Admit your ignorance - things you've only just realised/learned

[ColinJ]

I still don't know what a "meme" is or how to pronounce the word.

Do I need help?

No, you need a modern dictionary or access to an internet search engine.

Such as the excellent Chambers dictionary app. I bought it for my phone as a reference for use when I am doing cryptic crosswords. It very rarely lets me down.

This is what Chambers had to say...

View attachment 706683

But what I didn't say at the time was that I didn't know how to pronounce the symbols used in the pronunciation guide after each word. I have just discovered that clicking on the pronunciation pops up a box illustrating how each part of the word is pronounced. Like this...!

I still highly recommend the app. It very rarely lets me down.

 

[Seevio]

I still highly recommend the app. It very rarely lets me down.

It's let you down if it thinks the start of "in" and the end of "busy" have the same sound.

 

[ColinJ]

It's let you down if it thinks the start of "in" and the end of "busy" have the same sound.

But... 'pronunciation' can be pronounced with that i represented by the sound of the i in 'in' or the y in 'busy!

 

[Seevio]

But... 'pronunciation' can be pronounced with that i represented by the sound of the i in 'in' or the y in 'busy!

I disagree but that's irrelevant. The whole point of a phonetic alphabet is that it's supposed to have a specific symbol for each individual sound. It completely undermines the whole idea if a symbol can mean one more than one sound.

And while we're at it, the 2nd and last syllables of "pronunciation" sound the same to me so why is it using different symbols?

 

[Alex321]

I disagree but that's irrelevant. The whole point of a phonetic alphabet is that it's supposed to have a specific symbol for each individual sound. It completely undermines the whole idea if a symbol can mean one more than one sound.

And while we're at it, the 2nd and last syllables of "pronunciation" sound the same to me so why is it using different symbols?

Because you are listening to a rather odd pronunciation of the word.

I have never heard it with those two syllables sounding the same. Although the more usual sound to me would have the 2nd syllable as it suggests, but the last is more like the normal sound of "on".

 

[ColinJ]

I disagree but that's irrelevant. The whole point of a phonetic alphabet is that it's supposed to have a specific symbol for each individual sound. It completely undermines the whole idea if a symbol can mean one more than one sound.

And while we're at it, the 2nd and last syllables of "pronunciation" sound the same to me so why is it using different symbols?

Those 2 syllables are very similar and I wouldn't normally differentiate between them but if I say the word slowly and carefully I can hear a subtle difference between them.

TBH, I don't really care about the strict use of the phonetic alphabet. I think that (like me) 99.9% of the population wouldn't have a clue how to interpret the academically correct symbols but would be able to use and understand the dictionary app's version so it is doing its job.

I did get curious about the subject though so I read this lengthy article - it is a complex subject!