1、GuidetoPronunciationPronunciationisnotanintrinsiccomponentofthedictionaryForsomelanguagessuchasSpanish.Swahili,andFinnish,thecorrespondencebetweenorthographyandpronunciationissoclosethatadictionaryneedonlyspellawordcorrectlytoindicateitspronunciation.ModemEnglish,however,displaysnosuchconsistencyins

2、oundandspelling,andsoadictionaryofEnglishmustdevoteconsiderableattentiontothepronunciationofthelanguageTheEnglishlexiconcontainsnumerouseyerhymessuchaslove,move,androve,wordswhichdonotsoundalikedespitetheirsimilarspellings.Ontheotherhand.italsocontainsrhymingwordssuchasbreeze,cheese,ease,frieze,ands

3、leazewhoserhymesareallspelleddifferently.ThisgrandmismatchbetweenwordsthatlookalikeandwordsthatsoundalikedoesatleastservetorecordsomethingofthehistoryoftheEnglish-speakingpeoplesandtheirlanguageSpellingoftenindicateswhetherawordcomesdownfromthenativeAnglo-Saxonwordstockorwasadoptedinsuccessiveagesfr

4、omthespeechofamissionarymonkchantingLatin,aseafaringVikingdickeringinOldNorse,aNormannoblemangivingordersinFrench.orayoungimmigranttotum-of-the-centuryAmericaForexamplethesoundshisspelledasshinnativeEnglishshore,aschintheFrenchloanchampagne.asskinonepronunciationoftheNonvegianloanski,assiintheRenais

5、sanceLatinloanemulsion,andasschintherecentYiddishloanschlep.Englishvowelspresentdifferentcomplexitiesofsoundandspelling,dueinlargeparttothefactthatWilliamCaxtonintroducedprintingtoEnglandinAD1476.manydecadesbeforethesoundchangeknownastheGreatVowelShifthadrunitscourseWiththeriseofprintingcameanincrea

6、singlyfixedsetofspellingconventions.buttheconventionalizedspellingssoonlosttheirconnectiontopronunciationasthevowelshiftcontinued.ThestressedvowelsofsaneandsanityarethereforeidenticalinspellingthoughnowquitedifferentinqualityForthetrainedobserverthevagariesofEnglishorthographycontainawealthoflinguis

7、tichistory;formostothers,however,thisdisparitybetweensoundandspellingisjustacontinualnuisanceatschoolorwoTk.Readersoftenturntothedictionarywantingtolearntheexactpronunciationofaword,onlytodiscoverthatthewordmayhaveseveralpronunciationsasisthecasefordeity,economic,envelope,andgreasy,amongmanyoth-eTST

8、heinclusionofvariantpronunciationsdisappointsthosewhowanttheirdictionarytolistone“correctpronunciationIntruth.though.therecanbenoobjectivestandardforcorrectpronunciationotherthantheusageofthoughtfuland.inparticulareducatedspeakersofEnglishAmongsuchspeakersonehearsmuchvariationinpronunciation.Diction

9、ariesofEnglishbeforethemodemerausuallyignoredpronunciationvariants,insteadindicatingasinglepronunciationbymarkingtheentrywordwithdiacriticstoindicatestressandlettervaluesThesesystemswerecumbersome,however,andreflectedthedialectalbiasesoftheeditorsmorethanthefactsabouthowawordwasactuallyspokenLexicog

10、rapherscameeventuallytorecognizetheneedforseparaterespellingswhichcouldrecordtheentirerangeofacceptedvariantsalongwithappropriatenotesaboutdialectaldistributionorusageThisdictionaryrecordsmanytypesofvariationinpronunciationDistinctionsbetweenBritishandAmericanspeecharefrequentlynoted,asaredifference

