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Old 27-Feb-2006, 12:58
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Exclamation Re: Syllabic Consonant ???

Quote:
Originally Posted by rogusx
By the way, does anyone in here pronounce "bottom" with a syllabic /m/?? I myself include a clear schwa between the /t/ and the /m/ and it sounds really odd to produce /ˈbɒt.m/. Perhaps for those who substitute the /t/ for a glottal stop and say /ˈbɒʔ.m/ it is more usual to use syllabic /m/.
There's also syllabic /ŋ/ in certain contexts, such as "lock and key" when it is delivered quickly as "lock'n key" and pronounced /ˈlɒkŋˈkiː/ (RP) /ˈlɑkŋˈki/ (GA).
Generally speaking, I very much love the concept of "syllabic consonant". For that whereever I've slightest of doubt, I tend to check Cambridge's dictionary. If you check "bottom" there http://dictionary.cambridge.org/defi...9042&dict=CALD

you would notice that "m" is pronounced as syllabic consonant (but having schwa in between as in "bot.am" is ALSO acceptable). It all depends on the speaker itself, so generally speaking BOTH are accurate, however, in case of "London", since the dictionary DOES NOT suggest "syllabic n" sound, it would be WRONG to use "Lun.dn", since ALL SPEAKERS are expected to pronounce it as "Lun.dan".

However, having said that, in the name Gordon & Jordan, it HAS syllabic "n" in it, so some might pronounce it as "gor.dan" & "jor.dan", while the alternate acceptable way to pronounce it would ALSO be "gor.dn" & "jor.dn".

Check this website out:

http://www.cf.ac.uk/encap/staff/tench/syllabic.html
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