The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

[Nortaneous]

discussed/disgust: I have no idea if I pronounce these the same way or not
Xavier: /ˈzeviər/, this could be reduced to -vjə- in pronunciation
sphere /sfir/
Sven /svɛn/ -- I think I distinguish [sf sv]
wont -- no idea, never heard it spoken
chaos /ˈkeɑs/ [ˈkʰe(ɪ̯)ɑs] -- not [ˈkʰeɪ̯jɑs], seems like it should actually be a monophthong there, dunno
Logos /ˈlog(ɑ/ɔ)s/, dunno which vowel this has, most of my professors maintained /ɒ/
quark /kwork/
force /fors/
Laura /ˈlorə/
Laurie /ˈlorɨ/
story /ˈstorɨ/
maul /mɔl/
mole /mol/ [moˤɫ] -- different phonetic vowels than 'mow' /mo/ and 'no' /no/, /o/ is usually [əʊ̯] but after labials it can be something like a slightly rounded [ɤ], 'provolone' takes that vowel in both its stressed syllables, 'going' is [gɤn] tho it seems lowered there. those all vary and could just be the you-can't-observe-yourself effect. as for [oˤ] vs. [əʊ̯], a lot of people have [oˤ] in 'both', and some people even misspell it 'bolth'
centaur /ˈsɛntor/
Minotaur /ˈmɪnətor/

in conclusion, i am bad at english

[vokzhen]

Since you're asking some questions, I'll preempt some of them.
discussed [dɨs'kəst], schwa and /ʌ/ are merged, schwi is somewhere in the ɨ̞ ~ e̱ ~ ə̟ range afaict
disgust [dɨs'kəst], [dɨs'gəst] in careful speech
Xavier [zeɪ̯vjɚ], [(ɨ)kseɪ̯vjɚ], [häv(i)'je̞ɻ]
sphere [sfɪi̯ɻ], can't quite tell the vowel, it's not quite as close as /i/ but more close and front than /ɪ/ (maybe identical to the vowel in <sing>), and slightly diphthongized.
Sven [svɛ̱̃n] /ɛ/ is further back than the other front vowels, I assume from Northern Cities Vowel Shift. If not actually voiced, then VOT is at least quicker
wont [wänt] (nasalized, not shown for clarity)
chaos [kʰeɪ̯(j)äs]
Logos [lɵʊ̯gɵ(ʊ̯)s], in non-careful speech the offglide seems like it gets lost in the second syllable.
quark [kʰwɔ̝ɻˀk] or [kʰwəɻˀk], more often the latter. /ɑr/ undergoes a split for me, a “burred, barred bard” is /bɚd bɑɻd bəɻd/; as far as I can tell the vowel of /ɑr/ is backer [ɑɻ] than the vowel of /ɑ/ [ä].
force [fɔ̝ɻs]
Laura [lɔ̝ɻə]
Laurie [lɔ̝ɻi]
story [stɔ̝ɻi]
maul [mɒɫ], with cot-caught merger before /l/
mole [mɔ̝ɫ], /oʊl/ vowel merges with /or~ɔr/ vowel, not /oʊ/
centaur [sɛ̱̃ntɑɻ]
Minotaur [mɪ̃nətɑɻ]
/r/ are weird and complex, I haven't (and probably can't, on my own) figured them out completely; I'm pretty certain initial /r/ is retroflexed, pharyngealized, rounded, and sulcal, but as far as I can tell /er/ is none of those things (despite what I transcribed above, I think it's some kind of palatalized sound, a "bunched (pre)palatal" or "retracted alveolopalatal" or something), and other coda /r/'s are in between the two.

[sirdanilot]

Yup English /r/ sounds are very complex, see also 'bunched r'. It also often sounds quite different from these sounds when they occur in other languages. For example Leiden Dutch dialect has /ɹ/ everywhere instead of /r/ (even word-initially) but it still sounds very different from English because the sound sounds more palatal-like.

