0
Kowalski Posted 15 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

"a" pronounced as "eɪ" or "ɘ"?

This hasn't usually been noticed in my everyday speech but now I'm just confused.

The dictionary gives two IPA representations, namely ? and e? (strong form).

My question is when it should be pronounced as ? or e?, especially when it acts as determiners. Thanks.
  

Top answer

/ represents an emphatic form: I asked you to give me a tissue, not a whole package of them!

— Mister Micawber

  • / represents an emphatic form: I asked you to give me a tissue, not a whole package of them!
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

6 Answers
0
/e?/ represents an emphatic form: I asked you to give me a tissue, not a whole package of them!
0
0
KowalskiMy question is when it should be pronounced as ? or e?, especially when it acts as determiners.
In my opinion it should never be pronounced e?, although (and I think this is quite strange) you will hear some television news announcers do that.

CJ
0
0
Mister Micawber/e?/ represents an emphatic form: I asked you to give me a tissue, not a whole package of them!
CalifJim
KowalskiMy question is when it should be pronounced as ? or e?, especially when it acts as determiners.
In my opinion it should never be pronounced e?, although (and I think this
0
0
The change in the pronunciation of 'the' depends on whether it is followed by a consonant or vowel sound, but 'a' does not have that versatility.
0
0
Kowalskiorignially I thought it would be like "the", which is pronounced differently depending on whether the word following it starts with a vowel or consonant.
Well, in a way, the pronunciation of "a" does change when it stands before a vowel. It becomes "an". This is the analog for the two different pronunciations of "the".
0
0
CalifJim
Kowalskiorignially I thought it would be like "the", which is pronounced differently depending on whether the word following it starts with a vowel or consonant.
Well, in a way, the pronunciation of "a" does change when it stands before a vowel. It becomes "an". This is the analog for the two different pronunciations of "the"
0

Related Questions