Pronouncing "been" as though it were spelt "bin" has become common in recent years, yet "seen" hasn't become "sin".
How do you pronounce "been"?
How do you pronounce "been"?
Been in the bin?
May I ask why you would do that? Is not the difference in spelling a strong pointer to a difference in pronunciation?
I pronounce "been" exactly the same as "bin". Yep, that pronunciation has bin becoming common here.
<<May I ask why you would do that?>>
Why what? Why I'd pronounce "been" as "bin"?
Why what? Why I'd pronounce "been" as "bin"?
<<Is not the difference in spelling a strong pointer to a difference in pronunciation?>>
Nope. "too", "to" and "two" are all spelt differently, but pronounced the same way. Nothing different applies to "been" and "bin".
Nope. "too", "to" and "two" are all spelt differently, but pronounced the same way. Nothing different applies to "been" and "bin".
Pronouncing "been" as "bin" never causes confusion. No one's ever misunderstood me because I didn't distinguish "been" and "bin".
As in "been" which rhymes with "bean" which rhymes with "clean" which rhymes with "mean" which rhymes with "lean" and so on ad infinitum.
Big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,
And little fleas have smaller fleas,
And so on ad infinitum....
**"seen" hasn't become "sin"**
Depends what you're looking at.
Big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,
And little fleas have smaller fleas,
And so on ad infinitum....
**"seen" hasn't become "sin"**
Depends what you're looking at.
It's the nature of very common words to sometimes get simplified, and that's what has happened to "been" for many people. (Spelling in English is often NOT a good clue as to pronunciation!)
You will see this phenomenon in other words like "says" (pronounced "sez"), and "said" (pr. "sed").
You will see this phenomenon in other words like "says" (pronounced "sez"), and "said" (pr. "sed").
At least here, "been" and "bin" are always homophones, being pronounced as [bI~:n].
And yes, as Uriel says, it is very common for, well, very common wordforms to have pronunciations that do not fit how they are written at all, or in the case of the past tense/past participle forms of common weak verbs, to be irregular.
And yes, as Uriel says, it is very common for, well, very common wordforms to have pronunciations that do not fit how they are written at all, or in the case of the past tense/past participle forms of common weak verbs, to be irregular.
<<It's not common here (Aus). Here "been" rhymes with "seen".>>
Well I'm from Australia and I do pronounce "been" as "bin" in fast speech.
Well I'm from Australia and I do pronounce "been" as "bin" in fast speech.
I didn't say it wasn't heard here, just that it is not common, although it may be frequently heard from those who have had few birthdays.