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Mercyful_fate Posted 15 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

Dictionary pronunciation and IPA

For example, before and message. before in oxford is pronounced behfore "i:" as in she while it's pronounced bihfore in m-w as in sit even though they both have it /b?'fo?/.

And message in both dictionaries is pronounced as mahssage while it's written /'m?s??/ which should be pronounced mehssage as in bed or head.

Also, the words "Merry" and "Marry" they both have the same IPA though dictionaries pronounce them differently.

So which pronunciation is correct, and do dictionaries write the word in IPA and pronounce it differently from IPA or what is written?

References:

(Is this how message is pronounced)

http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/message
http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/dictionary/message

http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/dictionary/before
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/before

http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/merry
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/marry

PS: I like to pronounce words in standard American, standard American pronunciation.

Sorry for making it long.
Thanks all.







  

Top answer

Mercyful_fate Also, the words "Merry" and "Marry" they both have the same IPA though dictionaries pronounce them differently. So which pronunciation is correct, and do dictionaries write the word in IPA and pronounce it differently from IPA or what is written? Experts in American regional accents and phonology often use these three words to locate where the person was born - merry, marry and Mary - because the short /a/ sound is a discriminator.

— AlpheccaStars

  • Mercyful_fate Also, the words "Merry" and "Marry" they both have the same IPA though dictionaries pronounce them differently.
  • So which pronunciation is correct, and do dictionaries write the word in IPA and pronounce it differently from IPA or what is written?
  • Experts in American regional accents and phonology often use these three words to locate where the person was born - merry, marry and Mary - because the short /a/ sound is a discriminator.
  • People in the United States speak with different accents, depending on where they were born.
  • There is no standard American English pronunciation.
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5 Answers
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Mercyful_fateAlso, the words "Merry" and "Marry" they both have the same IPA though dictionaries pronounce them differently.
So which pronunciation is correct, and do dictionaries write the word in IPA and pronounce it differently from IPA or what is written?
Experts in American regional accents and phonology often use these three words to locate wher
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At thefreedictionary.com

in ~truespel notation (see truespel.com for the free converter)

For message I hear USA ~mesij UK ~mesij, speaker icon ~mesij

For before I hear USA ~beefor, UK ~beefoe'u, icon ~buffor

In USA you can hear ~bifor, ~beefor, ~bufor

but also with second syllable stressed, ~biffor, ~beeffor, ~buffor

tom z creator of truesp
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Mercyful_fateI like to pronounce words in standard American, standard American pronunciation.
Then use the m-w site as your model.
____

The youtube pronunciation of 'message' seemed normal to me.

The Oxford 'North American' pronunciation sounded like 'messitch' to me, which isn't even a word. The m-w pronunciation sounded normal.
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CalifJim
Mercyful_fateI like to pronounce words in standard American, standard American pronunciation.
Then use the m-w site as your model.____The youtube pronunciation of 'message' seemed normal to me.The Oxford 'North American' pronunciation sounded like 'messitch' to me, which isn't even a word. The m-w pronunciation sounded normal.
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Mercyful_fateThe YouTube pronunciation of message is as same as the pronunciation in m-w?
I thought so. Very similar if not exactly the same.

CJ
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