And no I don't talk with a Leiden Dutch accent myself, it is a dialect employed mostly by the lower and lower-middle-class inhabitants of the city. For example the lady at the canteen will talk with a Leiden Dutch accent but the professors at the university won't.

[ol bofosh]

How's [ʋ͡ɹʷˠ] for complex.

SE England - Estuary English (with RP and Cockney thrown in)
discussed [dɪ̈s.ˈkɐst]
disgust [dɪ̈s.ˈgɐst]
Xavier [ɛk.ˈzɛɪ̯.vjə t͡ʃa.ˈβjeɾ] (the first one because that's what I've always heard on X-Men, the second when I'm talking about a friend in Spain, or more simply [t͡ʃa.βi])
sphere [sfɪɜ̯]
Sven [svɛn]
wont [wɒnʔ]
chaos [ˈkɛɪ̯.ɒs]
Logos [ˈlɒ.gɒs]
quark [kwɔːk]
force [fɔːs]
Laura [ˈlɔː.ʋ͡ɹɜ]
Laurie [ˈlɒ.ʋ͡ɹɪi̯]
story [ˈstɔː.ʋɹɪɨ̯]
maul [mɔʊ̯ɫ]
mole [mɜʊ̯ɫ]
centaur [ˈsɛn.t͡ʃɔː] (I have the habit of saying it with the affricate, though I'm not sure if it's right)
Minotaur [ˈmɐɪ̯.nə.tɔː]
caught [kʰɔːʔ]
cot [kʰɒʔ]
lot [lɒʔ]
cloth [kʰlɒθ]
gone [gɒn]
horse [hɔːs]
hoarse [hɔːs]
foreign [ˈfɒ.ʋɾən]

[CatDoom]

discussed [dɪs'kəst]

disgust [dɪs'kəst]

Xavier [havi'jɛɹ] (usually, since I mostly encounter the name in use by people from Spanish-speaking families)

sphere [sfɪɹ]

Sven [sfɛn]

wont [wɑnt] or [wɔnt] (possibly closer to the latter, which I'll use from here on)

chaos [ˈkʰeɪ̯jɔs]

Logos [ˈlogos] (I think I avoid any vowel reduction here because it registers as a distinctly foreign word)

quark [kʰwɑ˞k]

force [fɔ˞s] (the vowel is definitely distinct from the above)

Laura [ˈlɔ˞.ə], I think... seems closer than [ˈlɔ.ɹə], since I seem to have /ɔ˞/ but not /ɔ/ distinct from /ɑ/

Laurie [ˈlɔ˞.i]

story [stɔ˞.i]

maul [mɔl]

mole [moʊ̯l]

centaur [sɛntɑ˞]

Minotaur [mɪnətɑ˞] (definitely no rounding on the second syllable)

[Sumelic]

I guess I'll share my own now... I don't think there's anything too interesting here, but:
discussed [dɨˈskɐst] (I don't think the vowel in the first syllable is phonemically contrastive with low schwa or with /ɪ/, but it's definitely higher than my word-final low schwa)
disgust [dɨˈskɐst]
Xavier [ˈzeɪvjɚ, ˈzeɪviɚ]; [hɑˈvjeɚ̯, hɑˈvjeːɹ] ] for Spanish names
sphere [sfiɚ̯, sfiːɹ] I can’t really tell which it is, but definitely not [ɪ]
Sven [sfɛ̃n]
wont [wɐ̃nt] STRUT phoneme
chaos [ˈkʰeɪɑs]
Logos [ˈloʊgɑs, ˈloʊgoʊs] the second is the original way I said it, but I now prefer the first
quark [kʰw̥ɔ˞k]
force [fɔ˞s]
Laura [lɔ˞ɐ]; [laʊɹɐ] for Spanish names
Laurie [lɔ˞i]
story [stɔ˞i]
maul [mɑɫ] some kind of dark l, anyway
mole [mɔɫ] same vowel as in “force”
centaur [ˈsɛ̃nˌtʰɑ˞, sɛ̃nˌtʰɔ˞] first one’s my original pronunciation, second a spelling pronunciation I haven’t decided if I’m going to end up using
Minotaur [ˈmɪ̃nɵˌtʰɑ˞, ˈmɪ̃nɵˌtʰɔ˞, ˈmaɪ̃nɵˌtʰɔ˞,] No idea really which one I’d use the most; the middle vowel might be unrounded or rounded at different times. Not a word I say out loud very often.

