I'm looking for words which can have different meanings, depending on how they are pronounced. [more inside]
posted on Jun 2, 2008 - 25 answers

How do you pronounce the word 'read' when used in the following context? -- 'John is dry (read: boring).' /rɛd/ or /rid/ Thanks!
posted on May 29, 2008 - 121 answers

pronunciationfilter: how do i mitigate the awkwardness of correcting someone who is pronouncing my name wrong after a significant amount of time has already passed? [more inside]
posted on May 5, 2008 - 24 answers

How do I pronounce POGGE? [more inside]
posted on Apr 16, 2008 - 9 answers

What are some totally awesome free online ESL resources that focus specifically on how to produce the correct sounds in English words for people whose native languages don't contain them? [more inside]
posted on Apr 5, 2008 - 3 answers

How do I pronounce some of my favorite authors' names? (Names inside.) [more inside]
posted on Mar 26, 2008 - 26 answers

I have a desperate need to gain some basic command over Sanskrit terms written in the English alphabet (i.e. with the diacritical marks). Can someone point me to a no-nonsense pronunciation guide, as I am having difficulty finding one that doesn't assume preexisting linguistics knowledge.
posted on Mar 22, 2008 - 3 answers

Regional dialect or dyslexic family? Switching the "r" with a vowel at the beginning of words. [more inside]
posted on Mar 7, 2008 - 24 answers

What is the correct phonetic pronunciation for Tite Kubo (creator of Bleach)? Thanks! [more inside]
posted on Mar 7, 2008 - 3 answers

Iraqi first names Zainab, Aysha and Nour: how should I pronounce them? (For each name: how do the vowels sound [in comparison with an English word], how many syllables does the name have, and which syllable is accented?)
posted on Feb 7, 2008 - 8 answers

What is the correct way to pronounce the name of the feminist/psychoanalytic critic Mary Jacobus? Which syllable is stressed?
posted on Feb 3, 2008 - 9 answers

Did you ever receive explicit instruction on how to pronounce "February" from someone who is considered an authority on such things? Is saying FEB-roo-air-y more common than FEB-you-air-y? [more inside]
posted on Jan 8, 2008 - 51 answers

In a conversation consisting entirely of English speakers, how should I pronounce the name Jorge Luis Borges? [more inside]
posted on Jan 7, 2008 - 47 answers

I'm a native speaker of English but I pronounce some words incorrectly. What other words am I pronouncing wrong? [more inside]
posted on Dec 30, 2007 - 146 answers

WastingThisWeek'sQuestionFilter: How do the locals pronounce "Cicott" in Lake Cicott, IN, USA? I've driven through that fair burg many many times in the last 25 years, and every time, I wonder the same thing. It's ambiguous from a phonetics standpoint, and Hoosiers don't seem to care a fig for phonetics anyway, when place names are involved. Please help me astound my traveling companions the next time I'm traversing beautiful Indiana.
posted on Dec 6, 2007 - 6 answers

How do you pronounce the last name of the anthropologist Peter Geschiere? [more inside]
posted on Dec 6, 2007 - 4 answers

What books/courses/web tutorials would you recommend to help me learn the Received Pronunciation (BBC) English accent? [more inside]
posted on Nov 20, 2007 - 9 answers

How best can a teacher address an ESL student's lisp or other speech impediments? [more inside]
posted on Oct 23, 2007 - 5 answers

How do you pronounce them when it's stressed? For instance, "Don't give it to me, give it to THEM." [more inside]
posted on Sep 14, 2007 - 58 answers

What celebrities (living or dead) do you consider to speak with a "standard" American accent? I'm developing a pronunciation model for use in ESL teaching. [more inside]
posted on Sep 4, 2007 - 30 answers

AccentFilter: What makes a New England accent recognizable? [more inside]
posted on Sep 1, 2007 - 22 answers

How do you pronounce the name "Georges" (for a male)?
posted on Jul 31, 2007 - 27 answers

Devanagari / Hindi pronunciation question: help an (American) English speaker figure out some of the dental consonants. [more inside]
posted on May 24, 2007 - 15 answers

I'm looking for a good Czech pronunciation guide. [more inside]
posted on May 17, 2007 - 4 answers

A question about languages. [more inside]
posted on Apr 16, 2007 - 58 answers

How do you pronounce the last name Vafai? I think that it is Iranian.
posted on Feb 12, 2007 - 8 answers

How can I most practically improve my speaking voice? In everyday conversation I often mumble, slur words or speak too fast. I am not looking on ways to become a better public speaker, but to improve the articulation and speech patterns of everyday conversation. [more inside]
posted on Feb 11, 2007 - 16 answers

I know some people who just can’t seem to get the hang of correctly pronouncing uncommon words, no matter how many times they hear the correct way. These are intelligent, educated people, and at least one is an avid reader, but for some reason they constantly, repeatedly, stumble over certain words. Is there a name for this? [more inside]
posted on Jan 29, 2007 - 72 answers