11、samongthethreemajordialectareasoftheU.S.Northern.Southern.andMidlandWordsthathavedistinctivepronunciationsinCanada,suchasdecalandkhaki,havethosepronunciationsdulynotedPronunciationspeculiartocertainspheresofactivityarealsorepresented.asforexamplethevariantsofathwartandtackleheardinnauticaluse.Finall

12、y,awiderangeofunpredictablevariationsareincluded,suchasthepronunicationofeconomicwitheithereore.Unpredictablevariationsfrequentlycutacrosstheboundariesofgeographicaldialects,sometimesrunningalongthelinesofsocialclass,ethnicity,orgenderinstead.Infine,thisdictionaryattemptstoincludeitherexplicitlyorby

13、implicationallpronunciationvariantsofawordthatareusedbyeducatedspeakersoftheEnglishlanguageThepronunciationsinthisdictionaryareinformedchieflybytheMerriam-Websterpronunciationfile.ThisfilecontainscitationsthataretranscriptionsofwordsusedbynativespeakersofEnglishinthecourseofutterancesheardinspeeches

14、,interviews,andconversations.Inthisextensivecollectionof3x5slipsofpaper,onefindsthepronunciationsofahostofpeople:politicians,professors,curators,artists,musicians,doctors,engineerspreachers,activists,journalists,andmanyothersTheMerriamWebsterpronunciationeditorshavebeencollectingthesecitationsfromli

15、vespeechandfromradio,television,andshortwavebroadcastssincethe1930sItisprimarilyonthebasisofthislargeandgrowingfilethatquestionsofusageandacceptabilityinpronunciationareansweredAllofthepronunciationsrecordedinthisbookcanbedocumentedasfallingwithintherangeofgenerallyacceptablevariation,unlesstheyarea

16、ccompaniedbyarestrictingusagenoteorsymboloraregionallabelNosystemofindicatingpronunciationisself，explanatoryThefollowingdiscussionsetsoutthesignificationanduseofthepronunciationsymbolsinthisbook,withspecialattentiontothoseareaswhereexperiencehasshownthatdictionaryusersmayhavequestions.Moredetailedin

17、formationcanbefoundintheGuidetoPronunciationinWebstersThirdNewInternationalDictionary.TheorderofsymbolsdiscussedbelowisthesameastheorderonthepageofPronunciationSymbols,withtheexceptionthatthesymbolswhicharenotlettercharactersareherelistedfirst.ThosecharacterswhichhavecorrespondingsymbolsintheInterna

18、tionalPhoneticAlphabet(IPA)areshownwiththeirIPAequivalents.Allpronunciationinformationisprintedbetweenreversedvirgules.Pronunciationsymbolsareprintedinromantypeandallotherinformation,suchaslabelsandnotesisprintedinitalics.VAhigh-setstressmarkprecedesasyllablewithIprimary(strongest)stress;alow-setmar

19、kpi*ecedesasyllablewithsecondary(medium)stress;athirdlevelofweakstressrequiresnomarkatall:penmoniShipSincethenineteenthcenturytheInternationalPhoneticsAssociationhasrecommendedthatstressmarksprecedethestressedsyllable,andlinguistsworldwidehaveadoptedthispracticeonthebasicprinciplethatbeforeasyllable

20、canbeutteredthespeakermustknowwhatdegreeofstresstogiveit.Hyphensareusedtoseparatesyllablesinpi*onunciationtranscriptionsInactualspeechofcourse,thereisnopausebetweenthesyllablesofaword.Theplacementofhyphensisbasedonphoneticprinciples,suchasvowellength.nasalization,variationduetothepositionofaconsonan

21、tinasyllable.andothernuancesofthespokenwoTd.Thesyllablebreaksshowninthisbookreflectthecarefulpronunciationofasinglewordoutofcontext.Syllabicationtendstochangeinrapidorrunningspeech:aconsonantattheendofasyllablemayshiftintoafollowingsyllable,andunstressedvowelsmaybeelided.Thenumerousvariationsinpronu