[----]

discussed/disgust [dɪ'skʌs(t)]
Xavier ['zɛɪviɹˌ]
sphere ['sfijɹ]
Sven [svɪn]
wont [wɔ(ɨ)nt]
chaos ['kʰɛɪjas]
Logos ['ɫoʊgoʊs]
quark [kʰwɔɹk] (I think this is homophonous with 'cork' most of the time actually; i.e. no [w])
force [fɔɹs]
Laura [ɫɔɹə]
Laurie [ɫɔɹi]
story [stɔɹi]
maul [mɑɫ]
mole [mɔɫ]
centaur ['sɪntaɹ]
Minotaur ['mɪnɪtʰaɹ]

[finlay]

In which I'm too lazy to convert all the X-SAMPA to IPA (and my usual laptop on which I can type IPA easily has gone AWOL)

Also in which r stands for ɹ or əɹ or ɚ - I usually don't bother working it out but it often turns into an extra syllable.
discussed [dIs"kVst]
disgust [dIs"kVst] or [dIz"gVst]
Xavier ["zavie] / [~eI]
sphere [s@fir] or [sfir]
Sven [svEn]
wont [w@unt]
chaos ["kejOs]
Logos ["l@ugOs] (light or dark L)
quark [kwOrk]
force [fors]
Laura ["lO(:)r@]
Laurie ["lOri]
story ["sto:ri]
maul [mQ:5]
mole [mo:w] or [mo:5]
centaur ["sEntOr]
Minotaur ["mIn@tOr]

[Zaarin]

Wow, these are more interesting than I expected!
Followup questions, if you don't mind answering:

discussed [dɪˈskust] disgust [dɪˈskust] ([dɪsˈgust] in careful speech) Is it a true phonetic or more like [ɐ]?

That was me be being sloppy. It's [ɐ].

quark [ˈkwɔɻk] (as opposed to Quark [ˈkwɑɻk]) Isn't the k aspirated?

Just tried it a few times--looks like I don't aspirate before [w]. Or [ɻ]. And sometimes do and sometimes do not before [l].

Laura [ˈlɔɻə]
Laurie [ˈloʊɻi] Do you have any idea why the vowel is different from Laura?

No idea for certain, but it's definitely different. My accent is probably weird because I lived in a lot of different places growing up--my parents are from Upstate New York (where I never lived) but my Dad grew up in Georgia from the time he was twelve; I was born in Arizona; lived in Georgia for a few years (but was almost exclusively around northerners in a little college enclave setting); lived in South Korea for a few years; then lived in South Florida from my teen years to the present. Any time I take a dialect quiz, it places me from Seattle.

@Zaarin: you have very interesting vowels. Would you say you have the lot-thought merger, but also a lot-cloth split? What other words have /ɔ/ for you? Would you mind transcribing how you say the following additional words (especially the vowels):

Lot-cloth are definitely different for me, but I think lot-thought are too...

caught [kʰɔt]
cot [kʰat]
lot [lat]
cloth [k(ʰ)lɔθ]
gone [gɔn]
horse [hɔɻs]
hoarse [hɔɻs]
foreign [fɔɻən]

Note: The vowel I'm writing [ɔ] might in fact be [ɒ].

