Unit#02
Lesson#2
PRONUNCIATION
LECTURE
Noah Webster (click on link for audio file) If file doesn’t play Go to the Online Library,
Literature, JH English, English 8, Fall Semester.
READ the information given carefully. Look over ALL the examples.
NOTES
One thing you will certainly notice as you look at your dictionary page is the strangelooking symbols that appear between slanted lines.
These are the pronunciation symbols.
Dictionaries use pronunciation symbols to help you learn how each word should sound.
In most cases, you will see a respelling of the word using pronunciation symbols directly
after the boldface entry word.
Each symbol stands for one important sound in English. To help you “decode” each
sound, your dictionary has included special pronunciation keys. In the keys, the
symbols are followed by words that contain the sound of each symbol.
Your dictionary shows the Pronunciation Symbols at the front directly before the
page 1, words beginning with “A”. Refer to this key until you become familiar
with sounds for each symbol.
Pronunciations in the dictionary are broken into smaller sections, called syllables.
Merriam-Webster dictionaries use hyphens with the pronunciation symbols to show the
syllables of a word.
Example:
flea \flē\ (1 syllable)
bed.side \bed-sīd\ (2 syllables)
Some syllables of a word are spoken with greater force, or stress, than others. Three
kinds of stress are shown in Merriam-Webster dictionaries.
Primary stress, or strong stress, is shown by a high mark before a syllable.(look up
optimism p. 741) The first mark seen after the \ (before the first syllable) shows the
primary stress. This means it gets spoken with a little extra force when you say the
word. To see what we mean, try saying the word optimism several times out loud
putting the stress on a different syllable each time. It should sound a little strange to
you when you put the emphasis on the second or third syllable.
Secondary stress, or medium stress, is shown by a low mark before a syllable. The
third syllable of optimism has secondary stress. Secondary stress means the syllable is
spoken with some force, but not as much as with primary stress.
Weak stress has no mark before syllables. These syllables are the ones that are
spoken without much force at all.
Say the word optimism out loud again. Notice the primary and secondary stress
on the syllables in this word.
Many words are pronounced in more than one way. Two or more pronunciations for a
single entry are separated by commas, as in ration (p. 862). The order in which
different pronunciations for the same word are given does not mean that the
pronunciations given first is somehow better or more correct than the others. Both
pronunciations of ration are equally acceptable, for example. You can choose the
pronunciation that sounds most natural to you—you will be correct whichever one you
use.
Sometimes when a second or third pronunciation is show, only part of the pronunciation
of the word changes. When this happens, the dictionary may show only the section that
changes, nauseous (p. 704). To get the full second or third pronunciation of a word, add
the part that changes to the part that does not change.
If two or more entries are spelled the same and have the same pronunciation, your
dictionary will show the pronunciation of only the first of these entries, secure (p. 939)
Because these two words are pronounced alike, they are called homophones. Because
they are also spelled alike, they are also called homographs.
Many compound entries are made up of two or three separated words. If the dictionary
does not show a pronunciation for all or part of such an entry, the missing pronunciation
is the same as that for the individual word or words as given at their own entries. No
pronunciation is show for the entry milk shake (p. 672). This means that the two words
are pronounced just like the separated entries milk and shake.
RESOURCES
Pronunciation Key (copied from Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus)
Pronunciation Explained (page vii)
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ASSIGNMENT
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Answer the following questions completely. Refer back to the lesson
when necessary.
Be sure you have a clear understand of all the terms and definitions, and
how to decode the pronunciation symbols.
Ask for help with any questions you have on this assignment.
When you have finished all the questions, use your answers to complete
the online quiz.
Choose the correct pronunciation for each word below:
1. hunch
a. ‫י‬hench
b. ‫י‬hunch
c. hənch
2. ecology
a. u-‫י‬kal-a-jē
b. i-‫י‬käl-ə-jē
c. e-‫י‬kol-i-je
3. percussion
a. pər-‫י‬kəsh-ən
b. par-‫י‬kich-in
c. por-‫י‬kich-ən
4. shamrock
a. ‫י‬shäm-‫י‬rok
b. ‫י‬sham-rək
c. ‫י‬sham-räk
5. hibernate
a. ‫י‬hī-bər-nāt
b. ‫י‬hi-ber-nat
c. hə-ber-nät
6. fiesta
a. fi-‫י‬es-‫י‬tē
b. fa-‫י‬es-te
c. fē-‫י‬es-tə
7. useful
a. ‫י‬üs-ful
b. ‫י‬yus-fül
c. ‫י‬yüs-fəl
What’s That Word?
Use the pronunciations keys in your dictionary to “decode” the pronunciations on the
left. Match the correct word with the correct pronunciation.
8. hot dog
a. \‫י‬ap-əl\
9. fun
b. \im-aj-ə-‫י‬nā-shən\
10. onion
c. \hōm-wərk\
1. imagination
d. \‫י‬fan\
12. fine
e. \‫י‬en-yən\
13. apple
f. \‫י‬fin\
14. south
g. \‫י‬jī-ənt\
15. fin
h. \‫י‬hät-dóg\
16. homework
i. \‫י‬fən\
17. fan
j. \‫י‬saúth\
18. giant
k. \‫י‬fīn\
Find the Syllables
Look up the following words in your dictionary. Insert hyphens between each of the
syllables.
19. favorable
20. dinosaur
21. runaway
22. outpatient
23. papaya
24. recorder
25. apologize
26. majesty
27. pacific
28. television
EVALUATION
Complete D2.2 online Quiz.
(You have 30 minutes to complete this assignment, so make sure you complete the
entire assignment in one sitting.)