Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a
language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific
dialect ("correct pronunciation") or simply the way a particular individual speaks a word or language.
Contested or widely mispronounced words are typically verified by the sources from which they originate, such as names of cities and towns or the word GIF (Graphics Interchange Format).
A word can be spoken in different ways by various individuals or groups, depending on many factors, such as: the duration of the cultural exposure of their childhood, the location of their current residence,
speech or
voice disorders, their
ethnic group, their
social class, or their
education.
Linguistic terminology
Syllables are counted as units of sound (
phones) that they use in their
language. The branch of
linguistics which studies these units of sound is
phonetics. Phones which play the same role are grouped together into classes called
phonemes; the study of these is phonemics or phonematics or
phonology. Phones as components of articulation are usually described using the
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
See also
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Elision
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Elocution
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Epenthesis
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Help:IPA/English — the principal key used in Wikipedia articles to transcribe the pronunciation of English words
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Help:Pronunciation respelling key — a secondary key for pronunciation which mimics English orthography
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Metathesis (linguistics)
References
External links
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Category:Phonetics
Category:Speech
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