[ol bofosh]

This is an attempt to transcribes my girlfriend pronounciation. She's a native French speaker and very fluent in Spanish, which reflects itself below.
Not exactly sure about the contrasts between [e] or [ɛ] and [o] or [ɔ], so they're approximate. Exact quality of [ʌ] I'm not sure about.

discussed [dis.ˈkʌst]
disgust [dis.ˈgʌst]
Xavier [t͡ʃa.ˈβjeɾ] (but for Spanish 'Javier': [xa.ˈβjeɾ]
sphere [sfiɽ]
Sven [svɛn] (I have a feeling it is [ɛ], but may be a more closed [e] on occasion)
wont [wont]
chaos [ˈkej.os]
Logos [ˈlo.gos ~ ˈlo.ɣos]
quark [kwaɽk]
force [fɔɽs]
Laura [ˈlɔ.ɽa ~ ˈlaw.ɽa ~ ˈlaw.ɾa]
Laurie [ˈlɔ.ɽi]
story [ˈstɔ.ɽi]
maul [mɔl]
mole [mowl]
centaur [ˈsɛn.tɔɽ]
Minotaur [ˈmaj.no.tɔɽ] (possibly [ˈmi.no.tɔɽ])
caught [kɔt]
cot [kot]
lot [lot]
cloth [kloθ]
gone [gon]
horse [hɔɽs]
hoarse [hɔɽs]
foreign [ˈfɔ.ɽejn] (I just love some of her spelling pronounciations)

[Bristel]

discussed [dɪs.ˈkʌst]
disgust [dɪz.ˈgʌst]
Xavier [ˈzeɪ.vi.əɹ]
sphere [sfiɹ]
Sven [svɛn]
wont [woʊnt]
chaos [ˈkeɪ.ɑs]
Logos [ˈloʊ.goʊz] (light or dark L)
quark [kwɔrk]
force [foɹs]
Laura [ˈlo.ɹə] or [ˈlaw.rə]
Laurie [ˈlɔ.ɹi]
story [ˈstɔri]
maul [mɑl]
mole [mol]
centaur [ˈsɛn.tɔɹ]
Minotaur [ˈmɪ.nə.tɔɹ]

[Nortaneous]

people who have 'bolth': what do you have in 'social'? I heard [oˤ] there the other day from someone who *doesn't* have [oˤ] in 'both'

[Alces]

discussed [dI"skUst]
disgust [dIs"gUst] (I think there is a slight difference here, but it's hardly audible and I imagine my pronunciation is usually indistinguishable from [dI"skUst] within connected speech)
Xavier ["zeIvi@]
sphere ["sfi@]
Sven ["svEn]
wont ["wQnt] (although I don't think I've ever heard this spoken, and it's just occured to me that this could have like other words in wo- [<worry>, <wonder>, etc.])
chaos ["k_hejQs]
Logos ["l@wgQs] (for lack of a better transcription; I've never been able to figure out exactly what the nucleus of my GOAT diphthong is when it isn't before coda /l/--it's clearly distinct from the [ow] I have before coda /l/, but it's also clearly not the same [@] I have in, say, <letter>.)
quark ["k_hwO:k] (relatively weak aspiration compared to <chaos>)
force ["fO:s]
Laura ["lO:r\@] (I don't know if [r\] is the best transcription--for me it has strong labialisation, in fact it seems like most of the obstruction is at the lips; my tongue barely moves from its resting position. But it's not the same kind of labialisation I have in [w]. Compared to [w], my lips protrude further outwards, but they are compressed less at the sides and remain relatively flat, without forming an O shape.)
Laurie ["lQr\i]
story ["stO:r\i]
maul ["mO:l_G] (relatively weak velarisation in [l_G] compared to <mole>)
mole ["mowl_G] (relatively strong velarisation in [l_G] compared to <maul>, and fully back [o]. In fact the velarisation in this [l_G] is so strong, and the lateral articulation so weak, that I'm tempted to transcribe it as [M\].)
centaur ["sEnt_hO:] (relatively weak aspiration compared to <chaos>)
Minotaur ["majn@t_hO:] (relatively weak aspiration compared to <chaos>)

[ol bofosh]

Laura ["lO:r\@] (I don't know if [r\] is the best transcription--for me it has strong labialisation, in fact it seems like most of the obstruction is at the lips; my tongue barely moves from its resting position. But it's not the same kind of labialisation I have in [w]. Compared to [w], my lips protrude further outwards, but they are compressed less at the sides and remain relatively flat, without forming an O shape.)

