisement /ˈædvɚˌtaɪ̯zmənt/ [ˈæ(d)vɚˌtazmə̃ʔ]

[Viktor77]

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[ˈæd.və.tʰɐɪ̯z.mənʔt̚ ~ æd.ˈvɞ̜ː.tʰɪ̈s.mənʔt̚]

Either of those. When I was a kid I'd say the first, until my mum corrected me saying and made me say the second. I usually say the second, but sometimes slip into the first, especially since the L2s around me favour the first (or the approximation of).

So Victor, you emphasise the first syllable of centrifugal?

Oh yes, most definitely. But it might be ignorance because I hardly ever use that word or hear it.

And aha! So the Brits do still say what I'd call the Frenchified version of advertisement with the second syllable stressed! I wondered if it still existed. But why do you, and other Brits, use [s] and not [z] for the third syllable? It's advertisement, which in French phonology is rendered voiced.

[Astraios]

When have we ever cared how a now-English word is pronounced in French? We just adapt it to our pronunciation anyway.

[Shm Jay]

Travis, who the fuck actually says high-KOO!?!

Those that are high because they’ve smoked too much koo.

[finlay]

It just has to be analogy with 'centrifuge', which I think is used more often than centrifugal (since centrifugal forces don't really exist).

And what's with that last vowel in [ˈsɛ̃.tʃɹɪ.fyu.gɚ]?

@finlay: Yes, it should be []'s. I mostly use phone(m/t)ic transcription when working on conlangs -- and since I am pretty unsure of the exact phonetic realization of segments in my conlangs I just use // even when I want to be precise.

you shouldn't do that

[Pogostick Man]

Those that are high because they’ve smoked too much koo.

Ku?

[ol bofosh]

And aha! So the Brits do still say what I'd call the Frenchified version of advertisement with the second syllable stressed! I wondered if it still existed. But why do you, and other Brits, use [s] and not [z] for the third syllable? It's advertisement, which in French phonology is rendered voiced.

We have this wonderful system where we pronounce things a) how we imagine them to be b) how we heard them, sort of c) in whatever way our accent/s can cope with.

Or as Astraios so eloquently put it...

When have we ever cared how a now-English word is pronounced in French? We just adapt it to our pronunciation anyway.

Wait, just been over to Wiktionary and seen /a.vɛʁ.tis.mɑ̃/. /s/ not /z/.

[Astraios]

That's true too actually, I didn't think of it. The French cognate is avertissement.

[linguoboy]

"Croesus" (I've now heard three entirely different versions.)

[Viktor77]

That's true too actually, I didn't think of it. The French cognate is avertissement.

D'oh! That makes sense!

[ol bofosh]

"Croesus" (I've now heard three entirely different versions.)

/ˈkrəʊ̯.səs/ [ˈkʰɹʷˠɜʉ̯.səs]?
/krəʊ̯.ˈweɪ̯.səs/ [kʰɹʷˠə.ˈwɛ̝ɪ̯.səs]?

Edit: /ˈkriːsəs/ on Wiki! [ˈkʰɹʷˠɪi̯.səs]

(do you think [wɹ] would work just as well as [ɹʷˠ]?)

[Travis B.]

"Croesus" (I've now heard three entirely different versions.)

Croesus: /kroʊ̯ˈiːsɪs/, /kroˈisəs/ > [kʰɰˤoːˈwisɨs]

[Ambrisio]

I would either say /'krisəs/ in analogy with amoeba and f(o)etus, or /'krɔisows/, which is pretty much the Ancient Greek pronunciation, but with English vowels.

[Travis B.]

Here are a number of words to transcribe (note this is linked to a previous set of words). Pay attention to whether historical /r/ and /l/ syllabify in the particular words.

piling
fouling
foiling
peeling
pooling
mailing
polling
firing
flouring
Moira (This is the only example I could find for this.)

I was going to include the following for completeness, but from thinking about it some I am pretty sure no one syllabifies /r/ in these:

peering
mooring
bearing
boring

[KathTheDragon]

I may pronounce the 'r' in 'peering' as syllabic. May.

