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Kooyeen Posted 19 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

He, she ,we

0 Hi,02br
00how are "he", "she" or "we" pronounced? Ok, I know the vowel is /i/ like in "see", but when you combine those pronouns with other words...02br
02br
00He'll, she'll, we'll ---> these should be pronounced either with /i/ as in "see" or /ɪ/ as in "bip".02br
02br
00But are those the only exceptions? That should be true for "we're" too, but are there other exceptions? Other cases where "he", "she" or "we" are not pronounced with /i/ as in "see"? 02br
01i00...02br
00He's/She's going there.02br
00He'd/She'd had enough.02br
00He/She would kill you.02br
00He/She lives in Africa.02br
00...02i02br
02br
00Thanks 050010id1
  

Top answer

0 I lax the /i/ before /l/ in those words. 0-

— Marvin A.

  • 0 I lax the /i/ before /l/ in those words.
  • 0-
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18 Answers
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0 I lax the /i/ before /l/ in those words. 0-
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0 If you want a very close transcription, you'll have to invent new symbols for sounds that are part way between the tense and lax versions of the English vowels. The presence of an 01i00r02i00, and to a lesser extext, an 01i00l02i00, after /i/ (in 01i00s01u00ee02u02i00), creates a vowel that is somewhat m
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0 Thank you.02br
00So that only happens when an L sound (He'll, We'll) or R sound (We're) follows, right?02br
00That means "He's" is always "heez", "We'd" is always "weed"... right?02br
050010id1
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0>> Thank you.02br
00So that only happens when an L sound (He'll, We'll) or R sound (We're) follows, right?02br
00That means "He's" is always "heez", "We'd" is always "weed"... right? <<02br
02br
00Indeed. 0-
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0 Very interesting, thanks.02br
02br
00By the way, do you think a similar phenomenon applies to "I"? 02br
00For example, "I'll" can become /aɪl/ or /aəl/, instead of /ail/. Does that only happen when am L sould follows, so that "I'd" is always /aid/?02br
02br
00Thanks 050010id1
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0>> For example, "I'll" can become /aɪl/ or /aəl/, instead of /ail/. Does that only happen when am L sould follows, <<02br
02br
00Yeah, it seems common to occasionally monophthongize the /aI/ in "I'll" and "while" in all dialects of North American English. Some Southern dialects and even some Southwestern dialects take it even further and always monophthongize /a
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0 01blockquote
00So that only happens when an L sound (He'll, We'll) or R sound (We're) follows, right?12br
10 That means "He's" is always "heez", "We'd" is always "weed"... right?12blockquote
10Yes.02br
02br
00 And I don't make any change in the I sound in 01i00I, I'm, I've, I'll, 02i00or01i0
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0>> Otherwise word pairs like fool and full or pool and pull would be pronounced virtually the same. <<02br
00Full and fool are merged in parts of Pennsylvania and Indiana.02br
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00>> In the case of the R's, the effect is not restricted to contractions like we're and you're: beer, poor. <<02br
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00Hmm? But the vo
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0 Thank you very much for your replies.02br
00But I noticed some strange things:01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite10I don't make any change in the OO sound in 11i10you, you've, 12i10or11i10 you'd12i10.12blockquote
10Really? I thought "you" was not usually "yoo" (oo like in "
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0>> I think it IS restricted to those cases. I pronounce "beer" the same way I pronounce "here", "near"... the vowel as in "beet", not as in "bit". <<02br
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00Well, there is of course the tense-lax neutralization thing going on, but I would have to say, to my ears, when I pronounce it, it sounds just like the "i" in "bit", and not at all like the "ee" in "beet"
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