What about [ʋ]? My own comes out as [ʋʷ] with the lips protruding and the inside of my lower lip brushing teeth. If your tongue is in use, like mine, then it could be [ʋ͡ɹ], though my tongue inflects in the post-alveolar position and even includes velarisation.

Just found onthis: "Many non-rhotic British speakers have a labialization to [ʋ] of their Rs, which is between idiosyncratic and dialectal (southern and southwestern England), and since it includes some RP speakers, somewhat prestigious. "

Prestigious? I always thought [ʋ] for <r> was a speech defect.

[finlay]

That's probably a development that happened within your lifetime.

Certainly if I make that sound I think I sound posh.

I don't know of many specific examples, but it struck me when watching Harry Potter 6 that the young Voldemort, who was played pretty straightly as a creepy child, had this feature.

[Alces]

Laura ["lO:r\@] (I don't know if [r\] is the best transcription--for me it has strong labialisation, in fact it seems like most of the obstruction is at the lips; my tongue barely moves from its resting position. But it's not the same kind of labialisation I have in [w]. Compared to [w], my lips protrude further outwards, but they are compressed less at the sides and remain relatively flat, without forming an O shape.)

What about [ʋ]? My own comes out as [ʋʷ] with the lips protruding and the inside of my lower lip brushing teeth. If your tongue is in use, like mine, then it could be [ʋ͡ɹ], though my tongue inflects in the post-alveolar position and even includes velarisation.

Just found onthis: "Many non-rhotic British speakers have a labialization to [ʋ] of their Rs, which is between idiosyncratic and dialectal (southern and southwestern England), and since it includes some RP speakers, somewhat prestigious. "

Prestigious? I always thought [ʋ] for <r> was a speech defect.

I'm pretty sure my /r/ is made with a bilabial articulation rather than a labiodental one. But the Wikipedia page on R-labialization does mention the possibility of /r/ being realised as a bilabial approximant, as well as a labiodental one. So that may be what I have. The shape of the lips makes a lot of difference, though. Wikipedia has a sound file of someone producing a bilabial approximant, and it sounds quite different to me, much more like /w/ than /r/ (although it does sound slightly more /r/-like than a normal /w/).

[ol bofosh]

I think this is quite a strong example of [ʋ] from the Pwincess Bwide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bY0fdg ... freload=10

Certainly if I make that sound I think I sound posh.

If I make that sound it makes me feel stupid.

I'm pretty sure my /r/ is made with a bilabial articulation rather than a labiodental one. But the Wikipedia page on R-labialization does mention the possibility of /r/ being realised as a bilabial approximant, as well as a labiodental one. So that may be what I have. The shape of the lips makes a lot of difference, though. Wikipedia has a sound file of someone producing a bilabial approximant, and it sounds quite different to me, much more like /w/ than /r/ (although it does sound slightly more /r/-like than a normal /w/).

Mine's a confusing mess, and probably won't sound like the bilabial approximant on that soundfile. It's the pronounced labialisation that got me and it took me a while to feel confident that it's labiodental, but the lips are protruding so much that the inflection is on the inside of my lip. It also helped that I did find a precedent for it on Wikipedia (can't remember where now - perhaps the page you mention). But I'm no professional, so maybe it's a labialised bilabial approximant, or a strange mutant combination of bilabial and labiodental.

[linguoboy]

"dais"

[Sumelic]

/ˈdeɪ̯ɪs/ I guess. The disyllabic pronunciation seems dumb based on the etymology, but then again the New Oxford American dictionary says it was "revived by antiquarians in the early 19th cent. with the disyllabic pronunciation." Seems like those 19th-century antiquarians couldn't get anything right...

