That might depend on the dictionary... Cambridge says you don't pronounce the H in "white", but Merriam-Webster does mention it in addition.
english language quickie
- Thread starter mito
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That might depend on the dictionary... Cambridge says you don't pronounce the H in "white", but Merriam-Webster does mention it in addition.
Huh? I've never considered 'b' in subtle to be particularly subtle. I pronounce it about as strongly as any other letter in that word, well, except the 'e' of course which is silent. Like "sub-tl".
I have extreme difficulty pronouncing "anti-aliasing" in whatever language I try. It just never sounds right.
Actually I must have written the word hundreds of times, but I hadn't realized I never spoke it out (and actually couldn't speak it out) until I was on the phone with a journo who was preparing for the NV40 launch. He was saying it more like "anti-aleysing", so he had some trouble with the word, too. I think I ended up just saying "AA" to cover up for myself.
Anyone got an MP3 of that word?
English and German versions welcome.
MW dictionary has the word being pronounced on it. So if you ever want a word just look it up there and press the play button. I don't know if they have everything of course, but there is no need to sign in etc...
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/subtle and http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/subtle
say "NO B FOR YOU!"
deviantchild
Regular
i didn't realise there was a common problem with pronunciation of aliasing
to me it is pronounced phonetically as ay-lee-uh-sing. am i wrong?
and i don't know of anybody in england that pronounces the b in subtle. it's always pronounced suh-tul
to me it is pronounced phonetically as ay-lee-uh-sing. am i wrong?
and i don't know of anybody in england that pronounces the b in subtle. it's always pronounced suh-tul
pocketmoon66
Newcomer
Bah! (which I from now on will pronounce "ah!")
Is there any logical reason why the B should not be pronounced?
None I can think of.
Why is 'jag' in Swedish pronounced 'ya'?
Why is 'jag' in Swedish pronounced 'ya'?
None I can think of.
Why is 'jag' in Swedish pronounced 'ya'?
Good point. Although in that case the question is rather why it's spelled like that, because throughout the history of that word it has always been pronounced "ja". Although some people pronounce it "jag" like it's written these days.
digitalwanderer
Legend
Bah = bah.
Ah = ah.
That dictionary is just wrong.
Ah = ah.
That dictionary is just wrong.
Surely you jest?
So many language n00bs here, suddenly on the forums where I'm usually the n00b (on graphics programming and hardware), today I feel an expert.
Some quick shots here: jag wasn't always pronounced jag. Just think of what the Norwegians do already. (pronounce what is basically the exact same word as 'yaiy' instead of 'yah'). However, the history of how words are written can very often become rather obscure, especially in English.
The h in where and why indicates aspiration. You can do all sorts of things with consonants, among which add or remove voice (trembling of the vocal chords), friction (typically between any parts involved in creating a sound except the vocal chords, for instance lower lip and teeth, aka labio-dental sounds), and aspiration. The w indicates a position of the mouth (lips, uvula, tongue, etc.) at the start of the sound you are going to make. Aspiration means breathing out while you make the sound. If you start this aspiration early, you get the typical "hwhere" sound that some people make.
And that brings me to that the actual implementation by people of course depends strongly on the region ... there can be many varations, although they all strongly tend to evolve towards the easiest one. But the context of the sound is also important. A 'silent' or voiceless (technical term is voiceless, silent is reserved for a variation of the l sound these days, iirc) sound can start to carry voice if it's embedded between other voiceless sounds. This can be within a word, but also if a word starts with a voiceless sound, but is preceded by a voiced word. The sound then typically also becomes embedded in voice and starts to carry voice as well, because it is technically harder for your mouth to cut off voice for just one consonant.
So, technical reasons for pronouncing or not pronouncing the b in subtle? Most important one, always, is that if you can drop a sound without confusion arising for its meaning but making the effort to pronounce it lighter (not having to fully close your lips and block the air coming out is the main one here), this is very likely to happen. (The reason it stays in writing is mainly because the b still helps to indicate how the u should be pronounced - your mouth still moves into the direction of making the b, but doesn't need to go all the way there)
Ok, gotta go back to work and these are just some quick jabs, but if there are more questions, shoot.
Some quick shots here: jag wasn't always pronounced jag. Just think of what the Norwegians do already.
(pronounce what is basically the exact same word as 'yaiy' instead of 'yah'). However, the history of how words are written can very often become rather obscure, especially in English. The h in where and why indicates aspiration. You can do all sorts of things with consonants, among which add or remove voice (trembling of the vocal chords), friction (typically between any parts involved in creating a sound except the vocal chords, for instance lower lip and teeth, aka labio-dental sounds), and aspiration. The w indicates a position of the mouth (lips, uvula, tongue, etc.) at the start of the sound you are going to make. Aspiration means breathing out while you make the sound. If you start this aspiration early, you get the typical "hwhere" sound that some people make.
And that brings me to that the actual implementation by people of course depends strongly on the region ... there can be many varations, although they all strongly tend to evolve towards the easiest one. But the context of the sound is also important. A 'silent' or voiceless (technical term is voiceless, silent is reserved for a variation of the l sound these days, iirc) sound can start to carry voice if it's embedded between other voiceless sounds. This can be within a word, but also if a word starts with a voiceless sound, but is preceded by a voiced word. The sound then typically also becomes embedded in voice and starts to carry voice as well, because it is technically harder for your mouth to cut off voice for just one consonant.
So, technical reasons for pronouncing or not pronouncing the b in subtle? Most important one, always, is that if you can drop a sound without confusion arising for its meaning but making the effort to pronounce it lighter (not having to fully close your lips and block the air coming out is the main one here), this is very likely to happen. (The reason it stays in writing is mainly because the b still helps to indicate how the u should be pronounced - your mouth still moves into the direction of making the b, but doesn't need to go all the way there)
Ok, gotta go back to work and these are just some quick jabs, but if there are more questions, shoot.
Those will also roll their Rs (rrrr). And school you if you ever do lazy pronounciation (eg. firty-free instead of thirty three)
Cheers
No, it never was. Still isn't (generally).
Just think of what the Norwegians do already.
I don't know about Norwegians, but as far as the Swedish language goes, it was always "ja", for as long back they can track it. Or at least that's what they said on TV, and everything that's on TV is true!
No, why?
Everyone should! The flat Rs in English and other languages is believed to come from some French dude in the 1700s (IIRC) that had a speech impairment, and somehow that way to pronounce it catched on and spread across Europe. It reached as far as southern Sweden. People in the region of Skåne has flat Rs too, while the rest of us speak properly.
No, it never was. Still isn't (generally).
Sorry, that's what I meant.
I've lived in Sweden for a year and have a lot of relatives in Norway, and yes, you are right. I just forgot to type it phonetically the second time, it always sounds like (que bad German accent in US movies) 'ja' in my head.
As in 'Jag heter Arvin och jag kan skriva lite (på) Svenska. ' (yes, I even memorised alt-134 because of this weird language. )
