pronunciation

[ pruh-nuhn-see-ey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or result of producing the sounds of speech, including articulation, stress, and intonation, often with reference to some standard of correctness or acceptability:

   They are arguing about the pronunciation of “forte” again.

   His pronunciation retains charming traces of his early years in Ireland.

2. an accepted standard of the sound and stress patterns of a syllable, word, phrase, etc.:

   He said the pronunciation of “curl” is kɜrlkurl not kɔɪlkoil

3. the conventional patterns of treatment of the sounds of a language:

   the pronunciation of French.

4. a phonetic transcription of a given word, sound, etc.:

   The pronunciation of “pheasant” is ˈfɛzəntfezuhnt

5. Rare. an act or instance of declaring publicly; pronouncement:

   It was but the latest pronunciation of the political double-standard uttered in the course of this scandal.

   Synonyms: dissemination, promulgation, proclamation, affirmation, announcement, statement, assertion, declaration

6. Obsolete.
   1. elocution or delivery.
   2. elegant speech; oratory.
   3. an act or instance of speaking.

pronunciation

/ prəˌnʌnsɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act, instance, or manner of pronouncing sounds
2. the supposedly correct manner of pronouncing sounds in a given language
3. a phonetic transcription of a word

Pronunciation Note

It may seem odd for the pronunciation of this very word to be an issue; the pronunciation of pronunciation should be evident from its spelling. The vowel in the second syllable is u, said as in the word up. It is not the diphthong ou, as in ouch. However, for some people, the impulse to retain the sound pattern of the familiar verb pronounce is too strong to resist, and we hear this word said as if it were spelled p-r-o-n-o-u-n-c-i-a-t-i-o-n all too frequently. All this is a reminder that the entire subject of “correct” pronunciation is fraught with controversy. Changes from what we heard growing up are often resisted with surprisingly passionate scorn. And yet we know that language is constantly changing, and that many pronunciations once attacked as ignorant are now accepted without question in even the most educated circles. For example, we hear [skiz, -, uh, m], as well as the older [siz, -, uh, m], for schism, and [fawr, -tey], as well as the historically correct [fawrt], for the sense of forte meaning “something that one excels in” (see Pronunciation note at forte ¹ ). And stress patterns change with new generations: increasingly, [k, uh, m-pair-, uh, -b, uh, l] is overtaking [kom, -per-, uh, -b, uh, l] for comparable. Language experts seize the opportunity to note and study these changes; language innovation can be fascinating--even exciting. But some deviations from the current norm will not become part of an accepted standard, and as long as the way one speaks remains a marker of one's education, or one's ability to perform well in school or in a prospective job, it is best to avoid misguided pronunciations like [pr, uh, -noun-see-, ey, -sh, uh, n].

Other Words From

• pro·nunci·ation·al pro·nun·ci·a·to·ry [pr, uh, -, nuhn, -see-, uh, -tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], pro·nunci·ative adjective
• nonpro·nunci·ation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pronunciation¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English pronunciacion, from Latin prōnūntiātiōn- (stem of prōnūntiātiō ) “delivery (of a speech),” equivalent to prōnūntiāt(us) (past participle of prōnūntiāre “to proclaim, announce, utter”) + -iōn- noun suffix; pronounce, -ate ¹, -ion

Example Sentences

There have been concerns about pronunciation and whether some visitors might be confused.

From BBC

The recipient of an MBE, she defended her London accent after ex-House of Lords member Digby Jones criticised her pronunciation.

From BBC

But there were also concerns over pronunciation and some visitors being "unaware of the longstanding Welsh names and may mistakenly believe they are new".

From BBC

The report will also recommend pronunciation guides should be made available.

From BBC

He anxiously begins to answer the pronunciation of California landmarks — “Monterey Park,” “Santa Ana,” “Sacramento” and more.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• diction
• inflection
• utterance