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
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