Pronunciation of "Basically"?

[Williamyh]

Hi All,

I'd like to know the correct pronunciation of "Basically", I always hear people say "Basic li" seems the "a" is silent....but sometimes I hear people say "Basic cle li" with "a" sound.....I wanted to know which one is correct? By the way, there are many words with "~cally", like Automatically, Practically, Clinically, Vertically.....their "a" should be sounded or not?

William

[Raymott]

Hi All,

I'd like to know correct pronunciation of "Basically", I always hear people say "Basic li" seems the "a" is silent....but sometimes I hear people say "Basic cle li" with "a" sound.....I wanted to know which one is correct? By the way, there are many words with "~cally", like Automatically, Practically, Clinically, Vertically.....their "a" should be sounded or not?

William

They're both correct. Most people wouldn't bother with 4 syllables, and would pronounce them similarly to 'publicly'.

[Williamyh]

They're both correct. Most people wouldn't bother with 4 syllables, and would pronounce them similarly to 'publicly'.

As you are native speaker, how do you say "Basically"? Would you sound the "a" sound?

[Raymott]

As you are native speaker, how do you say "Basically"? Would you sound the "a" sound?

No, not the second one.

[amigos4]

As you are native speaker, how do you say "Basically"? Would you sound the "a" sound?

William, refer to Basically Definition | Definition of Basically at Dictionary.com for an audio answer.

I would not pronounce the 'a' in basically! I would say "bey-sik-lee"

[raindoctor]

Hi All,

I'd like to know the correct pronunciation of "Basically", I always hear people say "Basic li" seems the "a" is silent....but sometimes I hear people say "Basic cle li" with "a" sound.....I wanted to know which one is correct? By the way, there are many words with "~cally", like Automatically, Practically, Clinically, Vertically.....their "a" should be sounded or not?

William

cally --> kli

Just stick with that.

[konungursvia]

Agreed. You only pronounce the A if you have a peerage, write for the Times of London, and participate in Nato conferences.

[anastasiah]

Hello There!
This is Anastasiah!
Im new in this site!
Im happy to be part of this site.
For me whether or not you are successful will depend to quite a large extent on your age. If you are under, say, 12 years old and move to the south, then you will quickly sound like your new peer group; if you are 20 plus, then you'll probably always have a Yorkshire accent, to a greater or lesser degree.
Books and CDs are no good for this sort of thing - you need constant feedback, which means a tutor.
Keep on posting Guys!
Thanks!
Good Luck!...

Broken link