[Imralu]

Phonemes given as per RP, eg. /e/ is the sound in "bet" not in "bait", which is /eɪ/.

discussed /dəˈskʌst/ [dəˈskäst]
disgust /dəˈskʌst/ [dəˈskäst]
Xavier /ˈzeɪviə/ [zæɪviɐ]
sphere /sfɪə/ [sfɪɐ ~ sfɪː]
Sven /sfen/ [sfɛn] (I know the Australian /e/ is allegedly [e] but without having the formants tested, I'm pretty sure mine is closer to [ɛ])
wont /wɒnt/ [wɔn̆ʔ] (same as "want")
chaos /ˈkeɪɒs/ [ˈkʰæɪɔs]
Logos /ˈləʊgɒs/ [ˈɫɐʉgɔs]
quark /kwɑːk/ [kʰwäːk] (yeah, I know it's "supposed" to be with /ɔː/ but I just can't bring myself to do that)
force /fɔːs/ [foːs]
Laura /ˈlɔːrə/ [ˈɫoːɹɐ]
Laurie /ˈlɒri/ [ˈɫoːɹɪi]
story /ˈstɔːri/ [ˈstoːɹɪi]
maul /mɔːl/ [moːɫ]
mole /mɔʊl/ [mɔʊɫ] (had to make up a phoneme that apparently doesn't exist in RP ... this occasionally contrasts with /əʊ/)
centaur /ˈsentɔː/ [ˈsɛntʰoː]
Minotaur /ˈmɪnətɔː/ [ˈmɪnətʰoː]
dais /ˈdeɪəs/ [ˈdæɪəs] (Pretty sure I can't distinguish between /ə/ and /ɪ/ in completely unstressed syllables and it's pronunciation is conditioned by the following consonant ...)

[KathTheDragon]

quark /kwɑːk/ [kʰwäːk] (yeah, I know it's "supposed" to be with /ɔː/ but I just can't bring myself to do that)

My physics teacher varies between /kwɑ:k/ and /kwɔ:k/, but seems to only use the latter when he's paying attention to his speech. /kwɑ:k/ is what all my class uses, and it sounds way better to my ears.

[ol bofosh]

Mentally I always thought of it as [dɛɪ̯z] until just over a year ago when I looked it up and found [ˈdɛɪ̯.ɪ̈s] would be more appropriate for me.

This reminds me of hearth and fiery, which for a while I pronounced [hɜːθ] and [fɪə.ʋɹɪɨ̯] instead of [hɐːθ] and [fɐə̯ɜ̯.ʋɹɪɨ̯].

[sirdanilot]

How would you pronounce this Montana Salish word? (source: flemming et al 2008)

[svld]

discussed [tɪs˨.kʰäst˥˧]
disgust [tɪs˨.kästʰ˥˧]
Xavier [sɛ˦.vɪɚ˨]
sphere [s˧.fɪɚ˥˧] or [sfɪɚ˥˧]
Sven [s˧.vɛn˥˧] or [svɛn˥˧]
wont [wɔŋtʰ˥˧]
chaos [kʰɛɪ˦.əs˨]
Logos [lɔ˦.kɔs˨]
quark [kʰwɔɚkʰ˥˧]
force [fwɔɚs˥˧]
Laura [lɔ˦.ɻä˨] or [lɔ˦.ɹä˨]
Laurie [lɔ˦.ɻɪ˨] or [lɔ˦.ɹɪ˨]
story [s˧.tɔ˦.ɻɪ˨] or [s˧.tɔ˦.ɹɪ˨] or [stɔ˦.ɻɪ˨] or [stɔ˦.ɹɪ˨]
maul [mäo˥˧.ɔl˨] or [mäo˥˧.ɔʊ˨]
mole [mɔl˥˧] or [mɔʊ˥˧]
centaur [sɛn˨.tʰʊɚ˥˧]
Minotaur [mäɪ˦.nwɔ˨.tʰwɔɚ˨] or [mäɪ˦.nɔ˧.tʰwɔɚ˨]

coda [t tʰ kʰ] are probably [tə̥ tʰə̥ kʰə̥]

[Imralu]

sphere [s˧.fɪɚ˥˧] or [sfɪɚ˥˧]
Sven [s˧.vɛn˥˧] or [svɛn˥˧]

Emphasis mine. How can a voiceless sound have a tone?