Hello, there!
I often hear people pronouncing the word 'Skype' as /ˈskaɪpi/. Usually, I tell them politely that the letter 'e' in this brand name is 'silent'. Thus, we should say /skaɪp/.
To my amusement, some of them take note of what I say while the others dispute my claim. Here's a video that I stumbled on just now. It tells us how the word in question is actually pronounced. Shall we listen to it, guys?
Now, do you know any other commonly used words that often confuse us? If you do, please share them here with the rest of us. You could even ask us a word whose pronunciation is not known to you. Let's help each other. Thank you!
... NOTE ...
Please check out my other blog that deals with Homographs and Pronunciations.
May 2nd. 2013
~* GS *~
Comments
Dear Gabriel,
Yes, you are right.
I have made mistake due to SKY has its own meaning and I thought PE refers to peer; so felt that SKYPE is disyllabic and pronounced it (skaipi).
I'm trying to digest it. :)
Hi, guys!
Here's a supplementary video. I find it very interesting!
@ Rajesh
Nice to see you here, bro! I think it has been quite a while since I heard from you the last time. Don’t worry! The time has come for me to see more comments from you. Yes, the ‘thing’ I’m working on will be posted somewhere next week. How about that? Get prepared, buddy! See you around!
Hi, Mahgol!
I’m in pure delight to hear from you again. Thank you! You know, it gives me great pleasure answering your question. Here we go...
‘Skype’ is monosyllabic, cannot be divided into two or more syllables, if we pronounce it as /skaɪp/
But, it becomes disyllable (having two syllables) when we MISpronounce it as /ˈskaɪpi/ ... /ˈskaɪp + i/
aha.. SKYPE is like SCOPE. yes it is monosyllabic...
I thought the word URINE is monosyllabic, but because it is not under the rule , so it surly is not one syllabic. yes, that's true. I checked dictionary just now and it is not monosyllabic. it is like marine, routine, doctorine,...
very nice! :)
Dear Gabriel,
First thank you so much for the blog your patience and answering friends comments one by one.
In a comment you have mentioned your memory at school; exactly the words which I had told my daughter to clarify it to her : ( “If a monosyllabic word ends with the letter ‘e’, the earlier vowel letter (a, i, o or u) in that word is pronounced like how we say the name of the letter, i.e. a /eɪ/, i /aɪ/, o /əʊ/ and u /ju:/) like time, type, pipe,....
then let me learn SKYPE is a monosyllabic?
@ Mahgol
You’re welcome, my friend. Well, whether to pronounce the word /ˈskaɪp/ or /ˈskaɪpi/ is a matter of personal preference. However, there could be only one correct pronunciation between the two. There’s no question about that! BUT… it is wise for a learner, if you ask my opinion, to correct his mistake once he has learnt about it!
Thank you very much for the interesting additional information about Skype, Mahgol. I appreciate it! Ciao!!
@ Salma
Thank you for visiting my blog. We all had shared such problems with brand names and some other words in the past. Therefore, it’s not strange when we hear someone mispronouncing the word ‘Skype’. The most important thing is he should take an effort to correct it rather than sticking to his old way after knowing the mistake!
Salma, please don't forget check my other blog when you get the time. You can find the link at the bottom of the above blog. It's about homographs. I can guarantee that it will be very useful to you. Thanks once again!
@ Hala
Well said, dear! Only knowing the 44 speech sounds on the IPA Phonetic Chart and the ability to read the transcriptions could solve all our pronunciation related issues.
I like the shape of the cake on that table.
/aɪ‿laɪki ðə ʃeɪpi‿jə ðə keɪki‿ɒn ðət‿eɪbli/
@ Lord Maurice
Thank you for spelling out the problems that students encounter at your end. I think these problems are very common among non-native speakers of English all around the globe.
The word “soap” you used in your comment reminded me of a phonetic rule: “When two vowels go walking the first vowel does the talking.” Also, that first vowel is pronounced exactly how the name of the particular letter is said. Here is a video that teaches us just that.
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