Results 1 to 3 of 3
  1. #1
    may Guest

    Default are hurtle and hurdle pronounced the same?

    is "hurtle" pronounced the same as "hurdle", where "tle" is pronounced "del"?
    thanks

  2. #2
    Marylin's Avatar
    Marylin is offline Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    959

    Default Re: are hurtle and hurdle pronounced the same?

    Quote Originally Posted by may
    is "hurtle" pronounced the same as "hurdle", where "tle" is pronounced "del"?
    thanks
    Yes, there is. Hurtle has a distinct /t/ sound that can't be mistaken for the /d/ sound. They are close but definitely not sounding the same.

  3. #3
    Casiopea's Avatar
    Casiopea is offline VIP Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    12,971

    Default Re: are hurtle and hurdle pronounced the same?

    Quote Originally Posted by may
    is "hurtle" pronounced the same as "hurdle", where "tle" is pronounced "del"?
    thanks
    The words hurtle and hurdle share the consonant cluster -rdl-. The sound [l] has two functions: 1) it can be a semi-vowel (you can sing it) or 2) it can be a consonant. Some speakers pronounce the "l" in -rdl- as a semi-vowel, whereas other speakers pronounce it as a consonant. Now, as a consonant cluster, the sequence -rdl- is hard to pronounce, so what some speakers do is insert a vowel (V) between the consonants to make the word easier to pronounce:

    semi-vowel
    hurtle => hurtle
    hurdle => hurdle

    consonant
    hurtle => hurtVl
    hurdle => hurdVl

    Note, V represents a vowel that has been inserted for ease of articulation.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Hotchalk

Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.1