[General] Pronunciation of 'ear' and 'year'

Status
Not open for further replies.

Olympian

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2008
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hindi
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
Hello,

All these years, I have been pronouncing 'ear' and 'year' the same. So, it came as a great surprise when I saw the dictionary notations (and I felt terrible that I have been saying it wrong all along - we were never taught the difference).

ear[SUP]1[/SUP]- i(ə)r/


year- yi(ə)r/



My question is that do native speakers hear this mistake when foreigners say 'ear' for 'year'? After I read that they are pronounced differently, I tried very hard to hear how the native speakers say it, and I think I only heard a slight trace of 'y' in only one person's pronunciation out of several.

So, my next question is - do some native speakers (sloppily) pronounce the two words the same, or is it that I am unable to hear the difference?

Thank you
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
I can't say I've noticed foreigners pronounce them the same.

In rapid speech, 'my ear' and 'my year' can sound exactly the same.

'I enjoyed my year in Spain.' 'I don't like this buzzing in my ear.'

But you should hear a difference between 'her ear' and 'her year', and 'one ear' and 'one year'.
 

Tarheel

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I think that if I said "She's been gone for a year" you would definitely hear the "y" sound in "year".

:)
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I have never heard the two pronounced the same way. The "y" in "year" is clearly pronounced.
 

konungursvia

VIP Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
We definitely notice the error, and I haven't heard any native speakers make the mistake. Sorry. It is most common in Mandarin speakers.
 

Charlie Bernstein

VIP Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
So now you know. And getting an answer didn't take a ear!
 

Roman55

Key Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
France
I am not a teacher.

That was clearly a joke, but you've actually made a very good point.

'A year' flows but 'a ear' doesn't. No native speaker is going to make that mistake and if Olympian tries to pronounce them I'm sure s/he'll hear the difference.
 

Olympian

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2008
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hindi
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
We definitely notice the error, and I haven't heard any native speakers make the mistake. Sorry. It is most common in Mandarin speakers.

I think it is slightly different with the Mandarin speakers. From what I hear, they pronounce the 'y' in words that begin with 'yi' and in words that begin with 'i'. But I was talking about not pronouncing the 'y' sound. (ie pronouncing 'ear' and 'year' the same - that is, without the 'y' sound). :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top