|  |
 | | 
11-Aug-2009, 20:44
|  | Key Member | | Join Date: Mar 2009 Country: Canada
Posts: 2,663
Current Location: Toronto First Language: English Member Type: Academic | |  Re: Pronunciation of "saw and bought"
Quote:
Originally Posted by PROESL  The American Heritage Dictionary shows something different. It shows that bought and saw have the same vowel sound, which, as an American English speaker, I would have to agree with, as the vowel sound in these two words sounds the same to me. I take the sound to be a kind of short "o" sound. Anyway, in some cases, distinguishing in a more detail and finer way might not be practical in reality and for the purposes of learning the language. bought: Definition from Answers.com saw: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com |
You quoted me and said the dictionary showed "something different." Then you confirmed whether that was what I was saying. It had nothing to do with my message. I suggest helping, rather than nitpicking at imagined foibles... Thanks. |
11-Aug-2009, 21:29
| | Key Member | | Join Date: Jul 2009 Country: USA
Posts: 2,036
Current Location: Boston, Massachusetts Boston, MA First Language: Business English and English for Professionals Member Type: English Teacher | | Re: Pronunciation of "saw and bought"
Quote:
Originally Posted by konungursvia You quoted me and said the dictionary showed "something different." Then you confirmed whether that was what I was saying. It had nothing to do with my message. I suggest helping, rather than nitpicking at imagined foibles... Thanks. | Okay, all nitpicking aside. Do you mean to simply say that "bought" and "saw" have two different vowel sounds? They are the same to me. |
11-Aug-2009, 22:28
| | Key Member | | Join Date: Mar 2009 Country: Canada
Posts: 2,663
Current Location: Toronto First Language: English Member Type: Academic | | Re: Pronunciation of "saw and bought"
Quote:
Originally Posted by PROESL Okay, all nitpicking aside. Do you mean to simply say that "bought" and "saw" have two different vowel sounds? They are the same to me. | I repeat, I never said "bought" and "saw" have two different vowel sounds. Are you quite "all right", or is there "some problem"? |
12-Aug-2009, 01:17
| | Key Member | | Join Date: Jul 2009 Country: USA
Posts: 2,036
Current Location: Boston, Massachusetts Boston, MA First Language: Business English and English for Professionals Member Type: English Teacher | | Re: Pronunciation of "saw and bought"
Quote:
Originally Posted by konungursvia I repeat, I never said "bought" and "saw" have two different vowel sounds. Are you quite "all right", or is there "some problem"? |  And I never said you said that. This is why I asked. I didn't know what you meant. The combination of your posts seemed to indicate something, and I was not sure what it was. I'm quite all right.  |
12-Aug-2009, 09:06
|  | Moderator | | Join Date: Jul 2006 Country: England (South East)
Posts: 7,655
Current Location: England (South East) First Language: English Member Type: English Teacher | | Re: Pronunciation of "saw and bought"
Quote:
Originally Posted by PROESL ... Attachment 718 This is a British English voice. British English speakers use a different vowel in "thaw" or "saw". It's not the same as American English speakers.
... | I know of no British English speakers who do. I know of at least one American English speaker who does. Perhaps it's a New England thing. 
b |
12-Aug-2009, 11:27
| | Key Member | | Join Date: Mar 2009 Country: Canada
Posts: 2,663
Current Location: Toronto First Language: English Member Type: Academic | | Re: Pronunciation of "saw and bought"
Okay, I'll repeat my last point a third time, as you are unable to find it in the previous posts. I disagree with a previous post that saw is "read as /sʌ/" (which is the first syllable of "supper.")
I find it is indeed pronounced /sɔ/ in the UK and here in North American as /sa/, which is what your online dictionary renders (in non-standard script) as "sô" which we can understand but which is not in the IPA script, so is less useful to others.
I do hope you understand now, and stop asking me questions about things I did not post about or even say. It is a waste of time, for us and for readers.
Last edited by konungursvia; 12-Aug-2009 at 13:35.
|
12-Aug-2009, 13:26
| | Key Member | | Join Date: Jul 2009 Country: USA
Posts: 2,036
Current Location: Boston, Massachusetts Boston, MA First Language: Business English and English for Professionals Member Type: English Teacher | | Re: Pronunciation of "saw and bought"
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobK I know of no British English speakers who do. I know of at least one American English speaker who does. Perhaps it's a New England thing.
b | Okay, I'm not following your post. What do you mean by "I know of no British English speakers who do"? |
12-Aug-2009, 13:45
| | Key Member | | Join Date: Jul 2009 Country: USA
Posts: 2,036
Current Location: Boston, Massachusetts Boston, MA First Language: Business English and English for Professionals Member Type: English Teacher | |  Re: Pronunciation of "saw and bought"
Quote:
Originally Posted by konungursvia Okay, I'll repeat my last point a third time, as you are unable to find it in the previous posts. I disagree with a previous post that saw is "read as /sʌ/" (which is the first syllable of "supper.")
I find it is indeed pronounced /sɔ/ in the UK and here in North American as /sa/, which is what your online dictionary renders (in non-standard script) as "sô" which we can understand but which is not in the IPA script, so is less useful to others.
I do hope you understand now, and stop asking me questions about things I did not post about. It is a waste of time. | I've gone back and taken a look at the posts. My confusion came when I read a post referring to "saw", but not "bought". As the OP asked about "saw" and "bought" together, it seemed that "saw" was being treated separately from "bought". That's why I asked. I've made no assumptions. I find it difficult to consider asking for clarification a waste of time.   |
12-Aug-2009, 14:40
| | Moderator | | Join Date: Jul 2006 Country: England (South East)
Posts: 7,655
Current Location: England (South East) First Language: English Member Type: English Teacher | | Re: Pronunciation of "saw and bought"
Quote:
Originally Posted by PROESL Okay, I'm not following your post. What do you mean by "I know of no British English speakers who do"? | Isn't my question clear? There may be British speakers who pronounce the vowel of 'thaw' differently from the vowel in 'thought'; but in 58 years living in the UK I haven't heard such a person. The vowel phoneme in each of those words is /ɔ:/.
b | | |
| Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes |  Linear Mode |
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
| | |
All times are GMT. The time now is 07:12.
|
hear it again
