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Ali.h Posted 16 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation
Pronunciation of basal
I heard a native English speaker pronounce the 's' of the word basal with a soft 'z' sound, is this correct? Should it not be pronounced with a proper 's' sound?
Top answer
The soft "z" sound is correct. The word "basal" does not take the proper "s" sound.
- The soft "z" sound is correct.
- The word "basal" does not take the proper "s" sound.
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6 Answers
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The soft "z" sound is correct. The word "basal" does not take the proper "s" sound.
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The dictionaries I've just looked at give either just the "s" sound, or give both "s" and "z" as possibilities.
Two British dictionaries give only "s", which probably explains why I feel I would naturally pronounce it "s", despite almost never having the need to do so.
Two British dictionaries give only "s", which probably explains why I feel I would naturally pronounce it "s", despite almost never having the need to do so.
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I checked thefreedictionary.com and m-w.com and clicked the icons to hear the word spoken. Both times the speaker said "s" instead of "z" which is listed as a secondary pronunciation. I believe hear in USA that the "z" is more frequenct however.
In truespel it would be ~baesool or ~baezool. The ~ool is spoken as in the word "wool". The "short oo" vowel is the sound here. No need for
In truespel it would be ~baesool or ~baezool. The ~ool is spoken as in the word "wool". The "short oo" vowel is the sound here. No need for
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At least in AmE, /z/ sounds natural in unstressed positions. I have a collegue who pronounces "s" in the word "user" as /s/. Whenver he does that, I feel like he is stressing the syllable "ser" in user.
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