22、nciationthatawordmayhaveinrunningspeechareofinteresttophoneticiansbutarewelloutsidethescopeofadictionaryofgeneralEnglishThecentereddotsinboldfaceentrywordsindicatepotentialend-of-linedivisionpointsandnotsyllabication.Thesedivisionpointsaredeterminedbyconsiderationsofbothmorphologyandpronunciationamo

23、ngothers.Furtherdiscussionofend-of-linedivisioniscontainedinthesectionofthatnamewithintheExplanatoryNotes.Inthisbookaconsistentapproachhasbeenpursued.bothtowardworddivisionbasedontraditionalformulasandtowardsyllabicationbasedonphoneticprinciples.Asaresult,thehyphensindicatingsyllablebreaksandthecent

24、ereddotsindicatingend-of-linedivisionoftendonotfallinthesameplacesParenthesesareusedinpronunciationstoindi-vzcatethatwhateverissymbolizedbetweenthemispresentinsomeutterancesbutnotinothers;thusfactoryVfak-t(a-)reispronouncedbothVfak-te-reXand*fak-tre.industryVin-Qdas-treXispronouncedbothVin-das-trean

25、dVin-idas-treX.Insomephoneticenvironments,asinfenceVfen(t)sandboilb6i(o)l.itmaybedifficulttodeterminewhetherthesoundshowninparenthesesisorisnotpresentinagivenutterance;eventheusageofasinglespeakermayvaryconsiderably.Variantpronunciationsareseparatedbycom-9,mas;groupsofvariantsareseparatedbysemicolon

26、sTheorderofvariantsdoesnotmeanthatthefirstisinanywaypreferabletoormoreacceptablethantheothersAllofthevariantsinthisbook,exceptthoserestrictedbyaregionalorusagelabel,arewidelyusedinacceptableeducatedspeechIfevidencerevealsthataparticularvariantisusedmorefrequentlythananother,theformerwillbegivenfirst

27、.Thisshouldnot.however,prejudiceanyoneagainstthesecondorsubsequentvariantsInmanycasesthenumericaldistributionofvariantsisequal,butoneofthem,ofcourse.mustbeprintedfirst.Theobelus,ordivisionsignisplacedbeforeapronunciationvariantthatoccursineducatedspeechbutthatisconsideredbysometobequestionableorunac

28、ceptableThissymbolisusedsparinglyandprimarilyforvariantsthathavebeenobjectedtooveraperiodoftimeinprintbycommentatorsonusageinschoolsbyteachers,orincorrespondencethathascometotheMerriam-Webstereditorialdepartment.InmostcasestheobjectionisbasedonorthographicoretymologicalargumentsForinstance,thesecond

29、variantofcupolaVkyu-pslo.thoughusedfrequentlyinspeechisobjectedtobecauseaisveryrarelypronounceddinEnglish.ThepronunciationVliber-eXissimilarlymarkedattheentryforlibrarybecausesomepeopleinsistthatboth尸sshouldbepronouncedinunstressedsyllablesasinbanana,collideabut9(IPAa).Thisneutralvowel,calledsc屁a.ma

30、yberepresentedorthographicallybyanyofthelettersa,e,ito.u.ytandbymanycombinationsoflettersInrunningspeechunstressedvowelsareregularlypronouncedasoinAmericanandBritishspeechSpeakersofr-droppingdialectswillofteninsertanrafterawhenoprecedesanothervowel.(Seethesectiononr.)iinstressedsyllablesasinhumdrum,

31、abut.9，(ipaa)Somespeakerspronounce怡anddidenticallybefore1.withtheresultthatwordpairslikegullandgoalarehomophonesThesoundproducedinsuchcasesisusuallythesamesoundthatotherspeakersusefor60immediatelypreceding1.n,m,i).asinbat-tie.cottoandonepronunciationofopenpmandofand屯asinonepronunciationofthephraselo

