Already (pronunciation)

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Originally Posted by birdeen's call

While I believe this is true for BrE, I think it's not for AmE. If I find an example in a near future, I'll post it here.

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You are almost certainly correct. However, when the letter 'l' is not sounded, then it cannot be described as a 'silent allophone'. If it is sounded, then it is not silent.

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Originally Posted by konungursvia

Already is always pronounced with the /e/ stressed, not the /a/.

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Here Already - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary and here already adverb - definition in British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionary Online read that stressing of the first vowel is also possible. What would you say?

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Originally Posted by AlexAD

Here Already - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary and here already adverb - definition in British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionary Online read that stressing of the first vowel is also possible. What would you say?

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I would say that you have misread them.

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Originally Posted by 5jj

I would say that you have misread them.

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All right. I may well have.
But given the transcription \ȯl-ˈre-dē, ˈȯl-ˌ\ in the first, and as long as ' means stress on the following syllable, how does ˈȯl- read?
Doesn't it reads that the stress falls on the first syllable?

Actually, I believe the first syllable in "already" may have the primary stress, at least in AmE. I think it's only possible when the word is emphasized.

"Look, I've already told you!"

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Originally Posted by AlexAD

But given the transcription \ȯl-ˈre-dē, ˈȯl-ˌ\ in the first, and as long as ' means stress on the following syllable, how does ˈȯl- read?
Doesn't it reads that the stress falls on the first syllable?

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Sorry, I had the wrong glasses on (at least, that is my excuse).

The standard pronunciation of 'already' in both BrE and AmE is with the stress on the second syllable. In some situations, when 'already' precedes another word, 'stress shift' may result in the stress moving to the first syllable. This does not happen if 'already' is the final or only word in an utterance.

Stress shift in rhythmical speech

Yes, I wasn't thinking of that phenomenon either.