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Pousu Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
'ortable' in portable 'orrible' in horrible
it seems to me that they almost sound the same. the only difference is that the tongue to touch the alveolar ridge for pronouncing 'ortable' in portable while its not for 'orrible' in horrible. but I wonder if native speakers can distinguish the difference between these sounds because i really cant.
Top answer
In my (American) accent, the sounds are quite different. The "r" sound is quite variable over American regions, though. I cannot speak for British English.
- In my (American) accent, the sounds are quite different.
- The "r" sound is quite variable over American regions, though.
- I cannot speak for British English.
- In horrible , the "or" is nearly an "ahr" sound - the lips are not rounded.
- In portable , the "or" is nearly an "oar" sound - the lips are quite rounded.
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2 Answers
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In my (American) accent, the sounds are quite different. The "r" sound is quite variable over American regions, though. I cannot speak for British English.
In horrible, the "or" is nearly an "ahr" sound - the lips are not rounded.
In portable, the "or" is nearly an "oar" sound - the lips are quite rounded.
Otherwise, the sound comes from the middle of the mouth, an
In horrible, the "or" is nearly an "ahr" sound - the lips are not rounded.
In portable, the "or" is nearly an "oar" sound - the lips are quite rounded.
Otherwise, the sound comes from the middle of the mouth, an
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Although the "o" vowel in portable and horrible are different for A. Stars, in my variety of English they are the same. I believe this is the variety where you are having trouble distinguishing "ortable" from "orrible". Native speakers, however, can distinguish the difference quite easily.
CJ
CJ
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