|
|
pronunciation of ''CHILDREN''
Hi
I would like to know the correct pronunciation of the word: CHILDREN. Is it [tSIld.@rn] (rhyming with IRON) or [tSIld.r@n] (rhyming with SIREN). thanks a lot
Well neither of those cases would be a rhyme: as far as I know, "iron" doesn't rhyme with anything (although I'm reminded of the German place-name Bayern), and "siren" only rhymes with...Byron. Sharing an unstressed final syllable doesn't count as a rhyme.
Anyway, in answer to your question: essentially the former. The standard pronunciation is either [ˈtʃʰɪɫdɹən] or [ˈtʃʰʊɫdɹən], or something in between. m-w.com does attest [ˈtʃʰɪɫdɚn], as well as [ˈdɪfɚns] for "difference", but I'm not sure how those forms would be perceived: they strike me as weird, at least. (I'm from Massachusetts.)
>>Anyway, in answer to your question: essentially the former. The standard pronunciation is either [ˈtʃʰɪɫdɹən] or [ˈtʃʰʊɫdɹən], or something in between. m-w.com does attest [ˈtʃʰɪɫdɚn], as well as [ˈdɪfɚns] for "difference", but I'm not sure how those forms would be perceived: they strike me as weird, at least. (I'm from Massachusetts.)<<
It should be noted that it is common to have [ɨ̃] rather than [ə̃], [dʒɹ̠] rather than [dɹ], and l-vocalization in such in English dialects. At least around here, for instance, it is [ˈtʃʰɪːɯ̯d̥ʒɹ̠ɨ̃ːn]. Of course, such is rather pedantic to point out here, but all of such are almost certainly more common than pronunciations like [ˈtʃʰɪɫdɚn] (at least in NAE). >>'environ' can rhyme with 'iron'<< At least here, I really have never heard "environs" (note that "environ" is not a separate word in English) actually spoken, but the "environ" part of "environment" [ɨ̃ːˈvə̃ːẽ̯ʁ̩̃ːmːɨ̃ʔ] is similar in pronunciation to "iron" [ˈə̃ːẽ̯ʁ̩̃ːn] aside from place of articulation assimilation between /n/ and /m/.
True, I wasn't being comprehensive. My own pronunciation is [ˈtʃʰʊɫdɹən].
<<(note that "environ" is not a separate word in English)>> Actually it is: dictionary.com attests it as a verb. (Admittedly I haven't heard of it before now.) I pronounce "environ(s)" as [ɪnˈvaɪɚn(z)] and "environment" as [ɪnˈvaɪɚmənt]. "Irony", though, I pronounce as [ˈaɪɹəni].
>>"Irony", though, I pronounce as [ˈaɪɹəni].<<
Both [ˈəːe̯ʁə̃ːniː] and [ˈəːe̯ʁ̩ːniː] are used here for "irony", with [ˈəːe̯ʁə̃ːniː] generally being more careful and formal than [ˈəːe̯ʁ̩ːniː].
I pronounce children /tSE5dr\In/.
My parents who are from New York City pronounce it /ZI5dr\@n/ or something very similar to that.
First off, environ is not a word.
And "iron" is prounounced 'i-ern' not 'i-ruhn', so I don't see how it would rhyme with "environ" given that we have environ as an actual word. And "children" is 'chill-druhn' for me. so it would rhyme w/ siren (last-syllable rhyme). |