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Ryota
I don’t really understand how chunks of “phonetic respelling” works. Looking into “every” on the dictionary, phonetic respelling is written “ev-ree”. Here, I don’t understand why not it’s “ever-ee”.
Is there some rule of creating chunks of phonetic respelling?
Jan 31, 2024 5:15 PM
Answers · 6
3
This is a case of elision. Commonly, an unstressed vowel between two syllables is elided and the word is resyllabized. For example, every [e.ve.ri] with three syllables becomes evry [ev.ri] with two syllables).
A few examples from the online Collins Dictionary web site.
every (pronounced as evry [IPA evri])
family (pronounced as family or famly [IPA ˈfæmɪlɪ or ˈfæmlɪ])
laboratory (pronounced as labratory [IPA læbrətɔːri (US)])
medicine (pronounced as medcin [IPA medsən])
January 31, 2024
2
Some people do say every as ever-ee but it’s most commonly pronounced as ev-ree ☺️ hope this helps
February 1, 2024
1
Phonetic respelling is usually done casually. It's invented as it is written. It isn't consistent or scientific. The consistent, scientific way is to use the international phonetic alphabet. I need to learn it!
If I turn "ev-ree" back into sound, I get two syllables. If I turn "ever-ee" back into sound, I get three syllables. The normal pronunciation is the two-syllable form. The second "e" is silent.
Rarely, you will hear someone say it is "ever-ree," but this is very unusual, it's not in the dictionaries I've checked, and it is done for purposes of emphasis.
If someone says "Do it every day, and I mean EVERY SINGLE DAY," the first "every" might be pronounced "ev'ry" and the second as "EV-uh-REE."
February 1, 2024
No two people talk alike. There is no “ correct” or “standard” amount of elision to use. Imitate people who speak in a manner that you enjoy hearing.
January 31, 2024
"every", like "very" is a two-syllabic word, first syllable stressed.
January 31, 2024
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Ryota
Language Skills
English, Japanese
Learning Language
English
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