I am called upon, with short notice, to deliver the Address to a Haggis. I know the words, but I want to make it sound as good as possible; can you point me to a pronunciation guide or - better - a credible recording?
posted on Jan 26, 2007 - 5 answers

One of my favorite writers is Edmund Jabés. However, I have never heard anyone pronounce his name. [more inside]
posted on Jan 16, 2007 - 13 answers

How do you pronounce the possessive "s" following something ending in s or ch? [more inside]
posted on Nov 12, 2006 - 33 answers

How does one pronounce the word "exquisitos"? [more inside]
posted on Sep 29, 2006 - 15 answers

How do I pronounce 'principessa'? [more inside]
posted on Sep 12, 2006 - 7 answers

Need help pronouncing some Cantonese (preferably audio) [more inside]
posted on Sep 5, 2006 - 10 answers

Can anyone recommend websites that would be useful for Chinese people wanting to learn English? [more inside]
posted on Aug 18, 2006 - 2 answers

How is this Palestinian name pronounced? [more inside]
posted on May 10, 2006 - 14 answers

Does anyone know how "Coenties" is currently pronounced, as in "Coenties Slip?" [more inside]
posted on Mar 20, 2006 - 4 answers

I have three (linked) questions: According to this page, On the Road was adapted to radio for France Culture. I'd like to get my hands on a recording of this. I looked for a while, but Radio France doesn't seem to provide a way to buy radio shows on disc, and it looks like it was only aired once. [more inside]
posted on Feb 28, 2006 - 3 answers

GermanLanguageFilter/TheologyFilter. What is the correct pronunciation of the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr's name? Definitive opinions sought. [more inside]
posted on Feb 26, 2006 - 10 answers

How do you pronounce Murinae?
posted on Nov 30, 2005 - 19 answers

I've noticed lately a lot of people with a curious pronunciation tic that involves words with "str" in them. They will seemingly add a kind of 'h' sound, so that street sounds like "shhtreet," rather than street. Has anybody else noticed this, and any ideas where it comes from and why it seems to be gaining ascendancy? I thought it might be an East Coast thing, but I'm not sure...
posted on Sep 2, 2005 - 35 answers

Speakin' Rightwise, I am talking funny lately. Anyone else? [more inside]
posted on Jul 15, 2005 - 22 answers

In the US, the first syllable of "privacy" rhymes with "eye." In the UK, it rhymes with "give." So why, when listening to an audiobook, did I hear a British reader (with a standard British dialect) pronounce it the American way? Was the reader just being weird, or is the pronunciation of "privacy" becoming Americanized? Are there any other common Brit-pronunciations that are migrating across the pond? [more inside]
posted on May 8, 2005 - 22 answers

København, aka Copenhagen. Is it pronounced ko’p?n ha’g?n OR ko’p?n hä’g?n? [more inside]
posted on Apr 18, 2005 - 22 answers

I am a great admirer of the writings of New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier, but I am shy about recommending him to friends because I can't pronounce his name. How do you pronounce Wieseltier?
posted on Mar 23, 2005 - 5 answers

Phonetic Swedish: How do I pronounce the words of this song? [more inside]
posted on Mar 16, 2005 - 4 answers

A friend of ours reads Us Weekly (tabloid news magazine). That's not the problem, I like me some celebrity gossip as well. However, she pronounces it "You Ess Weekly" (ike U.S. News and World Report) vs "Us Weekly" (which I would assume from the spelling/punctuation). I figured this was an aberration, until I heard someone on TV using the same pronunciation. So - how is it actually pronounced? I'd like to keep laughing on the inside when she says it. Bonus points if you can tell me how to google for this - I'm stumped.
posted on Feb 9, 2005 - 23 answers

I'm sure I'm mangling the pronunciation, and I'm sure I misheard a few syllables, but last night while waiting for a bus in Brooklyn, a man came up to me and more than once said something that sounded like "Sheh-deh-mah-shen-see." Does it mean anything?
Some clues: He was polish, also spoke -- in english -- about having just gotten out of a hospital, about how he was crazy, about how his wife was in poland, not america, about how he hadn't eaten, about how he was crazy, about "oh my god" (x3). I gave him some food and a cigarette: he walked a few paces away, looked up at the windows of a second-floor gym, laughed, and did a little dance that mimicked the man on the treadmill. Oh, and he kept apologizing: "I'm so sorry. I so crazy. Oh my God." (x3). Any ideas? I hope to see him again, and I hope to be able to reply appropriately.
posted on Feb 8, 2005 - 15 answers

I need an application (preferably web based) in which I can enter a word, including surnames, and get the phonetic spelling in return. Any ideas?
posted on Feb 1, 2005 - 7 answers

Portuguese pronunciation. I'm a fan of Brazilian singer/songrwriter Jorge Ben. How do you pronunce his first name? I've heard "Yor-gay", "Hor-hay", "Zhorzhj", and plain ol' "George".
posted on Dec 17, 2004 - 14 answers