/tempri/

[englishhobby]

I remember reading somewhere on the internet that native speakers of English sometines elide the syllable "ra" in the word "library" pronouncing it as /'laibri/. Do they elide in a similar manner the syllable "ra" in "temporary" (pronouncing it as /'tempri/)?

 

[5jj]

Some do.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd say the most common example of this is "February", but "library" comes a close second. In all the examples in this thread, someone unfamiliar with the words would think, on hearing them without seeing them, that they contain just one "r".

 

[emsr2d2]

With "February", there's another common omission - the "u". Lots of people pronounce it as "Febry". Others say "Febury". A few say "Febrary". A tiny minority actually enunciate the full "FebRUARy". (I bet 5jj's one of them! )

 

[5jj]

How did you know?

 

[Tarheel]

Gee, I'm part of a tiny minority. Hm.

 

[emsr2d2]

Gee, I'm part of a tiny minority. Hm.

I should have been clear I was talking only about BrE speakers. I've no idea what the majority of AmE speakers do.

 

[Tarheel]

Well, we're more alike than we are different. Certainly there are some who don't pronounce all the syllables in that word. I don't know what what percentage of American English speakers that is.

 

[jutfrank]

Do they elide in a similar manner the syllable "ra" in "temporary"

Yes. I'd say most people do, most of the time. It depends largely on how fast one is speaking.

(pronouncing it as /'tempri/)?

Well, eliding the 'ra', as you say, would produce /'tempəri/ with three syllables (note the schwa), not two, which is the way I'd model it in class. The two-syllable version might be used when speaking at a particularly fast pace.

I'm talking about standard British pronunciation here. I'm not completely sure about other varieties.