32、ckandkeyXjlak-ij-keX.ThesymbolVprecedingtheseconsonantsdoesnotitselfrepresentasoundItsignifiessteadthatthefollowingconsonantissyllabic;thatis.theconsonantitselfformsthenucleusofasyllablethatdoesnotcontainavowel.InthepronunciationofsomeFrenchorFrench-derivedwords*isplacedimmediatelyafter1m.rtoindicat

33、eonenonsyllabicpronunciationoftheseconsonants,asintheFrenchwordstabletable.prisme“pTism.”andtitre“title.”eachofwhichinisolationandinsomecontextsisaone-syllablewordasinfurther,merger,bird(IPA箋歩)(SeetheOFsectiononr.)Actually,thisisusuallyasinglesound,notasequenceofofollowedbyrSpeakersofr-droppingdiale

34、ctswillpronouncearwithoutr-color(IPA3：,a:whenstressed.whenunstressed)whenitprecedesaconsonantorpause,butwillinsertafollowingrwhenarprecedesanothervowel.VIasintwodifferentpronunciationsofhurry.MostU.S.speakerspronounceVhar-eXwiththearrepresentingthesamesoundsasinbirdbordUsuallyinmetropolitanNewYorkan

35、dsouthernEnglandandfrequentlyinNewEnglandandthesoutheasternU.S.thevowelismuchthesameasthevowelofhumfollowedbyasyllable-initialvarietyofr.ThispronunciationofhurryisrepresentedasinthisbookBothtypesofpronunciationareshownforwordscomposedofasinglemeaningfulunit(ormorpheme)asincurrent,hurryandworry，Inwor

36、dssuchasfurry,stirring.andpurringinwhichavowelorvowel-initialsuffixisaddedtoawordendinginrorrr(asfur.stir,andpurr),thesecondtypeofpronunciationoutlinedaboveisheardonlyoccasionallyandisnotshowninthisdictionaryasinmat.mapmad.gag.snap,patch(1PA).aSomevariationinthisvowelisoccasionedbytheconsonantthatfo

37、llowsit;thus,forsomespeakersmap.mad,andgaghavenoticeablydifferentvowelsounds.Thereisaverysmallnumberofwordsotherwiseidenticalinpronunciationthatthesespeakersmaydistinguishsolelybyvariationofthisvowel,asinthetwowordscan(putintocans;beable)inthesentence“Letscanwhatwecan.”However,thisdistinctionissuffi

38、cientlyinfrequentthatthetraditionalpracticeofusingasinglesymbolisfollowedinthisbookManyvarietiesofEnglishdonotallowatobefollowedbyanrwhichbeginsthefollowingsyllableInsuchacase,thesequenceofa-risreplacedbyer.andwordpairslikearrowandaeroarehomophones.Thisisnotalwaysindicatedintranscription.Thereadersh

39、ouldassumethatanysequencesofa-rwillbeerforsuchspeakersWhenitprecedes.aisoftenfollowedbyaysoundTheresultingvowelsoundsmuchlikeaformanyspeakers%-%asinday.fadedateaorta,drape,cape(IPAe,3.el.eiDInmostEnglishspeechthisisactuallyadiphthongInlowlandSouthCarolinaincoastalGeorgiaandFlorida,andoccasionallyels

40、ewhereaispronouncedasamonophthongAsadiphthongahasafirstelementeormonophthongalaandasecondelementiBefore1speakersmaylosethesecondelementiandinsertoThus,awordlikealewouldbeIPAeal.Alternately.manyspeakerswillkeepthesecondelementiandaddafollowingawhichcreatesanewsyllableThus,thewordtrailwillbeXra-alX.rh

41、ymingwithbetrayal.gasinbother,cot(IPAa).Thesymbolarepre-asentsthevowelofcot,cod,andthestressedvowelofcollarinthespeechofthosewhopronouncethisvoweldifferentlyfromthevowelincaught,cawed,andcaller.representedbydInUSspeechaispronouncedwithlittleornoroundingofthelips,anditisfairlylongindurationespecially

