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Jackson6612 Posted 19 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

...pronounces creativity as cry-tiv-i-ty and produce as praw-duce...

My cousin has a Franklin Speaking Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. It pronounces some words in quite a different way from how other dictionaries (such as: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins COBUILD Dictionary, Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, etc) pronounce them. For example, it pronounces creativity as cry-tiv-i-ty and produce as praw-duce. The fact is my cousin finds its pronunciation quite easy for himself. As an example, he has some difficulty in pronouncing creativity as cre-a-tiv-i-ty but he finds pronouncing it as cry-tiv-i-ty quite easy. Is it okay for him to follow its pronunciations?
  

Top answer

There are those who will tell you that pronunciation doesn't matter. My view is that if the way you pronounce a word means you cannot be understood, then probably it is not the way to say it. Cry-tiv-i-ty would not be understood in England - cre-a-tive/tiv-ity is what is expected.

— Feebs11

  • There are those who will tell you that pronunciation doesn't matter.
  • My view is that if the way you pronounce a word means you cannot be understood, then probably it is not the way to say it.
  • Cry-tiv-i-ty would not be understood in England - cre-a-tive/tiv-ity is what is expected.
  • The pronunciation of produce as "praw-duce" seems to me to be a Southern AmE pronunciation.
  • MW may be using what could be termed non-standard speakers to record their pronunciations.
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2 Answers
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There are those who will tell you that pronunciation doesn't matter. My view is that if the way you pronounce a word means you cannot be understood, then probably it is not the way to say it.

Cry-tiv-i-ty would not be understood in England - cre-a-tive/tiv-ity is what is expected.

The pronunciation of produce as "praw-duce" seems to me to be a Southern AmE pronunciation. MW may
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