Aloud

Except, "loud" is clearly an adjective, and using it to modify the verb "to speak" would be considered extremely low register.

and, "aloud" is typically used in contrast with "read this to yourself" (no sound at all) and, "please speak only in a whisper." It would not be used to request someone speaking in a normal voice to speak more loudly.

Hi Avangi,

Thanks you very much for your reply. I have some questions as follows:

1.Do you mean loud, loudly and out loud all mean the same and interchangeable here?

2.According to online dictionary, 'aloud' can mean in a loud voice. For example: She cried aloud in protest.
I wonder why 'aloud' can't be used as the same meaning as loud or loudly?

Hmmm. I must have been still asleep when I wrote that.

"Out loud" is very similar in common usage to "aloud." In my experience, if someone is already speaking, and a second person says, "Say it aloud," or "Say it out loud," the implication is that the second person believes the first is whispering, or deliberately speaking inaudibly.

If the first person has not yet be

Hi Anon

AnonymousPlease speak loud/loudly/out loud/aloud, I can't hear you.

Your sentence suggests to me that someone is already saying something out loud/aloud, but that the speaker's voice is not loud enough to hear properly.

For that reason, I would suggest saying something like this:
- Would/Could you speak a little louder, please?

Hi, Yankee. Thanks for the correction. I had no idea! Is this a recent development (i.e., in the last 60 years?) - A.

Hi Avangi

AvangiIs this a recent development (i.e., in the last 60 years?)

I have no idea, really, but it may simply amount to overdue acceptance of common usage. On the other hand, maybe we should look at it as being comparable to constructions using verbs of perception (?). E.g.:

- She looks sick.
- She feels sick.
- She is acting sick.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English lists "loud" as an adverb too: You've got the TV on too loud. Could you speak a little louder?

Can I ask a related thing? Is the "volume" loud or high? Or both? I say the music is loud, and the volume is high. Thanks.

And to answer the original question, to ask someone to speak louder I think I would say "Cou

Hi,
I see! Thanks for all your help.

KooyeenI say the music is loud, and the volume is high.

Good idea. It seems, thank the gods, you're not one of those who talks about "prices being so expensive nowadays" or "the temperature being so hot"!

CJ