ˌɪndʒɪˈnjuːɪtɪ
And this is how you pronounce sword:
sɔːd
What is this dictionary I don't even.
Discuss: words that phonetics don't help you learn at all.
This is how you pronounce ingenuity
ˌɪndʒɪˈnjuːɪtɪ
And this is how you pronounce sword:
sɔːd
What is this dictionary I don't even.
Discuss: words that phonetics don't help you learn at all.
:OO: Um.... -in-gin-new- it- tee??
HOTROD
"Lets go for a spin you and I"
Seems pretty clear to me. And by me, I mean rubah.
You read my mind <3
It's called IPA, and it's a useful tool for working with indo-european languages. It has been extended to help with some other languages that don't use the same phonemes, or sounds as Germanic, Romance, etc languages.
It's really cool that you found a dictionary that included it. A lot of them don't anymore. I know the on-line dictionary.com and m-w.com both don't. The OED2 app trial had them though, but I don't feel like paying $30 for an electronic dictionary x_x
Anyways, the pronunciation is already obvious, but I just wanted to look at it more in-depth.
ɪndʒɪˈnjuːɪtɪ
ɪ is a vowel that sounds like i in "bit", it's a high front vowel, which means the tip of your tongue is near the front and top of your mouth. the vowel written /i/ in IPA (pronounced "ee") is the only English vowel that is higher than it.
/dʒ/ is one sound, like the beginning and end of "judge". It's a voice sound, so you can feel your vocal cords vibrating, and if you whisper it, it will sound like its devoiced counterpart, the -ch sound.
nju is made up of n, y, and u. n is pretty obvious how that sounds like (it is a nasal sound, and alveolar, so your tongue touches the ridge behind your teeth). /j/ is IPA for "yuh", which makes it slightly ridiculous if you are transcribing the phonemes in words like "utopia", but c'est la vie! /u/ is the highest "back" vowel in English. That's where the back of your tongue it up highest, but it's back in the soft palate part of your mouth.
/t/ is pretty obvious, too!
I'm not sure what the : represents. I'd been wondering for a while, so I should probably look it up soon.
More fun with vowels:
From high to low, in the front:
"ee" (beet)
"ih" (bit)
"eh" (bed)
"ahh" (cot)
"aah" (cat)
And in the back:
"uh" "butt"
"euh" "put"
"oo" "boot"
"oh" "boat"
"o[r]" "bore"
Then there's one right in the middle that basically fills in every unstressed vowel sound ever. If you replace a sound with "uh" or "eh" or "ah" or "ih", it's that cute little upside down e, the schwa. ə
peegies freaked out in my linguistics class when we talked about the word "interesting."
In some English dialects (such as my own), it's completely valid to pronounce this as
"ɪn-ə-rɛst-ɪŋ" (ŋ is the "ng" sound)
That brings up a good point though, because peegies' pronunciation included the first t. I had trouble learning one of the vowels (the one in "sword", actually) because my book gave two examples that conflicted as far as my pronunciation went. And that's one of the criticisms of International Phonetic Alphabet-- it's completely a descriptive tool, not prescriptive, that is, it can only be as good as everyone speaks.
(however, it's hella useful for my swedishing!)
rubah solved this thread.
Thread closed then?Originally Posted by Shorty
"Lets go for a spin you and I"
I feel enlightened on this day.
Proper pronunciation is interesting. Even within American speaking America the pronunciation of words varies based on region or state or general geography.
Principal Skinner: Yes, it's a regional dialect
Chalmers: uh huh. what region?
Skinner: upstate new york
Chalmers: Really. Well, I'm from Utica and I never heard anyone the phrase, "steamed hams."
Skinner: Oh, not in Utica, no; it's an Albany expression.
[though tbh they were talking about slang not pronunciation]
Also pronunciation can be varied based on genetics. For example Asians tend to find certain sounds difficult to produce, and so their language is shaped around the sound[s] that are more...intuitive, for a lack of word. Obviously I am not saying they CANNOT make the sound, but you can even see it with me when I try to say [for example] 'their'.
My mum once had a go at calling me 'Pete' instead of 'Peter' and failed miserably. Ending on the 'te' is just so foreign too her. It ended up sounding like 'pee'. =]
Rubah, make me your apprentice.
Memorize the IPA and I'll see you on Monday.
Okay, I did it. Now make me your apprentice!
ok, here's a little hat for you to wear
Aww :')
I lost IQ points for having grammar explained to me by a WOMAN.
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