The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

[ol bofosh]

A few borrowed French words and phrases:

croissant [ˈkʰɹʷˠɐ.sɒn]
fleur-de-lys [flʏː də lɪiz]
voyeur [vɔi.ˈʏː]
savoir-faire [sa.vwɐ.ˈfɛːə]
touché [tʏʉ.ˈʃɛi]
en route [ɒn rʏʉt]
toilette [tʰwɐ.ˈlet]
mange tout [mɒnʒ tʏʉ]
hors d'œuvre [ɔː.ˈdœːv]
grenadier [gɹʷˠɛ.nə.ˈdɪə]

Something that seems specific to some French <eu> words is the use of [ʏː].

[Imralu]

Does anyone else distinguish phonetically:

A seer (one who sees) [si:.j3`]

A seer (a prophet, an oracle, a clairvoyant) [si:`]

I don't distinguish them. Do you pronounce the latter the same as 'sear'?

ban [bæːn]
bain [bæɪn]
barn [baːn]
bairn [beːn]
Ben [ben]
been [bɪin]
bean [bɪin]
bin [bɪn]
bone [bɐʉn]
boon [bʉːn]
born [boːn]
Boyne [boɪn]
bun [ban]
burn [bœːn]

croissant /krəˈsɔnt/ [kʰɹəˈsɔn̯ʔ]
fleur-de-lys /flɜːdəˈliːs/ [flœːɾəˈlɪis]
voyeur /voɪˈɜː/ [voɪˈjœː] or /ˈvoɪə/ [ˈvoɪjɐ]
savoir-faire /ˈsævwaː feː/ [ˈsævwaː feː]
touché /tʉːˈʃæɪ/ [tʰʉːˈʃæɪ]
en route /ɔnˈrʉːt/ [ɔnˈɹʉːt̚]
toilette /twaːˈlet/ [tʰʍaːˈlet̚] or, as a joke, /ˈtoɪlət/ [tʰoɪlət̚]
mange tout .... I'm unaware of this as a borrowed word, so if I saw it, I'd probably say [mɒ̃ʒ tu]
hors d'œuvre /oːˈdɜːv/ [oːˈdɜv] or, as a joke, /ˈhoːsˌdʉːvə/ [ˈhoːsˌdʉːvɐ] ('Horse doover')
grenadier /ˌgrenəˈdɪə/ [ˌgɹenəˈdɪɐ ~ˌgɹenəˈdɪː]

[finlay]

croissant [ˈkwʌsɔ̃(n)]
fleur-de-lys [fɫɚːdəˈlis]
voyeur [vwʌˈjɚː]
savoir-faire [savwɑːɹˈfɛːɚ]
touché [tʰʉˈʃe]
en route [ɑ̃(n)ˈɹʉʔt]
toilette [twʌˈɫɛʔt]
mange tout [mɑ̃ːʒˈtu], [mɔ̃ndʒˈtʰʉ]
hors d'œuvre [ɔɹˈdœːvʁə]
grenadier [gɹɛ.nə.ˈdiɚ]

[Nortaneous]

hors d'œuvre /oːˈdɜːv/ [oːˈdɜv]

Goddammit how did I never notice that connection

[Viktor77]

I don't distinguish them. Do you pronounce the latter the same as 'sear'?

Sear and Seer are the same I think, though I swear the vowel quality of sear is just a tad different.

Do you pronounce the <e> in Coyote? I do.

[ol bofosh]

kʰɐɪ.ˈjəʉ.tʰɪi

[linguoboy]

What vowel phone do you guys have in want? Mine is extremely central, but when I compare it to won (which should be a homophone once you take into account my informal deletion of homoorganic alveolars) it doesn't sound identical. Maybe that's just the effects of length?

In any case, the OED gives /wɒnt/. The AHD has both (wŏnt) and (wônt) [i.e. /wɒnt/ and /wɔːnt/]. Neither matches how I say it.

[ol bofosh]

What vowel phone do you guys have in want? Mine is extremely central, but when I compare it to won (which should be a homophone once you take into account my informal deletion of homoorganic alveolars) it doesn't sound identical. Maybe that's just the effects of length?

In any case, the OED gives /wɒnt/. The AHD has both (wŏnt) and (wônt) [i.e. /wɒnt/ and /wɔːnt/]. Neither matches how I say it.

[wɒnt]. Except the [ɒ] is near-open and near-back. Not as open and back as a posh English accent. I still have worked out how to get the correct diacritics in.

[----]

What vowel phone do you guys have in want?

I suppose phonemically I have just a plain old /a/ there, but the /w/ messes everything up and it turns up sounding something like [wɒnt̚]. The [ɒ] here isn't as far back as the symbol implies, it's more centralized for me, I'm assuming similar to how you said yours was.

[Aurora Rossa]

I definitely pronounce the "e" in "coyote" and I have something like a schwa for the vowel in "want".

[Drydic]

IMD want is schwa, won is [ɑ]. Western American, cot/caught merged.

Since I think it might be interesting to compare another w-original A-like vowel- word, let's hear war from you guys. [woʴɹ] here (I think, my ear disagrees with other people about the precise value of this vowel; word rhymes near-perfectly with in pausa or). One syllable, just in case that was in doubt.

[----]

[wɔɹ] for me, rhyming completely with the word 'or'.

[Drydic]

I HATE YOU ɔ WHY MUST YOU CONTINUALLY EVADE MY ATTEMPTS TO DISTINGUISH NEVERMIND ON-DEMAND PRODUCE, YOU

[ol bofosh]

war [wɔ:] (Sorry )
want [wɒnt]
won [wɐn]

[finlay]

usually [wʌnt] – i didn't realise this was a scottish feature until only two or three years ago.

[Travis B.]

war: /ˈwor/ > [ˈwɔ(ː)ʁˤ]
won: /ˈwʌn/ > [ˈwʌ̃(ː)(n)]
want: /ˈwɒnt/ > [ˈwɒ̃ʔ]
coyote: /kae̯ˈjoti/ > [kʰae̯ˈjoɾ̥iː]

[Ser]

"Forehead". Do you "pronounce the 'h' "? How do you "pronounce the 'ea' "?

[----]

[ˈfɔɹhɛd̚]
The h is maybe breathy voiced but I'm not able to recognize that kind of distinction very well so I won't give any certain statements about that.

[ol bofosh]

[ˈfɔː.hɛd]

(hypothetically I'd say the h-less one [ˈfɒ.rʷˠəd], I think that's how my dad says it)

[Matrix]

want: [wɑnt] or [wɑnʔ]
war: [woɹ]
won: [wʌn]
coyote: [kʰaɪ'oʊ.ɾi]
forehead: ['foɹ.ɦɛd̚]

My accent is, according to my Californian friends, mostly like a Californian accent, aside from a couple of distinctly Canadian vowels.

[Nortaneous]

want /wAnt/
won /wVn/
war /wor/
coyote /kai"jo41/
forehead /"for%hEd/

[Nortaneous]

fuchsia

[----]

Fuchsia: [ˈfjʉu̯ʃə]
I've only seen this word written down like twice, so at first I didn't even know if I was thinking of the right word.

[Drydic]

[fjuS@]

[Travis B.]

forehead: /ˈforˌhɜd/ > [ˈfɔʁˤˌhɜ̟ːd̥]
fuchsia: /ˈfjuʃə/ > [ˈfjʉʃə(ː)]