[ol bofosh]

All have two syllables for me.

piling ['pɐɪ̯.lɪ̈ŋ]
fouling ['fæʊ̯.lɪ̈ŋ]
foiling ['fɔɪ̯.lɪ̈ŋ]
peeling ['pʰɪi̯.lɪ̈ŋ]
pooling ['pʰʏʉ̯.lɪ̈ŋ ~ pʰɵʊ̯.lɪ̈ŋ] (latter more usual, former more former)
mailing ['mɛ̝ɪ̯.lɪ̈ŋ]
polling ['pʰɜʊ̯.lɪ̈ŋ]
firing ['fɐɜ̯.ɹʷˠɪ̈ŋ] (which means my <fire> is closer to [fɐɜ̯ɐ̯], not [fɐɪ̯ə̯])
flouring ['flæɞ̯.ɹʷˠɪ̈ŋ]
Moira ['mɔɪ̯.ɹʷˠɜ]

peering ['pʰɪː.ɹʷˠɪ̈ŋ]
mooring ['mɔː.ɹʷˠɪ̈ŋ]
bearing ['bɛ̝ː.ɹʷˠɪ̈ŋ]
boring ['bɔː.ɹʷˠɪ̈ŋ]

[Nortaneous]

piling: 3
fouling: 2
foiling: 3
peeling: 3
pooling: 2
mailing: 3
polling: 2
firing: 3
flouring: 3
Moira: 2
peering: 2
mooring: 2
bearing: 2
boring: 2

It gets confusing for me because in my more 'natural' (i.e. less standard) pronunciation, a lot of them get cut down to two: 'piling' and 'flouring', for example, end up as [paln flæn], although the [n] might be syllabic. I think that can only happen when there are three syllables; I doubt I'd have [puln] for 'pooling'. On the other hand, [fæəln] for 'fouling' might be possible...?

I think Wikipedia is right about Croesus, but before I knew that I thought it was /kroˈisəs/.

[Ambrisio]

Three syllables in most of them:
piling ['pha.ɛ̯əˠɫ̪̪.iŋ] (I never thought about this before -- I would have transcribed it phonemically as /'paj.lɪŋ/)
fouling ['fæo.wɫ̪̩ʷ.iŋ]
foiling ['fo.e̯əˠɫ̪̪.iŋ]
peeling ['phiəˠɫ̪̪.iŋ] (yes, 2 syllables, with a diphthong)
pooling ['phʉ.wɫ̪̩ʷ.iŋ] (now that I think of it, I rhyme it with 'grueling')
mailing ['me̞əˠɫ̪̪.iŋ] (I would probably consider it 2.5 syllables since I sometimes syllabify the [ɫ̪̪])
polling ['phɵ.wɫ̪̩ʷ.iŋ]
firing ['fa.ɛ̯ɯ̟^o̬.iŋ]
flouring ['fɫ̪̪æo.wɯ̟^o̬.iŋ]
Moira ['moe.ɰ̟ʷ̬ə] (I just can't imagine how it would be pronounced with three syllables)

The superscript O denotes semi-rounding, and the inverted circumflex below denotes a grooved tongue blade. I wonder if there are any official IPA symbols for these.

"Peering" is pretty much the same as "peeling": ['phiəˠ̟ɯ̟^o̬.iŋ]. Likewise with "bearing" and "mailing", except as before, the diphthong in "bearing" moves forward in the mouth due to the R: [be̞əˠ̟ɯ̟^o̬.iŋ]. "Mooring" and "boring" however are 2 syllables ['mʊʷɯ̟^o̬.iŋ] and [boɯ̟^o̬.iŋ].

[Viktor77]

"Croesus" (I've now heard three entirely different versions.)

/ˈkriːsəs/ [ˈkɹiːsəs] FWIW

[Nortaneous]

pooling ['phʉ.wɫ̪̩ʷ.iŋ] (now that I think of it, I rhyme it with 'grueling')

well... yes? how else would it be?

[tezcatlip0ca]

Maybe pooling /ˈpuːlɪŋ/ and grueling /ˈgɹuːəlɪŋ/?
It doesn't really matter, I rhyme them too.
piling [ˈpʰaɛ̯ɫɪŋ]
fouling [ˈfa̟ʌ̯ɫɪŋ]
foiling [ˈfo̞e̯̽ɫɪŋ]
peeling [ˈpʰi̞e̯̽ɫɪŋ]
mailing [ˈme̞e̯̽ɫɪŋ]
polling [ˈpʰo̞ʊ̠̯ɫɪŋ]
firing [ˈfaɛ̯ɰ˞ɪŋ]
flouring [ˈfla̟ɔ̯ɰ˞ɪŋ]
Moira [ˈmo̞ɜ̯ɰ˞ɜ]
All glides preceding /l/ are sulcalized, [ɰ˞] is slightly endolabial.

[Ambrisio]

I must have been misled by the orthography.

[Nesescosac]

How do y'all say "NSFW"? I've found more and more people saying /nEsfu/.