[General] Pronunciation of "August"

[anupumh]

Hi,

What is the correct pronunciatio of the word "August"?

What is the first sound in "August"?

Is it...// or /:/ or /u:/...?

Thanks

[konungursvia]

To me, it sounds like /a/; in Britain, it would be /ɔː/.

[anupumh]

Originally Posted by konungursvia

To me, it sounds like /a/; in Britain, it would be /ɔː/.

Sorry, but in place of a phonetic symbol, I can only see a square box with a colon between the hyphens. Out of the 3 symbols which I have posted, none of the them stands for the correct sound for "au" in august??

[Raymott]

Originally Posted by anupumh

Sorry, but in place of a phonetic symbol, I can only see a square box with a colon between the hyphens. Out of the 3 symbols which I have posted, none of the them stands for the correct sound for "au" in august??

The first sound in August in most varieties of English is 'or' as in 'pork', 'more', 'saw' which is the sound of the second of kon's symbols.

[konungursvia]

They are very close, but I don't know of any dialects where that is its pronunciation. Basically, the symbol I wrote is an /o:/ with a small hole in the o, almost a backward c.

[anupumh]

Originally Posted by Raymott

The first sound in August in most varieties of English is 'or' as in 'pork', 'more', 'saw' which is the sound of the second of kon's symbols.

I have heard some Native British Speakers say the first sound in "August" as a long vowel sound /u:/ (oo as in truth, flu, etc)

[konungursvia]

I think you are mistaken. I've never heard anyone say it that way. The French do, however: /ut/, août.

[anupumh]

Originally Posted by konungursvia

I think you are mistaken. I've never heard anyone say it that way. The French do, however: /ut/, août.

If you have access to the CD for "Cambridge Advanced Learners Pronunciation Dictionary" Daniel Jones.. it provides the same pronunciation, a long oo sound.

[konungursvia]

It's more likely that you're not noticiing the subtle difference between /u/ and /ɔː/.

[anupumh]

Originally Posted by konungursvia

It's more likely that you're not noticiing the subtle difference between /u/ and /ɔː/.

I will recheck and get back...