42、beforevoicedconsonantsInsouthernEnglandaisusuallyaccompaniedbysomeliproundingandisrelativelyshortinduration.ThevoweldgenerallyhasappreciableliproundingManyU.Sspeakersdonotdistinguishbetweencotaught,codcawed,andcollaraller.usuallybecausetheylackorhavelessliproundinginthewordstranscribedwith6Thoughthe

43、symbolsaanddareusedthroughoutthisbooktodistinguishthemembersoftheabovepairsandsimilarwords,thespeakerswhorhymethesepairswillautomaticallyreproduceasoundthatisconsistentwiththeirownspeech.Intranscriptionofforeignwords.thesymbolaisalsousedtorepresent1PAa,avowelwhichisgenerallypronouncedfartherforwardi

44、nthemouththanabutnotasfarfonvardasaSomespeakersmayalsohavesuchavowelinwordslikebalmwhichcontrastswiththevowelinwordslikebomb.Suchacontrastisrare.however,anditisnotrepresentedinthisdictionarySpeakersofr-droppingdialectswillusuallyinsertanrafterawhenaprecedesanothervowel.(Seethesectiononr.)asincar.hea

45、rt.aardvark,bazaarbizarre(IPAaTaa1.Theinitialelementofthisdiphthongmayvaryfromatoavowelpronouncedfartherfonvardinthemouththanatoritmaybeavowelwithsomeliproundingresembling6Speakersofr-droppingdialectswillpronouncearasalongvowel(IPAa:,a:)whenitprecedesaconsonantorpause.andmaydistinguisharincartfromai

46、ncotbythelengthandqualityofthevowel,notbythepresenceofrHowever,speakersofr-droppingdialectswillusuallyinsertanrafterarwhenitprecedesavowel.(Seethesectiononr.)iasinnow,loudout(IPAau.auDTheinitialaUelementofthisdiphthongmayvaryfromatoatthefirstbeingmorecommoninSouthernandsouthMidlandspeechthanelsewher

47、eIncoastalareasofthesouthernU.S.andinpartsofCanadathisdiphthongisoftenrealizedasauwhenimmediatelyprecedingavoicelessconsonant,asinthenounhouseandinout.ManyvarietiesofEnglishdonotallowautobefollowedby1inthesamesyllableSpeakersofsuchvarietieswillinsertafollowingawhichcreatesanewsyllable.Thisisindicate

48、dbythetranscriptionau(-a)lForsuchspeakers,owlwillrhymewithavowal.Also,manyvarietiesofEnglishdonotallowautobefollowedbyrinthesamesyllableSpeakersofsuchvarietieswilltransformthefollowingrintoar.thuscreatinganewsyllableThisisindicatedbythetranscriptionau(-a)rForsuchspeakers.scourwillrhymewithplowerbasi

49、nbaby,rib(IPAb).仏勢mchin,natureVna-charX(IPAtf)Actual-Ctlly.thissoundist+sh.Thedistinctionbetweenthephraseswhychooseandwhiteshoesismaintainedbyadifferenceinthesyllabicationofthetandtheshineachcaseandtheconsequentuseofdifferentvarieties(orallophones)oftKasindid,adder(1PAd).(SeethesectionontQbelowforad

50、iscussionoftheflapallophoneofd.)Manyspeakerspronouncedlikejwhenitoccursbeforerinthesamesyllable.asinbet,bed.peck(IPAe).InSouthernandvMidlanddialectsthisvowelbeforenasalconsonantsoftenhasaraisedarticulationthatapproximatesi.sothatpenhasnearlythepronunciationpinManyvarietiesofEnglishdonotallowetobefol

51、lowedbyanrwhichbeginsthefollowingsyllableInsuchacase,thesequenceoferisreplacedbyer.andwordpairslikeveryandvaryarehomophonesThisisnotalwaysindicatedintranscription.Thereadershouldassumethatanysequencesofe-rwillbeerforsuchspeakersasinbare,fairwear,derrieremillionairevl(IPAeas/)Theinitialelementofthisd

