Re: OED pronunciation transcriptions

On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:32:00 -0700, Evan Kirshenbaum
<kirshenbaum@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Egbert White <eggwhite@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

The meaning of 'schwa' seems obvious, except that I don't believe an
American would pronounce 'turducken' with a schwa in the second
syllable, since the word is a blend of 'turkey,' 'duck,' and
'chicken.'

Note that MWCD11 gives "duck" as having a schwa.

Yes, MW dictionaries consistently use schwa where I use /V/ in
stressed syllables and schwa for unstressed vowels like the 'o' in
'bacon.' But note that in the transcriptions I copied and pasted, the
OED has 'revv' (IPA reverse V) for the 'duck' in 'turducken.' They
also use 'revv' in the unstressed position in BrE 'productivity':

Brit. /{smm}pr{rfa}d{revv}k{sm}t{shti}v{shtibar}ti/,

so I don't think they go to the extreme that MW dictionaries go to.

(The symbol 'shtibar' stands for the IPA symbol 'i' with a horizontal
bar through the middle of it; i.e., 'short I bar.' The IPA vowels
chart says it's a central high vowel midway between /i/ and /u/, so I
guess we might call it a high schwa. Anyway, I wouldn't attempt to
pronounce it.)

This follows what I learned in Phonetics & Phonology class back in the
'80s: in most American dialects there is no phonemic contrast that
would keep you from deciding that the stressed vowel in "duck", "bud",
"bus", or "above" is /@/, and so you should call it that.

I have suggested two different symbols, [@] and [V], for the vowel
in "bud" ... Most Americans will have a fairly central vowel [@].
But most speakers of British English will have a vowel of this
quality in "bird," and will use the lower vowel [V] in "bud."

I've gotten the impression that most BrE speakers say 'bird' to sound
to me more like /bVd/ than like my /b@rd/. For me, it's an
outstanding characteristic of BrE pronunciation.

Say
the word "above" and note whether the two vowels are approximately
the same. If they are, the most appropriate symbol for both is
[@]. But if you have the same vowel in both syllables of the
phrase "a bird," you should probably transcribe both of them with
[@], and use [V] for the vowel in "bud."

...

I have used [@] for the vowel in "but" for most forms of American
English, restricting the [V] symbol to those forms of English that
distinguish between "bud" and "bird" without using an r-colored
vowel.

Peter Ladefoged, _A Course in Phonetics_, 2e,
1982.

In everyday speech I normally and clearly say /b@t/ for 'but' (with a
vowel like 'o' in 'bacon,' not like the 'u' in "buckin'"), except when
'but' is stressed. I would expect most Americans to do the same.

Incidentally, somewhere Peter Ladefoged (RIP) said that the vowel
corresponding to ASCII IPA /A./ is <i>sometimes</i> rounded. That
makes me tend to look somewhat askance at anything else he said.
--
Egbert White
WAmE
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OED pronunciation transcriptions
    ... American would pronounce 'turducken' with a schwa in the second ... Note that MWCD11 gives "duck" as having a schwa. ... British English makes the distinction. ... But most speakers of British English will have a vowel of this ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: OED pronunciation transcriptions
    ... American would pronounce 'turducken' with a schwa in the second ... Note that MWCD11 gives "duck" as having a schwa. ... I don't think words like "butter" have the same vowel in both syllables. ... A pessimist sees the glass as half empty. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: OED pronunciation transcriptions
    ... American would pronounce 'turducken' with a schwa in the second ... Note that MWCD11 gives "duck" as having a schwa. ... But most speakers of British English will have a vowel of this ... But if you have the same vowel in both syllables of the ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: OED pronunciation transcriptions
    ... American would pronounce 'turducken' with a schwa in the second ... But most speakers of British English will have a vowel of this ... But if you have the same vowel in both syllables of the ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: OED pronunciation transcriptions
    ... American would pronounce 'turducken' with a schwa in the second ... Note that MWCD11 gives "duck" as having a schwa. ... But most speakers of British English will have a vowel of this ... I don't think words like "butter" have the same vowel in both syllables. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
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