Editing 2819: Pronunciation

{{comic
| number    = 2819
| date      = August 23, 2023
| title     = Pronunciation
| image     = pronunciation_2x.png
| imagesize = 315x257px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = I pronounce the 'u' in 'pronunciation' like in 'putting' but the 'ou' in 'pronounce' like in 'wound'.
}}

==Explanation==

Pronunciation guides are used in many languages to indicate the commonly accepted way to translate a written word into sound. This can be particularly important in the English language, where the pronunciation of individual letters and of combinations of letters can vary broadly, and there are very few rules that can be applied consistently. As a result, the 'correct' pronunciation of any given word is determined by common usage, and therefore can only be learned either by exposure or by memorizing them from guides. Some guides use the {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}}, but the average person is not familiar with those characters, so most guides written for laypeople instead {{wiktionary|Appendix:English pronunciation|reference familiar words}} that feature the phonemes.

This, of course, presumes that the reader is familiar with the pronunciation of ''those'' words, but the words should be chosen so that a) they're commonly known b) there is only one common pronunciation and c) the pronunciation doesn't vary much between regional accents. The comic seems to be poking fun of this idea by using words which can have vastly different pronunciations even for a single dialect or accent, let alone a geographically spread one, and by extension at how English pronunciation is a mess even at very small scales.

In this strip, though, the selected guide-words are deliberately chosen to be confusing. They are {{w|Heteronym (linguistics)|heteronym}}s – spellings that are used for multiple words with different meaning which are pronounced in very different ways. Moreover for most of them it is the less common homograph which matches the pronunciation in "Tuesday". In other words, how the reader chooses to pronounce each guide-word determines what pronunciation of "Tuesday" they end up with.

To complicate things further, there are multiple 'correct' pronunciations of 'Tuesday', involving different pronunciations of practically every part of the word.

(Note: General American pronunciations are primarily assumed here except when otherwise stated)

{| class="wikitable"
! Guide !! Correct for Tuesday !! Other !! Notes
|-
| Buffe'''t'''
| /ˈbʌf.ɪ'''t'''/ (verb: strike)
| /ˈbʌ.feɪ/ (noun: type of food service where a wide selection of foods are presented for diners to choose from, the table or heated fixture from which the food is served, or (in British English) a low cabinet used to store alcoholic spirits, glasses & plates.)
| The <t> in the "Other" pronunciation is silent (or arguably /ɪ/ or /j/)
|-
| Min'''u'''te
| /maɪˈn'''(j)uː'''t/ (adjective: small)
| /ˈmɪn'''ɪ'''t/ (noun: unit of time)
| There may be no combination of the first two letters which produces the 'correct' pronunciation of 'Tuesday', depending on whether the speaker uses the /ˈtʃuːz.deɪ/, /ˈtjuːz.deɪ/ or /ˈtuːz.deɪ/ form, and whether they include the /j/ sound in 'minute'.
|-
| R'''e'''cord
| /ɹ'''i'''ˈkɔɹd/ (verb: write down/make permanent)
| /ˈɹ'''ɛ'''kərd/ or /ˈɹ'''ɛ'''k.ɚd/ or /ˈɹ'''ɛ'''k.ɔɹd/ (noun: medium containing information; vinyl disc which has sound encoded in a spiral groove embossed on its surface)
| In some dialects the leading 'e' in both words is pronounced identically, though in the case of the noun there is more emphasis on the first syllable.
In others, for the verb it is almost silent, which could perhaps be considered the closest approximation to the "e" in 'Tuesday', which is typically not pronounced at all. It is more practical to consider it part of a digraph with the preceding "u", to change that from being read as something more like /ʌ/ or /ʊ/ into the more rounded /(j)uː/ sound.
|-
| U'''s'''e
| /juː'''z'''/ (verb: to employ a thing for a particular end)
| /juː'''s'''/ (noun: the purpose for which that thing is employed)
| Some pronunciations of 'Tuesday' use a softer sound partway between these two examples.
|-
| Mope'''d'''
| /ˈmoʊ.pɛ'''d'''/ (noun: motor scooter with an engine smaller than 50cc)
| /moʊp'''t'''/ (verb: past tense of "mope," to brood or feel dejected)
| Perhaps less notable than the other letters, as both forms of the letter in question form a hard consonant if applied to 'Tuesday.'
|-
| B'''a'''ss
| /b'''eɪ'''s/ (noun: low-pitched notes and the instruments that play them)
| /b'''æ'''s/ (noun: fish)
| In some pronunciations of 'Tuesday' the 'a' is silent.

/æ/ is also correct in New Zealand English.
|-
| G'''y'''ro
| /ˈj'''iː'''.ɹoʊ/, /ˈj'''ɪ'''ɹoʊ/ or /ˈʒ'''ɪ'''ɹoʊ/ (noun: meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, in Greek cuisine)
| /ˈd͡ʒ'''aɪ'''.ɹoʊ/ (noun: gyroscope)
| The meat can also be pronounced like the gyroscope. Also, in many dialects, the <ay> in Tuesday is pronounced [ɛʲ], in which case both options are wrong.
|}

Following this guide, a pronunciation of Tuesday as /iɛstæaɪ/ is possible. You can hear a pronunciation at [http://ipa-reader.xyz/?text=%C9%AA%C9%9Bst%C3%A6a%C9%AA http://ipa-reader.xyz]. A rather famous prior satirical take on spelling/pronunciation oddities is of the word "{{w|Ghoti}}", as a 'valid' spelling of "Fish".

The title text references how some people pronounce the word "pron'''u'''nciation" like "pron'''ou'''nce" (with /aʊ/) and others use a different vowel (/ʌ/). Here Randall is saying that he pronounces them with the 'u' from "p'''u'''tting" and the 'ou' from "w'''ou'''nd". If we take putting to mean /ˈp'''ʌ'''tɪŋ/ (golf) and wound as /w'''aʊ'''nd/ (coiled), this could mean he pronounces them using the commonly differing pronunciations. However those two words could also be pronounced /ˈp'''ʊ'''tɪŋ/ (placing) and /w'''u'''nd/ (injury), indicating a non-standard way of saying each word. In accents that lack the {{w|Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels#FOOT–STRUT_split|FOOT–STRUT split}}, such as those in the north of England, both versions of "putting" would be pronounced identically.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[The word "Tuesday", with each letter labeled by a box with an arrow:]
:T: As in buffe'''t'''
:u: As in min'''u'''te
:e: As in r'''e'''cord
:s: As in u'''s'''e
:d: As in mope'''d'''
:a: As in b'''a'''ss
:y: As in g'''y'''ro

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Pet peeve: Ambiguous pronunciation guides

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Pet Peeves]]