52、iphthongmayvaryfrometoaSpeakersofr-droppingdialectswillpronounceerwithoutanyr-coloronthesecondelement(IPAea.ea)whenitprecedesaconsonantorpause,butwillusuallyinsertanraftererwhenitprecedesavowel.(Seethesectiononr.)instressedsyllablesasinbeat,nose-bleedevenly,easy(IPAi)Manywillinsertaafterewhenitprece

53、des1Additionally,somespeakerspronounceeandiidenticallybefore1.withtheresultthatwordpairslikeheelandhillarehomophones.Thesoundpronouncedinsuchcasesmaybeeithereoriaspronouncedbythosewhodistinguishthetwo.inunstressedsyllables,asineasy,mealy(IPAi.I.i).Thoughthefactisnotshowninthisbook.somedialectssuchas

54、southernBritishandsouthernU.S.often,ifnotusuallypronounceiinsteadofunstressede.fasinfifty,cuff(IPAf).gasingo.big.gift(IPAg).hasinhat.ahead(IPAh).仏asinwhaleaspronouncedbythosewhodonot1TWhavethesamepronunciationforbothwhaleandwail.SomeU.S.speakersdistinguishthesetwowordsas*hwaland*walrespectively,thou

55、ghfrequentlyintheUSandusuallyinsouthernEngland*uralisusedforboth.Somelinguistsconsiderhwtobeasinglesoundavoicelessw(IPAm)；asintip.banish,active(IPA.I)1Somespeakerspronounceeandiidenticallybefore1.withtheresultthatwordpairslikeheelandhillarehomophonesThesoundpronouncedinsuchcasesmaybeeithereoriaspron

56、ouncedbythosewhodistinguishthetwo.Whenitprecedesi)tiisoftenfollowedbyaysoundTheresultingsoundoftengreatlyresemblese.；asinneardeermerepier.souvenir(IPAio.111刃)TheinitialelementofthisdiphthongmayvaryfrometoiSpeakersofr-droppingdialectswillpronounceirwithoutanyr-coloronthesecondelement(IPAgla)whenitpre

57、cedesaconsonantorpause,butwillusuallyinsertanrafterirwhenitprecedesavowel.(Seethesectiononr.)asinsite.side.buy.tripe(IPAal.ai,oloi)Ac-1tually,thissoundisadiphthong,usuallycomposedofa+iInSouthernspeech,especiallybeforeapauseorvoicedconsonant,asinshyandfive,thesecondelementimaynotbepronounced(IPAa：DCh

58、ieflyineasternVirginia,coastalSouthCarolina,andpartsofCanadathediphthongisapproximatelyo+ibeforevoicelessconsonants,asinniceandwrite(IPAManyvarietiesofEnglishdonotallowitobefollowedby1inthesamesyllable.SpeakersofsuchvarietieswillinsertafollowingawhichcreatesanewsyllableThisisindicatedbythetranscript

59、ionT(o)lForsuchspeakers,filewillrhymewithdenial.Also,manyvarietiesofEnglishdonotallowitobefollowedbyrinthesamesyllable.Speakersofsuchvarietieswilltransformthefollowingrintoar,thuscreatinganewsyllableThisisindicatedbythetranscriptioni(-a)rForsuchspeakers.firewillrhymewithhigherasinjob,gemedge,join,ju

60、dgeActually.thisJsoundisd+zh(IPAfe).Assumingtheangli-cizationofJeannedArcasXzhan-MarkX,thedistinctionbetweenthesentencesTheybetrayJohnDarkandTheybetrayedJeannedArcismaintainedbyadifferenceinthesyllabicationofthedandthezhineachcaseandtheconsequentuseofdifferentvarieties(orallophones)ofd.asinkincook,a